Training and debut (2002–2004) Farrelly was inspired to become a professional wrestler by watching British wrestling on
World of Sport and American wrestling via the
WWF. Following advice given to him by
Bret Hart, he began training at
Larry Sharpe's Monster Factory wrestling school in April 2002, (a reference to a slang term supposedly denoting a man's inability to perform sexually after consuming an excessive amount of whiskey). He soon suffered a serious neck injury after
botching a
hip toss, leading to O'Shaunessy recruiting help from CJ Summers to help defeat the tag team on 24 October. O'Shaunessy was still unsuccessful to defeat Vain in singles action the following day. Despite these losses, his impressive showings earned him a place against
Alex Shane in a guest match for the
Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) British Heavyweight Championship. Although he put on a proficient exhibit and came close to win, his friend Red Vinny interfered in the match and cost him the championship. This victory was part of a winning streak over the end of March where O'Shaunessy wrestled twice a day on 24, 25, 26 – including an 11-man Rumble win – and 27 March with a standard tag match and a ten-man tag team match. This series of victories, aside from one loss by
disqualification to Vain, He met Darren Burridge in the final match and won to become IWW's first champion, but had to compete again in an evening show in Dublin, defeating Burridge and Vinny once more in a tag match alongside Vain. O'Shaunessy's first successful title defence came against Burridge the following month but Burridge would not let his grudge rest, continuing to attack O'Shaunessy and finally costing him the title during a match against
D'Lo Brown on 29 May. O'Shaunessy earned revenge in July by defeating Burridge in a grudge match, though lost to him in an
arm wrestling contest the following day. Still, he continued on his quest to regain the title setting him up to regain the International Heavyweight Championship in October from Brown in
Newcastle upon Tyne in
England. After defending his title against
Vampiro and Viper, O'Shaunessy found himself embroiled in a new feud with rising
Scottish wrestling star "Thee"
Drew Galloway, whom he later admitted was his toughest opponent. On 28 January 2006, he received his first championship match, evolving their rivalry from previous non-title contests. The rivalry quickly took on a patriotic flavour, with Galloway's blue colours of Scotland clashing O'Shaunnesy's green colours of Ireland, mirroring the
Old Firm football derby between
Rangers and
Celtic, respectively. This football allusion became particularly prominent when the two met again at Verona Football Club again for the title, though the match changed into a
Lumberjack match, the result and champion remained the same. With Galloway defeated, O'Shaunessy continued to dominate by again defending his title against Vampiro on 17 March. Galloway earned himself a
two out of three falls match against the champion the following day, however, which O'Shaunessy won two falls to one; the next day produced the same result in a match O'Shaunessy claimed was his best on the
independent circuit. With their rivalry intensifying, Galloway's next challenge to O'Shaunessy was given the stipulation of a
Last Man Standing match. O'Shaunessy retained the title, as he also did in June with the same stipulation. Finally, on 28 August, O'Shaunessy lost the IWW International Heavyweight Championship in a singles match to Galloway in what would be his last appearance with the promotion.
British promotions (2005–2007) As well as wrestling in Ireland, O'Shaunessy occasionally traveled to
Great Britain to make appearances on the
British independent circuit. In April 2006, he was brought into
Wales' Celtic Wrestling promotion as a contender for their top title but was defeated by the champion, Chris Recall. Later that year in November, he was employed by
London's LDN Wrestling to appear on their
Capital TV show where, after quickly defeating William Hill, he gained an LDN Championship match against Tex Benedict which ended with Benedict winning by disqualification and O'Shaunessy attacking him after the match. During his time overseas, he worked for Brian Dixon's
All Star Wrestling, which gave him a taste of large audiences that he had not experienced in Ireland, As well as making top contender appearances based on his growing reputation, O'Shaunessy also brought with him to Britain his long-standing rivalry with
Drew Galloway. He had already wrestled in Galloway's home promotion,
British Championship Wrestling (BCW), twice in 2005, losing to Jay Phoenix on the day before Phoenix lost to Galloway in March, and returning in September to defeat one of BCW's top stars,
Wolfgang, via
countout. In the middle of their IWW feud the following year, O'Shaunessy went back to Scotland to take part in BCW's Path To Glory tour, defeating Galloway on the first night but conceding a loss to him the next night in May. Though their feud finished in Ireland in August 2006, it continued on across the
Irish Sea when the two wrestled for the umbrella promotion Real Quality Wrestling (RQW) the following year. The two first met during April's
Taking On The World show which ended in a double countout. The lack of a decision led to a rematch in June, and one of O'Shaunessy's last on the independent circuit, where Galloway picked up the victory in a
No Holds Barred match ahead of an RQW Heavyweight Championship match.
