WWE Raw: Sheamus Crowned New US Champion

The 351 day reign for US Champion is over. This week on Raw they opened the show with a 20 minute battle royal where the winner became the US Champion. After about 15 minutes of action, which included everybody teaming up to eliminate the likes of Big Show and Mark Henry, it was Sheamus that left as the US Champion. Ambrose ended up finishing second. He couldn't overcome a devastating Brogue Kick by Sheamus, which led to the Irishman tossing out Ambrose. It's the second time Sheamus has won the US Title. The first time he won it was in 2011. While it may seem like a step down for him since he's been a multi-time World Champion, remember that with only one major WWE Title now the secondary titles do mean more. Ambrose's US Title reign had become a running joke for the majority of his nearly one year run due to the fact that he barely defended the title. If somebody holds a title that they never defend, it can't be considered a prize of value. Sheamus is an interesting choice because there have been plenty of rumors about a heel turn for him. You might recall that prior to the Royal Rumble, when WrestleMania matches were being discussed it was a heel Sheamus set to face off with Daniel Bryan. That didn't happen because CM Punk left, the crowd hated Batista and management realized they had to get Bryan in the main event match at WrestleMania. Sheamus ended up as one of the men in the Andre the Giant battle royal that came up short in the end. Regarding that Sheamus heel turn, there have been recent reports that it will be happening soon. They might wait until the European tour is over towards the end of May, but we can expect to see Sheamus back to his heel ways by June or July. It could be the best thing for his career at this point because he has become stagnant as a babyface. With Barrett winning the IC Title at Extreme Rules and Sheamus winning the US Title one day later on Raw, perhaps WWE feels like it's time to build the midcard titles into something more prestigious. Let's hope so because if those titles matter more then so do the men holding them as well.