WWE '12 Sheamus Interview

If you saw our preview of WWE '12's new Road to Wrestlemania mode, you'll know that it's an epic ten hour plus story mode that puts you in the role of three different wrestlers vying for the WWE's marquee title. The first of those featured wrestlers is the Celtic Warrior himself, Sheamus. While a ferocious wrestler in the ring, Sheamus is actually a pretty friendly guy in person and was kind enough to spare some time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about his role in WWE '12...

GT: What did you first think when you heard that THQ was going to feature you in the Road to Wrestlemania mode?

Sheamus: I was absolutely honored. It was great. I knew that Randy was going to be on the cover of WWE 12 and I saw the trailer a couple of months back and I was well pumped. It looked great, a new look, the new logo, WWE 12 and everything. That was so long ago I didn't realize that I was going to be featured in career mode, story mode, and that was legit. You can't get better than that, fella. It's pretty cool. That fact that you're in a video game as big as this is incredible, but the fact that you're featured in the story … there's not many people who could ever say that, so it's an honor.
 

GT: With a story mode like this, the game captures more of your experience outside of the ring. Do you think that it actually captures your persona when you're out of the ring?

Sheamus: Yeah, I think so. THQ had the liberty to create some new stories, fantasy stories especially with the Ireland and United Kingdom Empire thing, me, Regal, Drew, and Wade Barrett. And I think that that's the great thing, you don't want to repeat storylines that have already happened. You want new ones because people have already seen that. You wouldn't want to repeat that again, you know what I'm saying? So I think that this itself is a lot of fun. I think that if the UK and Ireland, if we all got together as a stable we could definitely dominate the WWE and that would be very true to life.
 

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Presenting the United Kingdom Empire!

GT: Did you have any input into the story or your dialog?

Sheamus: Definitely the dialog. I mean the storyline, the stories were all created by THQ and that's where the creative liberty comes from, to create something that's different and that the people and fans haven't seen before. It catches them right away. But the dialog, I was able to use my own type of tone and stuff there. They had certain things we needed to follow to keep their stories intact, but I was literally able to put my own spin on how I would say stuff so it's true to character, true to me. It doesn't sound like I'm trying to be somebody else, like a Shakespearian actor using Shakespearian words.
 

GT: Have you played through the story mode as yourself yet?

Sheamus: No, I haven't had the chance, this is all brand new. I've played a few of the demos, and I found the controls a lot easier which is good for me because I'm not as good at mashing controllers as I am at mashing opponents. But I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the latest copy of the game.
 

GT: Did you play wrestling video games before you became a professional wrestler?

Sheamus: Yes. I did. I played them all from Smackdown Here Comes the Pain on the PlayStation. I've been playing them for years. I've always been a big fan of WWE and playing the games as well has been the next best thing.
 

GT: How did it feel you played the first game that you were in?

Sheamus: It was a bit surreal. When I was playing it, it didn't really sink in straight away. It would have been different if I wasn't a fan of the games, but I'd been playing them for years and seeing myself, my character, I was trying to find flaws with it, flaws with the character itself. I worked very hard to find flaws with the first game I was in, but the face was perfect, the skin was white as snow, and the hair was cool. The only thing that wasn't spot on was the gear, it was the gear that I first had on in my debut, but the gear in this game is spot on with the tights and the gold and the green and the black and the boots. Everything is spot on, but it's still kind of surreal. I don't know what it is, man, it's like it doesn't sink in that "this is me." It's kind of strange, but it's definitely an honor.
 

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Right boots, right skin tone ... it's Sheamus!

GT: Did you get a different appreciation for the games after you were able to experience the real thing?

Sheamus: Yeah, yeah. I've always liked the games and the great thing is that when people watch at home they can play and not get hurt. Like we always say, “kids please don't try this, let us take all the bumps bruises and stuff.” They can do all the bumps and falls without taking the bruises in this game.
 

GT: So I have to ask … you always tell the kids not to try this at home, but did you try this at home when you were a kid?
 

Sheamus: I think I've jumped on a few beds or pile-driven and dropped elbows on a few teddy bears and stuff like that when I was really, really young. But I never really did that. I don't think that I ever wanted to take any high risks or anything like that because I was always clumsy. Probably still am a little bit clumsy. So I probably knew that I'd end up getting hurt. But there are a lot of kids out there without any fear so they're the ones that we tell not to try this at home. Leave it all to us.