World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE Early appearances and developmental territories (2006–2009) On 13 November 2006, O'Shaunessy and English wrestler
Stu Sanders appeared on the
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) show
Raw at the
Manchester Evening News Arena, as part of the security team ejecting
D-Generation X (DX) from ringside, only for O'Shaunessy to later receive a
Pedigree from
Triple H. The following day, he and
Drew Galloway had a tryout match against each other. In April 2007, he received another set of tryout matches in Milan and London against Galloway, as well as Sanders, WWE talent
Jimmy Wang Yang, and Monster Factory alumnus
Domino. This led to an offer and signing of a developmental contract with WWE, at which point he relocated to the
United States. and
Jake Hager before teaming with
Kafu (and managed by
Dave Taylor) in the tournament to crown the inaugural
FCW Florida Tag Team Champions. They advanced past the first round after defeating The British Lions ("Thee Superstar" Christopher Gray and "The Rascal" Tommy Taylor), but lost to Brad Allen and
Nick Nemeth in the second round. By September, O'Shaunessy had focused his attention on singles competition and wrestled his way to the top of the card, successfully defeating former partner Hager for the
Florida Heavyweight Championship. He defended the title against Hager on 23 October and took on a number of competitors, with
Eric Escobar and
Joe Hennig consistently earning themselves into contention. Eventually, on 11 December, O'Shaunessy lost the title to Escobar in a four-way match also involving Hennig and Drew McIntyre (formerly Drew Galloway). unsuccessfully challenging
Justin Angel for the Florida Heavyweight Championship in November. On 22 July 2008, O'Shaunessy worked a dark match at a
SmackDown taping, losing to
R-Truth. The following year in May, O'Shaunessy began appearing at the Raw
brand's house shows, and on both 8 and 9 May, he defeated
Jamie Noble, along with another dark match victory over Noble before an episode of
Raw.
WWE Champion (2009–2010) On the 30 June 2009 episode of
ECW, Farrelly made his unannounced debut as a
villain under the shortened ring name of Sheamus, quickly defeating
local competitor Oliver John. Sheamus soon entered into a critically well-received After exchanging victories in the following weeks they competed in a
no disqualification match on 1 September which was won by Sheamus. Sheamus then began a feud with
Shelton Benjamin which was
hot-shot into a deciding match on 27 October which Sheamus won. His rivalry with Benjamin ended prematurely when Sheamus was moved to the
Raw brand. He made his
Raw debut by defeating
Jamie Noble on 26 October. In the following weeks, he continued to attack Noble causing him to retire, and, in lieu of competition, assaulted the timekeeper and commentator
Jerry Lawler on 16 November. The following week Sheamus appeared on his first WWE
pay-per-view event,
Survivor Series, on 22 November, when he was part of
The Miz's team in a
traditional five-on-five elimination tag team match. He eliminated fellow Irishman
Finlay and made the final pinfall to eliminate the opposing captain
John Morrison and survive along with The Miz and longtime former rival
Drew McIntyre. in December 2009 The following night on
Raw, Sheamus won a "break-through" battle royal for wrestlers who had never won a
world championship, to become the number one contender to
John Cena's
WWE Championship. At the contract signing immediately afterward, Sheamus put Cena through the table, and the
Raw guest host,
Jesse Ventura, announced it would be a
Tables match. On 13 December at the
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view, Sheamus defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, his first championship in WWE, making him the first Irish-born WWE Champion. The following night on
Raw, Sheamus was awarded the 2009 Breakout Superstar of the Year
Slammy Award. He would make his first title defense on the final
Raw of 2009, getting disqualified in a rematch against Cena. On 31 January 2010 at the
Royal Rumble, Sheamus defeated
Randy Orton by disqualification to retain the WWE Championship, following interference from Orton's teammate
Cody Rhodes. On 21 February, Sheamus lost the WWE Championship at the
Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in the
Elimination Chamber match after he was eliminated by
Triple H. During the match, Sheamus suffered a
concussion and as a result did not attend
Raw the following night. Upon his return, he attacked Triple H in revenge, setting up a match at
WrestleMania XXVI on 28 March where Sheamus lost. At
Extreme Rules on 25 April, Sheamus attacked Triple H at the beginning of the show and later defeated him in a
Street Fight. After a series of kicks to the head to win, he continued his assault after the match finished resulting in Triple H being written off television for ten months. On 20 June at
Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, Sheamus won a fatal four-way match, following interference from
The Nexus that allowed him to pin Cena, winning the WWE Championship for the second time and being named the one-hundredth WWE Champion in history. He defeated Cena in a
steel cage match to retain the championship on 18 July at the
Money in the Bank pay-per-view, after The Nexus interfered again. He retained the title against Orton on 15 August at
SummerSlam by disqualification. On 19 September at
Night of Champions, Sheamus lost the WWE Championship to Orton in a six-pack elimination challenge, which also included Cena,
Chris Jericho,
Edge and
Wade Barrett. Sheamus received his rematch for the title on 3 October at
Hell in a Cell, but was again defeated by Orton in a Hell in a Cell match.
