Recent management changes at the head of WWE have led to a shake-up in how shows are run and the wrestlers involved, according to WWE superstar Sheamus.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror at the press launch for Clash at the Castle, WWE's first UK stadium pay per view event in thirty years, Celtic Warrior Seamus spoke about the changes behind the scenes in recent months.
READ MORE: 'WWE Clash at the Castle is just phase one' - Drew McIntyre on more UK stadium pay per views
Former chairman Vince McMahon announced his retirement after 40 years, leaving his daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan to take up new roles as co-CEOs, while Paul 'Triple H' Levesque has returned from illness to take not one but two new roles, as Executive Vice President for Talent Relations and Head of Creative.
In the immediate aftermath of these changes, popular wrestlers have returned to WWE who had previously left including Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis and Karrion Kross. Meanwhile a company policy of referring to wrestlers as 'superstars' has also reportedly been dropped.
Sheamus said: "It's fun you know. This wrestlers or superstars thing doesn't really matter, it just is what it is. But there's a lot of talent in the mix now, a lot of new matchups, a lot of fresh stuff. You get to see longer matches on TV as well which is great. People don't tune in to see a load of talking all the time, they tune in every week to see wrestling and that's what people are getting now."
"I revel in the longer matches rather than short two minute stuff. With short matches there's no time to do anything. I love telling a story but you need time to tell stories."
This weekend Sheamus will take on Gunther for the Intercontinental title, with fans widely expecting a brutal match between the pair. Sheamus said: "You're going to see a war, you're going to see two heavyweights knocking absolute bells out of each other. It's going to be strikes versus chops. It's going to be the most physical thing people will remember. It's going to be a throwback, it's going to be a banger."
Cardiff is already buzzing ahead of the weekend, with tens of thousands of fans from across Europe descending on the Welsh capital ahead of the event and a series of free and complementary events taking place across the city. Sheamus is one of several wrestlers already predicting this is just the first such UK event for the company.
He said: "This is bigger than WrestleMania right now. There are over 60,000 people heading to the Principality Stadium. I feel like it's going to be a yearly event. I think that's what WWE are trying to do now, they're a global company. I can see having a stadium pay per view maybe at Croke Park in Dublin, in Glasgow, London, maybe the Midlands, I think it can be a thing that happens once a year. I think these shows become more and more common all over the world."
BT Sport is showing Clash at the Castle live and on demand for its subscribers at no extra cost, with coverage starting on BT Sport 2 from early on Saturday night. If you're an existing BT Sport customer just turn to the channel (431 for BT TV customers, 414 for Sky customers and 528 for Virgin Media customers) from 6pm to watch events unfold.
Non subscribers can watch by signing up for a BT Sport no contract monthly pass here.
The event is also live on the WWE Network.
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