Sheamus Reveals Exact Moment He Received John Cena's Approval in WWE

Sheamus has shared the ring with John Cena more than 100 times in WWE since their paths first crossed in the late 2000s. In a new interview, the Irishman recalled how the 17-time World Champion helped his career.

In 2009, Sheamus was still a rookie when he defeated Cena in a Tables match at TLC to win the WWE Championship. The Celtic Warrior was widely expected to lose, but he secured a shock win when Cena fell through a table from the top rope.

On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Sheamus revealed he spoke to Cena and then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon backstage before the show. During the meeting, his opponent approved McMahon's idea to surprise fans with a title change.

"Vince is like, 'John, what if we, er...' and John goes, 'Put the kid over?'" Sheamus said. "And Vince is like, 'Well, yeah.' 'Put the kid over?' Vince is like, 'Yeah.' 'No problem.' And that was it, and he walked out, and I'm sitting there like, 'What the f**k's happening?' And then we went out. That was John, though. John right away, straight up, was like, 'Let's do it, it's gonna be great.'" [25:31 – 25:55]

Sheamus held the WWE Championship for 70 days before losing it back to John Cena at Elimination Chamber 2010. Batista then defeated Cena in an impromptu match to capture the title.

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Sheamus was booked to lose against John Cena

Heading into TLC 2009, Sheamus won a Battle Royal on RAW to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship.

The 47-year-old traveled to the show with producer Arn Anderson and referee Scott Armstrong. Although they discussed the possibility of a title switch, the idea did not seem realistic because John Cena had already been penciled in as the winner.

"The day of TLC, I drove into San Antonio, and I was told I was losing," Sheamus stated. "I think I was in the car with Arn Anderson and Scott Armstrong, and Scott was saying, 'Man, what an upset it would be if you won,' and Arn was like, 'No, no, it's too early,' whatever." [24:51 – 25:09]

In the same interview, Sheamus revealed how Vince McMahon reacted when he returned with a drastic appearance change in 2015.