2012 has been the year of Sheamus. The WWE entered the year with a focus on rebuilding Sheamus and pushing him as the number-two star in the WWE behind John Cena. One year later the focus could be much different entering 2013.

A new report indicates that WWE officials are not happy with Sheamus. The report says that WWE officials are not impressed with the connection or lack thereof that he has made with the fans over the last year. According to the report the WWE are ready to replace the former world heavyweight champion if he can’t turn it around shortly.

I can’t say I am surprised. Sheamus’ direction as a babyface has been absolutely awful and this comes from a guy that was rooting for Sheamus to succeed. His character has been a complete turnoff to the point where I actually turn the channel most of the time he is on. His over the top smiling and horrible jokes make him look more like a complete goof than the gritty brawler fans bought into the last time he was on top.

The irony here is that WWE officials are unimpressed yet they are the ones writing those terrible jokes and creating this happy-go-lucky character that Sheamus has been saddled with. The biggest difference in Sheamus today as opposed to pre-push is that he has lost his edge. Sheamus was seen as a no-nonsense, Irish bar brawler where today he comes off as corny and unauthentic. While it is Sheamus’ job to pull it off, the WWE creative team certainly bares a lot of responsibility with his failure to connect.

I have heard some people accuse Sheamus’ character of having neo-Nazi undertones. I think that may be a bit strong but there is something to billing a guy simply as “The Great White”. I get it, he’s pale, but the moniker “The Great White” could suggest something else. I never liked it from the start.

The booking of Sheamus against The Big Show has been pretty terrible as well. I am not talking about the matches which have been good, but the stories and segments surrounding them. Just the idea that Sheamus would lose to a guy that just got finished being beaten down by CM Punk and John Cena on the RAW brand makes him look third rate. On top of that, his nonchalant interactions with Show made John Cena’s promos after WrestleMania 27 look serious. Once again I put a great deal of the blame on the creative committee here.

I received a lot of backlash when I suggested that Ryback beat Punk for the title a few weeks ago. I think some people missed my point. It wasn’t that I was a big Ryback fan. I am not. The point was that the WWE creative team hadn’t ruined Ryback by that point so give him the push while he still had some momentum going. If you look at the last few years when the team attempted to create new stars, they have all been failures.

At some point you have to stop blaming the wrestlers and take a look in the mirror if you are Vince McMahon. He created a culture of writers who write television shows with pro wrestlers. At some point you have to start bringing some people in that know how to write pro wrestling television shows or this will happen almost every single time.

I think Sheamus is a lost cause as a babyface. He could get his heat back in a second as a heel. He was a great heel and just as good as a tweener before he made his full-fledged babyface turn. Unfortunately his run as a top hero will go down as another list of creative bungles.

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