MR. TITO: Phony Outrage by Online Wrestling Fans About Sheamus… Why Didn’t You Support Him Before He Left WWE?

Wow, I didn’t know that Sheamus had so many online wrestling fans. Hey, could each of you do me a favor? Do you mind posting receipts of all of that Sheamus merchandise you’ve been buying for the past few years? You know, since you’re such big fans of the guy…

And here we go again… TKO-owned WWE makes a cut or opts not to renew a contract, and the online fans go ballistic. Yet, after that brief outrage, said online fans KEEP WATCHING the WWE.

Reportedly, Sheamus’s deal was coming up to expire and TKO-owned WWE offered him an extension. Now, this wasn’t an extension to continue to current financial terms or to possibly increase his salary… Nope, it was a lesser deal, possibly the 50% less deal that others, such as the New Day, received. He said “no thanks” and now his contract will expire and WWE.com has already moved him to the alumni section.

Sheamus is 48 years old with over 2,000 matches on his body since debuting in 2002. While he’s 48 years old, he has 24 years of bumping inside the ring with 19 of them within WWE rings. On top of that, he’s dealing with spinal stenosis in his neck or the narrowing of the canal within your spine. I see some reports online suggesting that he’s making up to $1 million per year, so at 50%, $500,000 would be his new salary if consistent with other TKO offers.

If you look at his match stats, according to Cage Match, he’s wrestling under 30 matches per year but his wrestling output has really declined since 2018. He went from 145 matches per year to less than 50 for the past 3 years (less than 30 for the past 2), while not performing at all thus far for 2026.

The old adage of “creative had nothing for him” is being used, but what else can you do for a 48 year-old with spinal stenosis in his neck? Seriously, you tell me how he could be used. And don’t tell me he could do another one of those Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus matches where they physically beat each other because I guarantee that took a chunk out of the older Sheamus. Additionally, Sheamus is a 4-time champion… He’s already achieved glory.

Remember when he returned after injury last year and he was SLIGHTLY out-of-shape? The same online wrestling community who MOCKED the older Sheamus for being out-of-shape is attacking the TKO-owned WWE today for not giving him a bigger contract. OH THE HYPOCRISY!

It’s funny because only WWE receives this kind of attention from its fanbase regarding an older wrestler receiving LESS after his peak productive years. You don’t see that in the NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB… Veteran players, past their prime BUT having something in their arsenal to still give, often take lower contracts to chase one more ring. Hell, it’s a skill and an art form for many professional sports clubs to TRADE a player while he’s in his peak just to avoid those past-his-prime years.

Right now, LeBron James who can be argued as either a top 15, top 10, or top 5 NBA player of all time (depends on how much you mark for him) is talking about joining a team for the league minimum. This guy was paid max contract money, yet nobody is going nuclear in the NBA because he’ll suddenly take less. Aaron Rodgers was the highest paid QB at Green Bay and made a fuss anytime he wasn’t (often receiving new contracts to make him paid even higher). Yet in New York and then in Pittsburgh, he took less… Nobody cried “poor Aaron”.

It’s just part of NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB… When you’re skills diminish, and there are statistics and all-pro teams that help measure it, you receive less as a talent. The players are 100% OK with it because they’ve already had their peak earning years and the fans are OK because they still get to see a top talent trying to contribute somehow.

BUT NOT IN PRO WRESTLING! Wrestler salaries must keep going up and up and up and up no matter how old someone gets or how LESS AVAILABLE they become.

And that’s probably due to fans probably knowing there is NO retirement pension for the wrestlers in the TKO-owned WWE versus NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA. PLUS, those football, baseball, hockey, or basketball stars get to KEEP THEIR NAME and make money off their own name. The TKO-owned WWE owns the name “Sheamus” and will likely keep it in case Sheamus dares to work for a competitor like AEW. That’s a bummer, as there should be a rule that if you work at least 15 years for a wrestling company, you get to own the name that you helped make.

I’m still wondering where the Sheamus fans have been for the past few years? You should be upset at WWE limiting his opportunities from over 100 matches through 2018 to under 50 through 2025.

