Reported Reservations About Sheamus' Pending Free Agency

What's next for Sheamus? A jump to a rival company may be on the table, but apparently not everyone there is fully on board with that idea.

The Celtic Warrior's WWE tenure is coming to an end after over 19 years with the company. News broke earlier this week that Sheamus and company reps were unable to come to terms on a new contract.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Sheamus was offered a restructured extension, and he rejected it. One source within WWE told SRS that he was essentially offered less money to stay, which was viewed as an insult after his years of hard work.

Sheamus has since removed all mention of WWE from his social media accounts and his profile has been moved to the alumni section of the company's website, although the belief is that he's still under contract for now.

Upon hearing the news, as is the case any time a high-profile name departs WWE, many fans started to question how long it would be before Sheamus popped up in rival All Elite Wrestling. Ross Sapp says there are those in the company who will push to bring him in, but he's expected to garner heavy interest on the open market.

"AEW sources had no idea that the news was coming, according to those we spoke to in the company. Sheamus and Claudio Castagnoli remain close, and Claudio is expected to be one of many to push for Sheamus in AEW," Ross Sapp reported Monday night.

Sheamus and Castagnoli, formerly known as Cesaro, were a very successful tag team during their days together in WWE. The Bar captured the WWE Tag Team Championship on five different occasions prior to Castagnoli's departure in 2022.

Not everyone in AEW is thrilled with the idea of bringing in Sheamus

AEW isn't exactly hurting for tag teams at the moment, especially if the speculation surrounding The New Day and Motor City Machine Guns coming in proves to be accurate, but a reunion of The Bar could be a ton of fun to watch.

Sheamus would be a natural fit in The Death Riders, or he and Castagnoli could go off on their own, but the possibility of the former WWE Champion taking any precious television time has reportedly generated mixed feelings.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer has spoken to some within the company who have reservations about bringing in someone like Sheamus, who is on the back nine of his career at 48, especially with an already bloated roster.

"Nobody had anything against Sheamus personally. It was just sort of like, 'Here comes another one,'" Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. "The New Day's probably coming, then Sheamus would be coming in, and that's three more slots that people who have been there for a long time, or should be on the way up, or who should be younger, they're going to be iced out again. People weren't really thrilled about that idea."

It's not clear when Sheamus will officially be free of his WWE contract or how long he'll take to consider his options. We'll keep you updated on his status as more information becomes available.

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