Sheamus shocked the World Wrestling Entertainment Universe this past Sunday at Survivor Series when he cashed in his Money In The Bank contract minutes after Roman Reigns won the finals of a tournament to crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The Celtic Warrior delivered two Brogue Kicks to Reigns and pinned him to become the new champion. The following night on RAW, it was expected that The Authority would welcome Sheamus as their new chosen one. While Triple H did congratulate the angry Irishman, Sheamus decided to kick off his reign (no pun intended) by reminding fans of his friendship with Rusev and King Barrett.
The trio continued to terrorize Reigns on the Smackdown tapings and have solidified their status as a dedicated trio. While these three men had spent some time teaming together over the last few months, the recent development of Sheamus as WWE World Heavyweight Champion changes the entire dynamic. No matter what is said by these three on television, they each have a role to fulfill now. They are roles that are essential to these trios if success is to be achieved, and since these three foreign fanatics are ruling the roost in WWE, success is mandatory if they wish to stay on top. So where exactly do each of these team members fit?
Rusev
Rusev’s role with the group is that of the enforcer, a title made famous by Arn Anderson, who took on this position with The Four Horsemen decades ago. The enforcer serves as a human shield, ready to protect the group at all costs. Rusev is the perfect member to be in this position. The Bulgarian Brute had an impressive undefeated streak in WWE before finally being defeated by John Cena at WrestleMania. Still, that kind of achievement is enough to qualify him.
How does this benefit Rusev? Some would immediately jump up and declare this a go nowhere spot in the group for Rusev. After all, if we compare Rusev to Arn Anderson again, Anderson never was World Heavyweight Champion. Why would Rusev take this spot meaning he’ll always play second fiddle? The truth of the matter is, Rusev’s loss to Cena shook him to the core. He continuously lost rematch after rematch and then struggled against Dolph Ziggler, a man he had easily defeated last year. He had a roller coaster romance with first Lana, then Summer Rae, and then he got injured. Imagine being trained as a super athlete, having success after success, then having one of the worst years of your life? Rusev needs to slowly rebuild his confidence, and having purpose as a protector will help him do that.
King Barrett
King Barrett’s role with the group is that of the strategist. To use layman’s terms, he is the brains of the operation. Barrett has plenty of experience creating plans and leading teams. Let’s not forget that in 2010, Barrett was the head of the Nexus, who dominated the WWE landscape that year. Lately he has relied more heavily on his brute force and trusty Bull Hammer elbow, but that has still lead him to the King of the Ring crown this year, and if you think there wasn’t any thought put into how Barrett would go about claiming thethrone, then you just aren’t familiar with the Barrett Barrage.
How does this benefit King Barrett? The more one analyzes the group (as I’m sure King Barrett has), the more one must see how he could end up the greatest benefactor of this group. Sure, right now his highness is at most second in command, but one of Barrett’s strongest attributes is his patience. When Barrett won the first season of NXT, he was granted a WWE Championship match. Barrett held onto that opportunity for five months, putting all the pieces of his master plan in place. He waited until the Nexus had a stranglehold on the WWE, and had John Cena in his employ before challenging Randy Orton for the championship. Although his plan backfired (John Cena is no one’s pawn!), it proves what kind of diabolical mind lays beneath the crown. Even if everything in the group went South, you better believe that King Barrett could turn the tables in his favor. Who knows, he may have already made plans to usurp Sheamus!
Sheamus
Sheamus’ role with the group is that of warrior. Yes, it seems a little too on the nose given his nick name, but Sheamus is what he is, and has proven in the past that you can dress him up in a suit, or put a crown on his head, but ultimately he was bred and born to fight in the trenches. Even if one looks to him as the leader of the pack, he would be a figure resembling William Wallace, a general who leads by example on the field of battle. If Rusev is the shield of this trio, meant to protect, than Sheamus is the sword, designated with striking down any enemy that dares challenge for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
How does this benefit Sheamus? The most obvious benefit is protection for him and his reign as champion. Sheamus might be far better suited for the battlefield rather than the war room, but he’s no dummy. He realizes that with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, he is at the top of the food chain, meaning that before any superstar can get to him, they need to go through a Bulgarian Brute and a royal pain in the neck. Waiting to capitalize on beaten down foes seems to be the modus operandi of the Celtic Warrior lately, so the rise of this trio came at the perfect time for the Great White. Sheamus on his own is dangerous enough. Sheamus with a group of powerful henchmen might be unstoppable!
The Foreign Legion
Alliances seem to be more and more popular these days in WWE. You have WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, The Cosmic Wasteland, The Wyatt Family, Team B.A.D, and more seem to be joining the fray each and every week. What sets apart this trio of European monsters is that they hold the richest prize in the company: The WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In case you’ve never heard of the golden rule, it goes like this: Whoever has the gold, makes the rules. When Sheamus won the gold from Roman Reigns on Sunday, we all wondered how long it would take before he would join up with his old workout buddy Triple H. Of course, we were all missing the obvious question. If Sheamus already belonged to a group made up of a warlord, a dictator, and a champion, who’s authority do they need but their own?