Where are your receipts for buying Sheamus merchandise?

Where are your Social Media posts?

Where are your likes for any YouTube or Social Media post regarding Sheamus?

And remember, the TKO-owned WWE was offering him a new contract. They weren’t just releasing him, but they were offering him a new deal adequate for what he’s become. 48 year-old wrestler capable of providing about 30 matches per year. This is different than R-Truth because you actually saw R-Truth on television before he was released. Sheamus has been absent since November 2025 from any WWE television appearances thanks to shoulder surgery.

Look, it’s unfortunate… Sheamus put in 19 hard years into the WWE and HE SHOULD receive a pension + health insurance for his hard work. BUT, unfortunately, the top wrestlers in the company do NOT want unions nor do they ever want to challenge wrestlers joining the Actor’s Guild as Jesse Ventura suggested WWE talent do before Wrestlemania 2 in 1986.

WWE and wrestling in-general really lacks any transitional plans for wrestlers retiring from the ring and then becoming part of management, whether that’s a road agent, match producer, or joining the creative team. Many top stars such as Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Edge, etc. have retired without any company offering them to join creative teams. The Undertaker overseeing AAA is actually an exception rather than the rule. WWE has more non-wrestlers in its management structure than wrestlers.

I cannot control what wrestling is, and that’s a non-unionized workshop where wrestlers are treated like independent contractors for no benefits or pension. Further, they have to pay their own taxes, which involves needing accountants and sending payments themselves. Buying private health insurance is very expensive, so any wrestlers with families better have a spouse with a great plan at work or else a wrestler is paying dearly for a family insurance plan not stretched among the entire workplace.

I personally feel bad for Sheamus, but I also see that the TKO-owned WWE actually took care of him for the past few years. He worked less and got paid a lot of money for it. Sure, argue that it’s “back pay” for working more often during previous years and for less, but they still employed him for 19 years and gave him repeat raises. And they offered him a new contract instead of offering him nothing, as they have for many other wrestlers.

But I do want to emphasize where were all of these online fans before his contract was set to expire? What investments in time and money did you make to ensure that Sheamus was NOT released by the WWE?

Your outrage is just another way to scream at the TKO-owned WWE, as you cannot put the pipe down no matter how much they disappoint or price gouge you. How about this? Watch LESS of the TKO-owned WWE if it bothers you that match. OR, if there’s a wrestler that you actually like, buy their merchandise and help them remain in the TKO-owned WWE. Spend talking about the wrestler on Social Media and like/share everything you can. Hit the TKO-owned WWE in the analytics, baby.

Otherwise, your fake outrage sucks because it’s so sudden after not praising Sheamus’s under-50 match output for the past 3 years.

THIS stuff is why wrestling fans are so easily mocked and ridiculed, while also being taken advantage of by TKO. TKO knows that wrestling fans are NOT proactive but reactive. However, TKO also knows that each and every one of you are loyal to a fault. Despite how much you complain about every damn thing, they know that you’ll still spend 2-3 hours watching RAW on Monday (even though it sucks) and you’ll pay up for any WWE related content (even though TKO loves to price gouge).

If Sheamus getting lowballed by the TKO-owned WWE pisses you off so much, then cut back on your TKO-owned WWE consumption. SIMPLE…

To me, WWE hasn’t been as good as it was through early 2024… Post Wrestlemania 40 has been BLAH to me, so I’ve consumed LESS of its product. And that’s on top of me converting from watching RAW and Smackdown during the mid 2010s to catching YouTube clips or watching condensed versions on Hulu (though I gave up Hulu). I attend fewer shows, haven’t bought much merchandise.

VOTE with your wallet and your time.

So, if Sheamus getting a lowball offer pissed you off, then cut back. Teach that TKO-owned WWE a lesson. And if many of you cutback on your consumption, it will rock WWE’s numbers and they’ll begin listening.

But then, the TKO-owned WWE will somehow let you down on something else in the future. Rinse & repeat. And you’ll still be watching and financially supporting the TKO-owned WWE.

Last year, you body shamed Sheamus for being slightly out-of-shape following an injury. Now, you’re mad that WWE is letting him go.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