King Sheamus and Royal Rumble winner (2010–2012) King of the Ring Sheamus bounced back on 29 November, with wins over
Kofi Kingston and
John Morrison to become the
2010 King of the Ring, after receiving a bye through the second round. As "King Sheamus", he faced Morrison again on 19 December at the
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view for a future WWE Championship match, but lost in a ladder match. Going into 2011, he continued to lose to Morrison in a mixture of singles and tag team matches. Triple H returned on 28 February and took revenge for his scripted ten-month injury by putting Sheamus through the announce table. On 7 March, after losing a match against
Daniel Bryan, Sheamus challenged him to a rematch with his WWE career on the line against Bryan's
United States Championship. He won his match against Bryan the following week, winning his first United States title. The rematch between Sheamus and Bryan took place on 3 April, during the pre-show of
WrestleMania XXVII, and ended in a draw after interference from the lumberjacks. The next night on
Raw, Sheamus retained the United States Championship against Bryan in a rematch. In the
2011 Supplemental Draft, Sheamus was drafted to the
SmackDown brand, and made his SmackDown debut on 29 April by attacking Kingston. He brought the United States Championship to SmackDown, but lost it back to the Raw brand at
Extreme Rules on 1 May when Kingston defeated him in a Tables match. On the 3 June episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus lost a World Heavyweight Championship match to
Randy Orton due to biased
refereeing from
Christian. Two weeks later, he lost a match to Christian, ending his chance to compete in the World Heavyweight Championship match at
Capitol Punishment on 19 June. At
Money in the Bank on 17 July, he competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match for a World Heavyweight Championship match contract, but lost. On the 29 July episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus started a feud with
Mark Henry over Henry being a bully, turning
face in the process. At
SummerSlam on 14 August, he lost to Henry via countout. Sheamus went on a fourteen match winning streak that ended after interference from Christian, with whom he had been feuding. During this time, Sheamus defeated Christian in three consecutive matches at
Hell in a Cell on 2 October,
Vengeance on 23 October, and on
SmackDown. He then went on a twelve match winning streak, building towards winning the
Royal Rumble on 29 January 2012. He entered the
match twenty-second and won by last eliminating
Chris Jericho to earn a main event championship match at
WrestleMania XXVIII.
World Heavyweight Champion (2012–2013) in April 2012 On 19 February at
Elimination Chamber, Sheamus attacked World Heavyweight Champion
Daniel Bryan after Bryan retained his title, thus challenging Bryan the
World Heavyweight Championship on 1 April at
WrestleMania XXVIII, which Sheamus won in a record 18 seconds. On the 6 April episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus lost to
Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match by disqualification, thus earning Del Rio a future title match and starting a feud between the two. On 29 April at
Extreme Rules, Sheamus successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Bryan in a two out-of-three falls match. Sheamus then returned to his feud with Del Rio which eventually began to include
Chris Jericho and
Randy Orton. The rivalry between them culminated in a fatal-four-way match for the World Heavyweight Championship on 20 May at
Over the Limit, where Sheamus pinned Jericho to retain the title. Del Rio earned another title shot on the 25 May episode of
SmackDown, but suffered a concussion a week before their match at
No Way Out and was subsequently replaced by
Dolph Ziggler; Sheamus retained the title in their match at the event on 17 June. Sheamus went on to retain the title against Del Rio and Ziggler over the next few months, including at
Money in the Bank on 15 July,
SummerSlam on 19 August, and
Night of Champions on 16 September. On 28 October at
Hell in a Cell, Sheamus lost the World Heavyweight Championship to
Big Show, ending his reign, which was the third longest in the title's history, at 210 days. Sheamus faced Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship on November at
Survivor Series, defeating Big Show by disqualification, failing to win the title. Afterward, Sheamus repeatedly hit Big Show with a steel chair. This led to a Chairs match on 16 December at
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, where Sheamus again failed to regain the title. On the 24 December episode of
Raw, Sheamus defeated Big Show in a non-title lumberjack match. On 27 January 2013, at the
Royal Rumble, Sheamus entered the Royal Rumble at number eleven, eliminating five other wrestlers before
Ryback eliminated him. After being a frequent target of
The Shield, Sheamus gained vengeance on the stable when he united with
John Cena and Ryback to attack them. This culminated in a six-man tag team match at
Elimination Chamber, where the Shield emerged victorious. In late February, Sheamus aligned himself with
Randy Orton to feud with The Shield. Over the next weeks, Sheamus and Orton saved each other from attacks by The Shield and Big Show. On the 15 March episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus and Orton were then allowed to pick a third partner to face the Shield in a six-man tag team match at
WrestleMania 29 and chose Ryback. Three days later on
Raw, however, Ryback was booked for another match at WrestleMania, leaving the spot open. Later that night, Big Show saved the two from an attack by The Shield and was recruited as their partner. On 7 April at WrestleMania 29, Sheamus, Orton and Big Show were defeated by The Shield, after which both men were knocked out by Big Show. The following night on
Raw, Sheamus and Orton faced off in a match to earn a match with Big Show, however, the match ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered. Sheamus and Orton then defeated Big Show in two handicap matches on
SmackDown and
Raw.
