Over the years one of the biggest changes fans have seen in the professional wrestling industry is the development of characters. In today’s era, there don’t seem to be any larger than life characters like in years’ past. Names that immediately come to mind are Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Shawn Michaels, and more.
Some of WWE’s biggest stars today include Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar, however, their stardom is more due to their athletic accomplishments than their actual characters. Recently, SmackDown Live Tag Team Champion Sheamus was interviewed by Solo Wrestling to discuss the matter. “The Celtic Warrior” feels that the creation of characters in wrestling today has been “abandoned”:
“Today a very different product is offered,” said Sheamus. “I think we’re missing some characters. Yes, I believe it. I think we are leaving the creation of characters a little abandoned.
“Any important series like Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead base their product around the characters and their background. I think the athletes and wrestlers that we have today are the best in the history of the business, although in turn I think the business has changed to what people want to see.”
Sheamus is gearing up to defend his SDL Tag Team Titles, alongside Cesaro, at the Royal Rumble. The pair will be facing off against Shane McMahon and The Miz. The Royal Rumble goes down from the Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on January 27th. Check out the updated card for the pay-per-view (PPV) here:
- WWE Universal Championship: (C) Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor
- WWE Championship: (C) Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
- 30-Man Royal Rumble Match: R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Mustafa Ali, John Cena, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Apollo Crews, Elias, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Kalisto, TBA
- 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match: Carmella, Naomi, Zelina Vega, Natalya, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Alicia Fox, Mickie James, TBA
- WWE RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
- WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
- WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship: (C) The Bar vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz
- Fatal Four-Way Match For The WWE Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Hideo Itami
- WWE United States Championship: (C) Rusev vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
What do you think about Sheamus’ comments regarding character creation in wrestling today?
