Sheamus Talks Goldberg in WWE 2K17

[Sunny]

 

Credit: George Tahinos/SLAM! Wrestling

NEW YORK CITY -- Professional wrestling is as much about keeping things fresh and interesting as it is anything else.

It can be argued that no one puts more effort or consideration into their character then World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Sheamus.

The Irish-born behemoth takes his look as seriously as he does his opponents. Numerous times in his now seven-year career with WWE, Sheamus has tweaked his look to keep things fresh, the latest look being his Mohawk hair cut, septum piercing and thick, red beard.

A reporter suggested to the likable legend-in-the-making that he might be changing his appearance to coincide with the release of WWE’s annual video game, the latest of which was feted at a release party in New York City last week.

He chuckled at the suggestion during an interview at the launch party, but did note that it’s important to freshen the look.

“You've got to keep changing it up, otherwise it gets boring,” the six-foot-three Sheamus answered. “In fairness, I didn't change or alter the look -- I only altered my gear -- for the first couple of years,” he qualified. “You're only talking in the last two or three years that change with the Mohawk and the beads and stuff. But it's good to change it, keeping it fresh. We're on so much television now, people see so much of us. It's not like the old days, where you'd be on TV once in a blue moon, or Saturday Night's Main Event. You're on all the time, so it's good to keep it fresh, even if it's just for yourself, to keep it interesting for yourself."

As for which incarnation of himself he prefers, Sheamus said he’s happy with his current look.

"I like this look now, man. I think it's really cool,” he said, adding that the current look is far less maintenance than the last look, which saw his beard beaded. “The beads are something that I tried and they worked. I like the beard now ...”

And the current look is also far less painful, he added with a chuckle.

“Every time I got home, I had to get the hair cut -- my hair grows pretty quick -- and then I had to go to this African braiding place, where she used to twist the skin off me face, like Hellraiser, the movie. It would be like hooks going into me face, I'm pulling them off.”

The trauma hasn’t quite subsided for Sheamus.

“It was literally like, she got to looking at me three or four times, 'Are ye alright?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm grand. Just keep going. Don't stop, don't stop.' It was brutal. It was such stress going from one to the other. Every weekend I had to get them done. I do not miss them, just for that situation alone."

Gaming fans also say goodbye to the beaded Sheamus in WWE 2K17, which hits stores Oct. 11. For Sheamus, being featured in the video game is always an honour.

"You know, it's easy to say it does get old, but it doesn't because it's a situation where you're still relevant, you're still here after seven years, which is great, and you're still involved in the video game. You look back on the first one I was in to do, and then this one now, it's just incredible. It's just a completely different level. It's scary how good it is now and close it is to the actual real thing. That's what gamers want, they want real life, they want as close to the real thing as possible to experience that. This game gives it all.”

Sheamus tipped his cap to the game’s makers, 2K.

“Those guys in 2K, they work tirelessly with research and development, get the fans' feedback, and everything they do is to make it better and better and better. They're like perfectionists, they don't want to have anything or any holes in anything they do.”

It doesn’t hurt, Sheamus said, that 2K also brings legends aboard as alternative covers and playable characters each year, this year’s being the legendary Bill Goldberg, who was also at the party.

“Bringing Goldberg back is great,” he said. “We've seen some great ones, Ultimate Warrior was one of my favourites. I loved him as a kid. Sting. Now having Goldberg in there is really cool, especially, I'm sure you watched Goldberg as a kid. He'd just kill everybody. He still looks great! He looks the same! Like a million dollars."

The game is also a great way for WWE to connect with its younger fanbase, Sheamus said.

“I think that when we initially went to PG, and I was coming in at the tail end of the not-PG, whatever you want to call it -- it was past the Attitude Era, the in-between stage -- there were a lot of people hemming and hawing about this, but ultimately it's brought in so many new fans."

And make no mistake, the current WWE is as much for kids, if not more so, than it is for adults, Sheamus added.

“You have to have time for the kids,” he said, harkening back to his own experiences of being let down by his soccer heroes as a kid. “I was let down so many times as a kid, with football, soccer stars, football stars coming back home. I remember queuing up for three hours for an autograph for this football player who played for Liverpool, and I was so pumped, I didn't sleep the night before. I got in line. I walked up and I wanted to tell him he was a big inspiration, I loved him. He didn't even look up at me one time. He scribbled on a piece of paper and just threw it at me.”

It was, according to Sheamus, who is tremendous around young fans, life changing.

“I remember getting that piece of paper, ripping it up and throwing it in the trash because I was so disappointed.”

For the WWE to continue to be the self-sustaining, fan friendly product it has become, young fans matter, he added.

“Kids remember, kids aren't stupid. It's all about them, they're next generation, they're the future. That's all that really matters.”

Source: Jan Whig from Kingston Whig-Standard

[the King Lives]

i hadn't even realized sheamus changed his look.