United States Champion (2013–2014) in May 2014. Later that month, Sheamus re-entered a feud with
Mark Henry after the two repeatedly attacked each other backstage. Sheamus and Henry then challenged each other in tests of strength, but with Sheamus unable to best Henry, he resorted to attacking Henry. After Sheamus attacked a commentary-bound Henry during a match, Henry whipped Sheamus with a belt, prompting a
strap match on 19 May at
Extreme Rules, where Sheamus emerged victorious. Sheamus then began feuding with
Damien Sandow, when Sandow hosted a series of mental challenges on
SmackDown, and Sheamus repeatedly interrupted and tried to solve the challenges. However, when Sheamus failed to solve the puzzles, he instead resorted to physical violence. On 16 June, during the
Payback pre-show, Sheamus defeated Sandow in a singles match. The following night on
Raw, Sheamus was defeated by Sandow and
Cody Rhodes in a handicap match after Sandow pinned him with a roll-up. The rivalry culminated in a Dublin Street Fight on the 28 June episode of
SmackDown, where Sheamus emerged victorious. On 14 July at
Money in the Bank, Sheamus competed in the WWE Championship
Money in the Bank ladder match, but was unsuccessful as the match was won by Orton. During the match, Sheamus suffered a
hematoma on his left thigh after being thrown into a horizontal ladder, which prevented him from competing that week. Sheamus returned to in-ring action on the 22 July episode of
Raw, losing to World Heavyweight Champion
Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. On 7 August, WWE confirmed Sheamus had suffered a torn
labrum in his shoulder that would require surgery, and was expected to miss between four and six months of ring action. On 26 January 2014, at the
Royal Rumble, Sheamus returned as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match; he was eliminated by
Roman Reigns in the final three. The following night on
Raw, Sheamus, Bryan and
John Cena qualified for the Elimination Chamber match for the
WWE World Heavyweight Championship; he was eliminated by Christian in the match. This began a brief feud leading up to WrestleMania, in which Sheamus consistently was victorious. He was part of the final four in the
André the Giant Memorial battle royal at
WrestleMania XXX on 6 April, before he and Del Rio eliminated each other. On 14 April, Sheamus participated in the Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament, which was held on
Raw. He advanced to the next round by defeating
Jack Swagger, before losing to
Bad News Barrett in the semi-finals on 21 April. On the 5 May episode of
Raw, Sheamus won a 20-man battle royal to win the United States Championship for the second time, last eliminating previous champion
Dean Ambrose. Sheamus then began feuding with
Cesaro and his manager
Paul Heyman, culminating in a match between Sheamus and Cesaro for the title at
Payback on 1 June, which Sheamus won. On 9 June, Sheamus defeated Bad News Barrett to qualify for the
Money in the Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship; the match was won by Cena on 29 June. Sheamus was in the Intercontinental Championship battle royal at
Battleground on 20 July; the match was won by
The Miz. Sheamus successfully defended the title against Cesaro at
Night of Champions on 21 September, and The Miz at
Hell in a Cell on 26 October. He lost the title to
Rusev on 3 November, in a match which aired exclusively on the
WWE Network ending his reign at 182 days. Following this, Sheamus was written off television when he and
Big Show were attacked by Rusev and
Mark Henry, allowing Sheamus time off for surgery.
