Sheamus Falls To Bron Breakker

Sheamus had his heart broken once again at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event—this time by Bron Breakker.

In front of a jam-packed crowd inside the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, “The Celtic Warrior” came up short in his latest quest to win the Intercontinental Championship. Sheamus, a four-time world champion and former Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble winner, has thus far been unable to claim IC gold, despite numerous opportunities to capture the prestigious title.

Heading into Saturday Night’s Main Event, it looked like the NBC special could finally be the time and place that Sheamus won the lone singles title that has eluded him his entire career. For what seems like an eternity now, Sheamus has been adamant about his desire to become Intercontinental Champion.

During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet (h/t WrestleZone), Sheamus himself mentioned what he called “the IC curse” that has prevented him from becoming Intercontinental Champion: “ It’s the IC curse of The Celtic Warrior. It’s the one thing I can’t win. The irony is that it’s the first title I really became focused on…So the one title that I was exposed to as a fan is the one I can’t win, which has become this kind of crusade. But it’s definitely an IC curse for me.”

And in San Antonio, the “IC curse” continued.

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In a hard-hitting back-and-forth match between two of WWE’s most physical superstars, it was Breakker who blasted Sheamus with a vicious spear, emerged victorious and handed Sheamus yet another loss in a high-profile Intercontinental title match. Most recently, Sheamus was pinned at WWE Survivor Series last November in a triple threat match involving Breakker and Ludwig Kaiser.

History repeated itself at Saturday Night’s Main Event when Sheamus was once again defeated by Breakker. The outcome was not a surprise, given WWE’s reported desire to push Breakker as a cornerstone of Raw on Netflix. But the loss for Sheamus was eerily reminiscent of other memorable losses in previous Intercontinental Championship matches.

Perhaps the most notable came at WrestleMania 39 in 2023, where Sheamus also lost a triple threat match against then-IC Champion Gunther and Drew McIntyre in what was arguably the WWE Match of the Year in 2023. For Sheamus, that loss—just like so many others—was a result of bad timing.

Gunther was in the midst of the best Intercontinental Championship reign of all-time while Breakker is perhaps WWE’s fastest rising star right now. The unfortunate reality for Sheamus is that, for whatever reason, WWE hasn’t capitalized on his momentum or fan desire for Sheamus to become what he himself has labeled “The Ultimate Grand Slam Champion.”

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel, however.

Sheamus recently signed a new five-year contract with WWE, and despite being nearly 47 years old, he is one of the best bell-to-bell performers in the company, rarely—if ever—having bad matches. As Sheamus continues to deliver “banger after banger” and remain one of WWE’s most beloved veterans, there is reason to be optimistic about his chances of finally becoming Intercontinental Champion.

While Sheamus may have fallen short once again at Saturday Night’s Main Event, time is on his side, his fan support remains as high as ever, and he is still an elite wrestler.

His time didn’t come in San Antonio, but with WrestleMania 41 right around the corner, perhaps it will be here sooner rather than later.