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The weeks after WrestleMania tend to include some surprise returns and debuts, and tonight’s Monday Night Raw fit the bill perfectly, featuring the return of a former WWE Champion. That Champion is none other than the Celtic Warrior Sheamus, who hasn’t been in the mix for over 4 months. The last time Sheamus was in the ring was back on February 1st at the Royal Rumble, but Fight Night finally made its return on tonight’s Raw, and it was Austin Theory standing on the opposite side of the ring.
Funnily enough, Theory wasn’t actually supposed to be Sheamus’ opponent, as we saw a backstage segment before the match where Grayson Waller was speaking to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce. Waller ends up getting Theory to step into his spot for the match, and when Theory asks who it’s against, Waller says it’s better as a surprise.
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To say Theory is unhappy about the reveal that the mystery opponent is, in fact, Sheamus would be an understatement, but Theory looks to make the best of it. Theory was the aggressor, but Sheamus soon found his rhythm and unleashed a series of uppercuts on Theory. Theory evaded a charge and knocked Shemus down with a dropkick, but he showboated too early and soon got clotheslined to the mat.
Sheamus hit a brutal backbreaker on Theory and then delivered a second backbreaker before going for a cloverleaf and eventually locking it in. Theory got to the bottom rope and broke the hold, and Theory rolled out towards Waller, who looked incredibly guilty after essentially throwing Theory to the wolves.
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Sheamus ate some big kicks and then slammed Theory down, and while Theory recovered rather quickly, he got rocked with a vicious knee strike to the head right after. Sheamus charged towards Theory, but Theory managed to get out of the way, sending Sheamus into the ringpost. Theory then hit a blockbuster and went for the pin, but Sheamus kicked out.
Sheamus caught Theory and hit white noise from the top rope. As Theory was yelling at Waller and asking him why he did this, Sheamus hit 14 Beats of the Bodhran and then taunted Waller on the outside. Sheamus set up for the Brogue Kick and got it, going for the pin and getting the win in his grand return.
Sheamus looks like he’s ready to jump back into the main event scene, and it will be interesting to see who his first real feud will be with. Raw has several new faces already and is likely only to gain a few more as more call-ups from NXT are revealed, so Sheamus should have a fresh match-up sooner than later.
As for Theory and Waller, this is the latest nail in their Tag Team coffin, and it’s only a matter of time before Theory has enough of Waller’s manipulative ways and finally turns on him. It’s something WWE has been teasing for a while now, but it does seem like we are finally nearing the finish line of that chapter of the story.
What did you think of Sheamus’ return, and who would you like to see him match up against? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