The League of Nations (2015–2016) On the 30 March episode of
Raw, Sheamus returned from injury, having drastically changed his look, including a mohawk and braided beard, appearing to save
Daniel Bryan and
Dolph Ziggler from an attack by
Bad News Barrett, but then attacked Bryan and Ziggler instead, turning
heel in the process for the first time since 2011. Sheamus then explained his heel turn and new attitude by claiming that "the era of underdogs is over", resulting in a feud with Ziggler. On the 16 April episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus announced that he would face Ziggler in a
Kiss Me Arse match at
Extreme Rules on 26 April, which he lost. However, Sheamus refused to follow the stipulation, and instead made Ziggler kiss his behind, despite losing. At
Payback on 17 May, Sheamus defeated Ziggler in a rematch. At
Elimination Chamber on 31 May, Sheamus participated in the
Elimination Chamber match for the vacant
Intercontinental Championship, but was unsuccessful as the match was won by
Ryback. At
Money in the Bank on 14 June, Sheamus won the
Money in the Bank ladder match to earn a
WWE World Heavyweight Championship contract. Sheamus then began a feud with
Randy Orton, who was also part of the ladder match, with both men attacking each other and facing off in tag-team matches. Sheamus lost to Orton at
Battleground on 19 July, but defeated Orton at
SummerSlam on 23 August. In November, Sheamus competed in the tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, being eliminated in the first round by
Cesaro. At
Survivor Series on 22 November, Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated newly crowned champion
Roman Reigns, after he refused to shake hands with
Triple H, to win the title, thus aligning with Triple H and
The Authority. On the 30 November episode of
Raw, Sheamus announced that he had formed his own stable called The League of Nations with
Alberto Del Rio,
Rusev and
King Barrett, with the members of which having been born outside the United States, while remaining associated with the Authority. In addition, he proclaimed his championship reign as "Sheamus 5:15", a play on
Austin 3:16 and Reigns' short-lived title reign of five minutes and 15 seconds. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs on 13 December, Sheamus defeated Reigns in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match after interference from The League of Nations. After the match, Reigns attacked Sheamus and Triple H. This resulted in a rematch the following night on
Raw for the title with the stipulation that Reigns would be fired should he lose. Despite interference from chairman
Mr. McMahon, Sheamus lost the title, ending his reign at 22 days. On the 4 January 2016 episode of
Raw, he failed to regain the title from Reigns with McMahon as
special guest referee. On 24 January, Sheamus entered the
Royal Rumble at number 29, where he made to the final four, before being eliminated by Reigns. At
Fastlane on 21 February,
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (
Big E,
Kofi Kingston and
Xavier Woods) began mocking The League of Nations, calling them the "league of booty". They continued to mock The League of Nations in various segments and skits while simultaneously feuding with other teams. At
Roadblock on 12 March, Sheamus and Barrett unsuccessfully challenged for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The next night on
Raw, The New Day defeated Del Rio and Rusev, prompting all four members of The League to attack The New Day after the match. The League of Nations then challenged and defeated The New Day in a six-man tag team match at
WrestleMania 32 on 3 April. After the match, they were confronted and attacked by
Mick Foley,
Stone Cold Steve Austin, and
Shawn Michaels. The next night on
Raw, Barrett and Sheamus faced The New Day in another tag team title match, in a losing effort. After the match, the League of Nations blamed Barrett for being the "weak link" and attacked him, ejecting him from the group, before the rest of the team was attacked by
The Wyatt Family. The feud was suspended within a month as
Bray Wyatt suffered an injury, which led to Del Rio saying that The League might split soon as a result. On the 28 April episode of
SmackDown, The League of Nations would compete in a six-man tag match against
Sami Zayn,
Cesaro and
Kalisto, however, Del Rio and Rusev walked out during the match. Sheamus, who would do the same, confronted Del Rio and Rusev during a brawl, and said that the league is finished, confirming the end of the group. Del Rio would also confirm in an interview that the group was finished. At
Money in the Bank on 19 June, he lost to
Apollo Crews.
