Andrew Ravens
Sheamus is headed for free agency after over 19 years with WWE, having rejected a restructured contract offer that one source described as offering him less money to stay — a move viewed as an insult given his lengthy tenure and contributions to the company.
His social media profiles have since been scrubbed of WWE references, and his profile has been moved to the alumni section of the company’s website, though he is believed to still be under contract for the time being.
AEW has naturally emerged as a potential landing spot, but according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the reaction internally is not universally enthusiastic. While Claudio Castagnoli — Sheamus’s former tag team partner and close friend — is expected to be among those advocating for the signing, others within AEW have expressed reservations tied to roster size and opportunity cost.
“Nobody had anything against Sheamus personally. It was just sort of like, ‘Here comes another one. The New Day’s probably coming, then Sheamus would be coming in, and that’s three more slots that people who have been there for a long time, or should be on the way up, or who should be younger, they’re going to be iced out again. People weren’t really thrilled about that idea.”
– Dave Meltzer
The concern is a familiar one for AEW. The promotion has been criticized at various points for prioritizing established names over developing its own talent, and with The New Day and the Motor City Machine Guns potentially on the way in, adding Sheamus would represent another addition of veteran WWE talent at a time when younger roster members are already competing for television time
That said, the case for Sheamus has merit. He and Castagnoli — formerly known as Cesaro — won the WWE Tag Team Championship on five separate occasions as The Bar and represent one of the more compelling potential tag-team reunions on the market. Fightful Select‘s Sean Ross Sapp noted that AEW sources had no prior knowledge that the news of his departure was coming, and that he is expected to generate heavy interest across the open market beyond just AEW.
