Monday, DECEMBER 14 - 3:02 P.M. (CT)

-Ladies and gentlemen, Sheamus is your new WWE Champion. John Cena overcame every challenge umpteen times and was invincible. However, the WWE rookie pissed in the wind of reality and shocked the wrestling world by defeating Cena to claim the top prize in wrestling.

While wrestling is cyclical, some things will always remain the same. There will always be main event stars and there will always be a group of stars ready to ascend to main event status. In the current landscape of WWE, we all know who the main event stars are. That next group of guys includes Kofi Kingston, MVP, and Ted DiBiase, amongst others. However, Sheamus is not someone many people would have included on that list.

In fact, when Sheamus earned the opportunity to face Cena at the TLC pay-per-view, the common reaction was mixed. Fans were happy that WWE was taking a chance on a young star, but they were mainly disappointed that Sheamus, and not someone a little more established, was inserted into the role. What most everybody agreed upon, however, was that Cena would retain his title, thus the shock everyone felt when Cena laid on top of a broken table, underneath the foot of the triumphant new champion.

My question is this: Did WWE rush with Sheamus? If Sheamus is going to be a long term main event star, it would have been nice to make his first WWE championship win a big moment. I know Sheamus is a heel and things are different, but let's rewind a little bit, to about a year ago. Jeff Hardy was challenging for the WWE Championship.

Hardy had been with WWE for a long time, off and on, and was one of the most popular guys in the company, if not the most popular. Hardy also became much more well rounded in the ring. So, Vince McMahon had a new main event star that the fans absolutely loved, and he was still reluctant to put the title on him.

So, Hardy's quest for the championship began, complete with Hardy home videos with him displaying a self made WWE Championship belt (I used to make those when I was a kid too). There was a story and the fans had a reason to invest in his chase for the belt. We also knew of Hardy's lifelong passion to earn that title. Having something the fans can relate to should take place regardless of whether the talent is a face or a heel.

Hardy was ripe to win the championship and he came up short. The fans were ready for it and everyone wanted to see it, but Hardy was turned away. It reminded me of when Samoa Joe did not win the TNA Title when he was ready to, about a year before he actually did. Once Hardy won the belt for the first time, it was like we all took the journey with him. Yes, it was a few months too late, but it was special, and it helped greatly that Jim Ross sold it like the moment of the decade.

So, when Sheamus first appeared in ECW less than a year ago, and then on Raw merely weeks ago, we really had no idea who he was and what his goals were. Granted, everyone is different and we won't get cool home video footage from every star. However, in the blink of an eye, the ECW guy became the number one contender and won the WWE Championship in his first try, by beating the guy that nobody could beat straight up, or even in a handicap match.

Once again, Sheamus is the WWE Champion. I love the fact WWE is willing to take a chance on an unknown, but it just seems like they pulled the trigger on this a few weeks ago. I wish when they (WWE) make decisions of this magnitude, they would create some sort of backstory the audience can get behind. That way, last night's win for Sheamus could have been the memorable moment it should have been.

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