The Bar (2016–2019) On 19 July at the
2016 WWE draft, Sheamus was drafted to
Raw. Sheamus would then begin a rivalry with
Cesaro, after losing to Cesaro on the 1 August episode of
Raw, the two would continue to brawl after the match with match officials having to pull them apart. On the 8 August episode of
Raw, after losing to Cesaro in a rematch, he would later cost Cesaro the United States Championship after interfering in his main event impromptu match against
Rusev. The following week, Raw General Manager
Mick Foley booked Sheamus and Cesaro in a Best of Seven Series, with the first match taking place on 21 August on the
SummerSlam kick-off show, which Sheamus won. Sheamus would defeat Cesaro in the second and third matches, but lost to Cesaro in the fourth, fifth and sixth matches. At
Clash of Champions on 25 September, the match ended in a no contest, leaving their series tied at 3–3. The next night on
Raw, Foley decided to make the two partners to receive a future
Raw Tag Team Championship opportunity. Later that night, they defeated a few
local competitors, but still did not seem to be seeing eye to eye. Sheamus and Cesaro defeated
The New Day (
Big E and
Kofi Kingston) on the 24 October episode of
Raw, and defeated Big E and
Xavier Woods by disqualification at
Hell in a Cell on 30 October. On the 7 November episode of
Raw, Sheamus and Cesaro were announced as part of Team Raw for the
10–on–10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match at
Survivor Series on 20 November, which Team Raw won with Sheamus and Cesaro being the sole survivors of their team. The next night on
Raw, Sheamus and Cesaro again failed to capture Raw Tag Team Championship from The New Day, represented by Big E and Kingston. After hinting at a break-up, the pair got into a bar brawl with men who offended them and finally began to cooperate with each other, thus turning Sheamus into a face. On 18 December at
Roadblock: End of the Line, Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Big E and Kingston to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, marking Sheamus' first tag team championship in both his WWE and entire wrestling career. On 29 January on the
Royal Rumble kickoff show, Sheamus and Cesaro lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and failed to regain them after
The Hardy Boyz won the title at
WrestleMania 33 on 2 April. in May 2017 The following night on
Raw, Sheamus and Cesaro defeated
Enzo Amore and Big Cass to become the number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championship at
Payback. At the event on 30 April, and after failing to regain the title, both Sheamus and Cesaro turned heel by attacking The Hardy Boyz. From there, now known as "The Bar", their entrances became further synchronized as they wore the same attire into the ring. They then won a
tag team turmoil to earn another opportunity for the tag title at
Extreme Rules. The match was made a
steel cage match after
Matt Hardy defeated Sheamus on the 22 May episode of
Raw, in a match where the winner chose the stipulation for their Extreme Rules bout. At the event on 4 June, The Bar defeated The Hardy Boyz to win the Raw Tag Team Championship for the second time, making Cesaro a three-time champion and Sheamus a two-time champion. The duo made their first televised defence of the title against The Hardy Boyz on the 12 June episode of
Raw in a two out of three falls match where the two teams tied at 1–1 after being counted out. They defended their title against The Hardy Boyz at the
Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view on 9 July in a 30-minute
Iron Man tag team match by the score 4–3. The Bar lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to
Seth Rollins and
Dean Ambrose at
SummerSlam on 20 August. The Bar lost their rematch for the title to Rollins and Ambrose at
No Mercy on 24 September. On 22 October at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, they teamed with
The Miz,
Braun Strowman and
Kane against the reunited
Shield and
Kurt Angle (who replaced
Roman Reigns after he was not medically cleared to compete), in a five-on-three TLC match, which they went on to lose. On the 6 November episode of
Raw, the duo regained their titles from Rollins and Ambrose, winning the title for the third time. At
Survivor Series, on 19 November, they were defeated by
The Usos (
Jey Uso and
Jimmy Uso) in an interbrand
Champion vs Champion match. The Bar later lost the tag team titles to the team of Rollins and
Jason Jordan on the Christmas episode of
Raw. at
WrestleMania 34 On 28 January 2018, The Bar won back the title at
Royal Rumble, setting the record for the most reigns as a team at four. Earlier in the Royal Rumble match, Sheamus entered at number 11 and was quickly eliminated by
Heath Slater, lasting just one second in the match. Following consecutive losses to Titus Worldwide (
Apollo Crews and
Titus O'Neil) on
Raw, they defended their title against the two at
Elimination Chamber, retaining successfully at the event on 25 February. On the 12 March episode of
Raw, after Strowman single-handedly won a tag team battle royale to determine the number one contenders for their tag team titles at
WrestleMania 34 although he lacked a partner, Angle, by then Raw General Manager, still allowed Strowman to wrestle for the titles, under the provision that he reveal his mystery partner at the event. At the event on 8 April, Strowman revealed his partner to be a 10 year old fan called
Nicholas. The Bar was defeated by Strowman and Nicholas, therefore losing the tag team titles and in turn making Nicholas the youngest champion of any kind in WWE history. On 17 April, Sheamus and Cesaro were both drafted to SmackDown as part of the
Superstar Shake-up. Despite the trade, they still had an opportunity to win the Raw Tag Team Championship as they faced
Matt Hardy and
Bray Wyatt at the
Greatest Royal Rumble on 27 April, but failed to win the titles. The Bar entered a short feud with
The New Day (
Big E,
Kofi Kingston and
Xavier Woods), losing to Big E and Woods, and failing to qualify for the
