Sheamus appears on WWE SmackDown

Five weeks after WWE began hyping his return, Sheamus officially came back on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.

Sheamus appeared after Shorty G (Chad Gable) faced Dash Wilder on tonight’s show. Gable submitted Wilder with an ankle lock but was then attacked by The Revival. Wilder and Scott Dawson bailed when Sheamus came down, then Sheamus laid out Gable with the Brogue Kick.

Sheamus had been out of action for nearly nine months. Dave Meltzer reported in September that Sheamus was ready to return: “He’s been off and has spinal stenosis, which is not a good thing long-term for a wrestler. But he is ready to return and if a storyline is there, he would be brought back.”

The videos hyping Sheamus’ return included him criticizing the current state of SmackDown and saying that the show has become soft. Gable was mentioned by name in the first video, with Sheamus saying that all he sees is misfits and cowards.