Sheamus won the 2012 Men’s Royal Rumble Match, and he hopes to win the legendary battle royal once again a decade later on Saturday.
Ten years to the day after “The Celtic Warrior” won the 2012 edition of the battle royal in the same host city of St. Louis, he’ll compete in the Royal Rumble Match on January 29.
In an interview with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, the former WWE Champion reflected on his triumph in 2012 and called it “the hardest thing to do”as a WWE Superstar. He recalled how having a stye in his eye the day of the bout threw him off, but even with the benefit of hindsight, Sheamus called it a “great” match.
“I was going into the biggest moment in my career, and I woke up with a stye in my eye. It was the most stressful thing ever. It threw me off for most of the day. I tried to use a hot rag. It didn’t start out too good, but the match went great. I had the thing with [Chris] Jericho at the end where it went a couple of minutes. It was a great ending. I’ve won multiple championships, but not many people can say they won the Royal Rumble. To me, in the grand scheme of things, becoming a Royal Rumble winner is the hardest thing to do.”
As someone who previously tasted the ultimate glory of winning the Royal Rumble, Sheamus knows what it takes to do it, and he’s particularly eager to emerge victorious this year, given its status as the anniversary of his first triumph.
“I’m going in to win it,” said Sheamus. “There is no doubt about that. It has been 10 years. I only realized a couple of weeks ago it was the same city, the same day. All the stars are aligned. I think right now I’m better than I was in 2012 in in-ring ability. I’m looking forward to seeing who I’m gonna throw over the top rope and how far.”
Fans won’t have to wait too long to see whether Sheamus can repeat history; WWE Royal Rumble is on Saturday, January 29, and WrestleZone will have full coverage of the show.
RELATED: Updated List of Entrants In 2022 WWE Men’s Royal Rumble Match