Money in the Bank ladder match. After going on a hiatus, the duo returned in late July to take part in a number one contendership tournament for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship and beat The Usos to advance to the finals, where they lost to Big E and Kingston. After failing to become number one contenders again, the duo finally was gifted a title match. At
Super Show-Down on 6 October, The Bar failed to win the titles from Kingston and Woods. At
SmackDown 1000, The Bar won the titles from Big E and Woods, with the help of
Big Show. They retained against Big E and Kingston in a rematch at
Crown Jewel on 2 November. The Bar lost to Raw Tag Team Champions
AOP (
Akam and
Rezar) in an interbrand Champion vs Champion match at
Survivor Series on 18 November. On the 27 November episode of
SmackDown, they had a backstage argument with Big Show, causing him to break away from the team. At
TLC on 16 December, they successfully defended the championship against The Usos and Kingston and Woods in a
triple threat tag team match. On the 8 January 2019 episode of
SmackDown, they accepted a challenge from
The Miz and
Shane McMahon, which would lead to a tag team title match at the
Royal Rumble pay-per-view on 27 January, where they lost the titles. The following
SmackDown, they lost a number one contenders match to The Usos. The Bar defeated Kingston in a handicap match at
Fastlane on 10 March. At
WrestleMania 35 on 7 April, The Bar lost to The Usos in a
fatal four-way tag team match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. The following week on
SmackDown, Sheamus reportedly suffered a
concussion in a six-man tag team match. Cesaro was drafted to
Raw a few weeks later, and later confirmed in an interview that The Bar was over.
Return to singles competition (2019–2021) , where he drove the pace car for the opening laps of the event On 19 September, it was reported that Sheamus was healed and ready to return to the ring. On the 29 November episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus, with his old hairstyle, appeared in a vignette announcing that he will return soon. On the 3 January 2020 episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus returned from injury, appearing to save
Shorty G from an attack by
The Revival (
Dash Wilder and
Scott Dawson), but then delivered a
Brogue Kick to Shorty G. Sheamus then defeated Shorty G at
Royal Rumble on 26 January, and on the 31 January episode of
SmackDown. He began a feud with
Jeff Hardy, insulting him for his various addiction problems, but was defeated by him in the first round of the Intercontinental Championship tournament on the 22 May episode of
SmackDown. On the 29 May episode of
SmackDown, Hardy was "
arrested" after crashing his car into
Elias, however later in the episode, Hardy would cause a distraction for Sheamus, costing him a match against
Daniel Bryan, and attacked Sheamus after the match. The feud led to a match at
Backlash on 14 June, which Sheamus won. On the 24 July episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus lost to Hardy in a Bar Fight, ending their feud. Sheamus then started a short feud with
Big E, after he wanted help from the SmackDown wrestlers against
Retribution's attacks, but Sheamus denied him, before mocking him. Sheamus lost to Big E on the 21 August episode of
SmackDown, at
Payback on 30 August and on the 9 October episode of
SmackDown, ending their feud. As part of the
2020 Draft in October, Sheamus was drafted to the
Raw brand. On the 26 October episode of
Raw, Sheamus defeated
Riddle to qualify for Team Raw at Survivor Series. Later on, he was involved in a triple threat match against
Keith Lee and
Braun Strowman for the latter's qualification. He also competed in a tag team match with Strowman against Lee and Riddle in a losing effort. At Survivor Series on 22 November, Team Raw defeated Team SmackDown in a clean sweep. Sheamus eliminated
Seth Rollins with a
Brogue Kick to score the first elimination. In November, Sheamus began a storyline with
Drew McIntyre where their real-life friendship was acknowledged. On the 30 November episode of
Raw, Sheamus was a guest on Miz TV, where
The Miz and
John Morrison berated him for his friendship with McIntyre to which Sheamus defended McIntyre from the accusations, and attempted to attack Miz, but was beat down by Miz and Morrison. Sheamus teamed with McIntyre to defeat Miz and Morrison in a tag team match later on in the night. At the
Royal Rumble on 31 January 2021, Sheamus entered at number 27, but was eliminated by Strowman. On the 1 February episode of
Raw, Sheamus delivered a
Brogue Kick to McIntyre after shortly confronting then Royal Rumble winner,
Edge. He bemoaned the fact that he was only acknowledged as just "Drew McIntyre's friend", implying that he was overshadowed by his success as the WWE Champion. As a result, he terminated his friendship with McIntyre, and vowed to take the WWE Championship away from him. At the
Elimination Chamber on 21 February, Sheamus faced McIntyre, Hardy,
AJ Styles,
Kofi Kingston and
Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. Sheamus would eliminate Kingston but would be the second to last man eliminated in the match by Styles. Following the event, Sheamus would continue to feud with McIntyre and the two faced each other on the 1 March episode of
Raw, where Sheamus was defeated. The two had a rematch the following week in a No Disqualification match, where Sheamus would once again lose to McIntyre. Sheamus and McIntyre would fight once more in a No Holds Barred match at
Fastlane on 21 March, with McIntyre defeating Sheamus, ending the feud. On the 22 March episode of
Raw, Sheamus would face WWE Champion
Bobby Lashley in a losing effort and backstage, attacked United States Champion
Riddle. The following week, Sheamus defeated Riddle in a non-title match to earn a championship opportunity at
WrestleMania 37. On the second night of the event on 11 April, Sheamus defeated Riddle to win the
United States Championship for the third time. He would go on to defend the title against the likes of
Humberto Carrillo and
Ricochet over the next several months. At
SummerSlam on 21 August, Sheamus dropped the title to
Damian Priest, ending his third reign at 132 days.
