Earlier this week, it was reported that Sheamus suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder at the Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View event last month but was trying to work through the injury. Unfortunately for the Celtic Warrior, his grit and determination apparently was all for naught as he aggravated the injury and now needs surgery to fix the tear. This news was confirmed by WWE.com and Sheamus himself on Twitter, who tweeted out that the WWE would be "a lot less Celtic" while he was out. As a result of the injury, Sheamus is expected to miss four-to-six months of action.
While missing that kind of time is never a good thing in a business where replacement stars can be made overnight and out of sight, out of mind is more than just a solid Royal Rumble philosophy. For the former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion, however, this injury could prove to be the best thing to happen for his career.
First off, because of his popularity, Sheamus' roster spot and spot on the card is safe so he will have all the time he needs to fully recuperate from this and any other injuries he may have. Once he does return, probably around the Royal Rumble, he will immediately return to the main event picture like he was never gone. One need look no farther than the recent return of Christian, who was never as popular as Sheamus has been over the past two years and missed more than a year of time due to injury. Upon return, though, a clearly reinvigorated Captain Charisma was immediately placed in the World Heavyweight Championship picture and performing better than he had in years.
More importantly than simply having a chance to heal physically, though, Sheamus and the audience will get a much-needed break from his character, which seems to have been based on the John Cena Model of wrestling, going from barroom brawler to Irish caricature.
When Sheamus debuted with the reborn ECW brand back in 2009, he did so as a heel (bad guy), viciously attacking anyone and everyone that got in his way. This mean streak culminated with a WWE championship victory over John Cena in a Tables Match in December 2009.
Although his title reign lasted only two months, it was the events that transpired following this loss that legitimized Sheamus as a tough-guy. In a Street Fight with Triple H, the Celtic Warrior repeatedly kicked The Game in the head to earn the victory and the assault was so vicious, the latter ended up missing almost a year of action.
As has become the norm for the WWE in the post-Brock Lesnar days, though, the company immediately pulled back the reins on Sheamus' push and he was relegated to the mid-card, where he was only moderately successful.
Eventually, Sheamus returned to the top of the card, culminating in an 18-second victory over Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania XXVIII and it was after that victory that Sheamus began making an unfortunate character transformation, going from tough-guy Irish prankster to Irish cartoon character.
The low point of that transformation took place only a few weeks ago when Sheamus took on Damien Sandow in an Irish Street Fight that saw the latter use a kendo stick and a trash can as weapons and the former use a beer keg and a sack of potatoes. Seriously. He used a sack of potatoes as a weapon and then proceeded to eat the raw potatoes as he was walking up the ramp after earning the victory.
Now, I'm not trying to say that Sheamus' character can only work as a barroom brawler who fights without reason and bullies those smaller him, which is the kind of character he initially got over with. However, Sheamus, as he was currently being portrayed, is also clearly not working as it seems that the WWE only has room for one cartoon character at a time and Cena will be filling that role until further notice.
However, because of the injury and the half-year off of television, this is one opportunity (aside from the Rumble, of course) where out of sight, out of mind could actually turn out to be a good thing.
As is the case with every injured wrestler in history, Sheamus will return as a face (good guy) because the audience will simply be excited for the return of something they remember. As a result, the time off will provide the company with an opportunity to tweak his character in such a way that more cartoonish elements will not be needed to ensure that he remains as popular as ever.
The path is there. Now, it's just up to Sheamus and the WWE to follow it.
Follow Tony Fioriglio on Twitter @TheTonyFiorigli.