Sheamus Talks Wrestling After Jerry Lawler's Heart Attack, Chemistry With Del Rio, Ziggler, More
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus joined Doug Mortman and Mike Riker on Busted Open. You can hear Busted Open on Sirius 94, XM 208, and Sports Zone 860. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Sheamus on the banning of the Brogue Kick: "I understand you have to keep evolving and keep adding moves to your arsenal. There are certain guys you cant use certain moves on. The great thing about the Brogue kick was I could literally use that on anybody. Like those are always the greatest moves, the RKO, the Stone Cold Stunner, even the Pedigree. Moves like that can be used on anybody at anytime. The Brogue is definitely my move and it has brought me a lot of success in the WWE. But I always keep evolving and adding moves and just trying to keep getting better and better. The cloverleaf is a move that was mastered by Dean Malenko in WCW. He has made hundreds of superstars tap out and I am just very appreciative of him to give me the move and allow me to use the move which has been pretty successful the last few weeks."
On the chemistry between him and Alberto Del Rio: "It really started back in Miami. We had a few bumps in the road from the start because John Lauranaitis made a Fatal 4 way at Over The Limit. Then I was supposed to face Del Rio at No Way Out and of course he got knocked out by a Great Khali chop, which I will tell you right now, you might as well drop a frying pan or a brick on your head with that thing because that thing is the most painful move I have ever experienced in my life. I took it in a battle royal at Wrestlemania 27 and I have to tell you there was a bump on my head the size of Mount Everest. So we got off to a rocky start but then we got back in, we have had 2 matches so far and he tried to cheat me out last time at Summerslam so he got a shoe in the face. So I think we are sick of looking at each other at this stage and we do have a lot of chemistry, but we are sick of looking at each other and I think right now this PPV match at Night of Champions, I'm hoping it's the last we see each other for quite some time."
Sheamus on the backstage reaction to Jerry Lawler: "Jerry Lawler is part of the WWE family. He is loved by everybody. He has been with the WWE for years and he is loved by the fans and by the superstars. I didn't really know what was going on. It happened during the Bryan/Kane versus Primetime Players match. I just looked up at the screen and saw all the fans turning to the left when Bryan was on the top rope. There is a lot going on backstage where everyone is doing their own thing and I just happen to turn and said to myself 'what's going on?' It looked like a fight was happening or something. Then during the Del Rio/Tyson Kidd match, I saw Jerry Lawler being rushed to the back obviously with the EMT's and the doctors. So literally before my match I didn't know what was going on. Everybody was literally on the edge of their seats trying to find out what was happening with Jerry. Everyone was so concerned and extremely worried. I have to give praise to the EMT's because they were right there with Jerry as soon as it happened along with the doctor. They never gave up and stayed with him the whole time. They kept trying to revive him. They never gave up for one second. They weren't in any hurry to move him to an ambulance until they got those vital signs and his heart going again. We all have to give them credit for saving his life."
Was it hard to concentrate on his match with David Otunga after the incident: "When you go out there all that goes through your mind is 'how is Jerry doing?' My thoughts were with Jerry. But you just have to do what you have to do. I was more concerned however on finding out Jerry's status and how he was doing. I mean I don't like Otunga anyway so beating him was fun and I can do that with my eyes closed. I was mainly concerned with getting to the back and seeing how Jerry was."
More thoughts on Jerry Lawler: "From my own experience, ever since I came to the WWE Jerry has been so helpful to my career and helpful in giving me advice. Even on commentary he has done nothing but try to help build my character and help get me over with everybody. Everybody was concerned for him. Everybody was panicking. I'm telling you right now there were a lot of sleepless nights on Monday and Tuesday for a lot of the WWE family."
On his ascend to one of the top faces of the company: "It all started with the Wrestlemania match because it was a shock to everybody. I always talk to Daniel Bryan about this, and I think its something that's very important. The 'Yes' thing really kicked off after Mania. I remember going in to the Extreme Rules match, I remember Brock Lesnar taking on Cena and there was a lot of hype for that match but me and Bryan were talking about how people really wanted to see me and Bryan at Extreme Rules. To me we were right alongside Brock and Cena because of what happened at Wrestlemania. We went into Mania and not a lot of people were talking about our match. There was no real hype for our match. We knew we could tear it up at Wrestlemania, but the way things happened afterwards has been phenomenal. Bryan has gone off and has had one hell of a run and had all those great matches with CM Punk for the WWE championship. I'll be honest my match with him was one of the best matches of my career without a doubt. It's probably the same on his side. But it's always about staying the course and staying true to who you are. But if you saw the promo Cena had with Punk this past Monday, it shows why he is the best in the business. It's no secret to John that I'm hungry and I'm not satisfied with just the World Heavyweight championship. I want to be the face of the company. That's what I want to be and that's why I work so hard. I want to be the man and be in John's position, but he sets the standards for everybody else. That promo he had with Punk on Monday was out of this world. It was phenomenal."
His thoughts on Dolph Ziggler and him cashing in at anytime: "The thing about Ziggler is that he has literally worked his backside off for years now and he really is picking up steam and has come out and shown even more what he can do in the ring. He is obviously the Money in the Bank winner. He has tried cashing in on me a couple of times and either getting his head kicked off or getting RKO'd, hence the match he is having with Randy Orton at Night of Champions, just because Orton stopped him from cashing in. The danger is always there, but let's be honest I am going up against Alberto Del Rio without the Brogue Kick with potentially David Otunga and Ricardo Rodriguez at ringside. I'm confident in beating Del Rio but there is the chance of Dolph cashing in, but that's what keeps the WWE interesting, keeps everyone on their toes and keeps everyone guessing."