The Brawling Brutes (2021–2023) Ridge Holland and
Butch, at the
Clash at the Castle event in September 2022 As part of the
2021 Draft, Sheamus was drafted to the
SmackDown brand. In November, Sheamus formed an alliance with
Ridge Holland, after Holland would refer to him as his idol and help Sheamus win his matches. At the
Day 1 event on 1 January 2022, he and Holland teamed up to defeat
Cesaro and
Ricochet. At
Royal Rumble on 29 January, Sheamus entered at No. 17 but was eliminated by
Bad Bunny. In March, they entered a feud with
The New Day (
Kofi Kingston and
Xavier Woods), where on the 11 March episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus and Holland would introduce
Butch as part of their stable. On the second night of
WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Sheamus and Holland defeated Kingston and Woods in a quick match. At
Money in the Bank on 2 July, Sheamus competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by
Theory. On the 29 July episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus faced
Drew McIntyre in a "
Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook" to determine the #1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at
Clash at the Castle, but lost. On the 19 August episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus won a
fatal five-way match, earning a match against
Gunther for the
Intercontinental Championship at
Clash at the Castle. At the event on 3 September, Sheamus lost to Gunther, but received a standing ovation from the Cardiff crowd after the match, turning face in the process. At
Extreme Rules, The Brawling Brutes defeated
Imperium in a Six-Man Tag Team Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. At
Survivor Series: WarGames on 26 November, The Brawling Brutes along with Drew McIntyre and
Kevin Owens lost to
The Bloodline in a
WarGames match. In January 2023, Sheamus competed in the
Royal Rumble match but was eliminated by McIntyre and Gunther. He later faced both in a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship at
WrestleMania 39 in April, where Gunther retained the title. By September, Sheamus had suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out of action. During his absence, The Brawling Brutes disbanded after Holland walked out on Butch during a tag team match.
Return from injury (2024–present) Sheamus returned from injury on the 15 April 2024 episode of
Raw, defeating
Ivar. At the Night 1 of the
WWE Draft on the 26 April episode of
SmackDown, Sheamus was drafted to the
Raw brand. In August 2024, Sheamus entered into a feud with a now-renamed
Pete Dunne, who had grown tired of the nickname "Butch" and was infuriated by Sheamus' treatment of him. After multiple attacks, interrupting varying matches (additionally fuelled by Sheamus taunting Dunne with his old nickname), their feud culminated in a Good 'Ol Fashioned Donnybrook Match, which Sheamus won, ending their feud. Following the feud, he set his sights on earning the Intercontinental Championship, the sole championship that had eluded him thus far in his career, leading to several matches with reigning Intercontinental Champion
Bron Breakker, of which one was interrupted by
Ludwig Kaiser, leading to disqualification. This culminated in a triple threat match between Sheamus, Breakker, and Kaiser at
Survivor Series: WarGames where Breakker retained the championship. Sheamus got another opportunity at Breakker's Intercontinental Championship at
Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVIII but was unsuccessful. After some time off, Sheamus returned on the 5 May episode of
Raw, defeated
Austin Theory, before starting a feud against
Rusev, that culminated in a
Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match at
Clash in Paris where he was defeated. He defeated
Shinsuke Nakamura by
pinfall in the first round
The Last Time Is Now Tournament on the November 10, 2025, episode of
Raw. The following week on the November 17, 2025, episode of
Raw, he teamed up with Rey Mysterio and John Cena (on Cena's last ever appearance on Raw) to defeat
The Judgment Day. Sheamus was later removed from the Last Time Is Now Tournament due to suffering a shoulder injury. == Other media ==