Sheamus bids farewell to WWE

Sheamus WWE WrestleMania 39
Sheamus makes his entrance at WWE WrestleMania 39. (Image credit: WWE)

Five days after news of his departure broke, Sheamus sent out a message officially bidding farewell to WWE.

It was reported on July 5 that Sheamus would be leaving WWE when his contract expired. When presented with a restructured contract at reduced pay, Sheamus chose to enter free agency instead of taking the new WWE deal. His next move remains to be seen, but Sheamus sent out a tweet today confirming his departure. It included an Irish message that translates to “goodbye my WWE friends.”

Sheamus’ profile has already been moved to the alumni section of WWE.com’s roster page, and — when news of his departure broke — he changed the name of his social media accounts to his real name Stephen Farrelly.

Since late 2025, Sheamus, 48, has been out of action after undergoing shoulder surgery. He’s been teasing for the last several weeks that he’s preparing for his in-ring comeback.

Sheamus had a nearly two-decade stint in WWE that included nearly every accolade except for winning the Intercontinental title. Much of his on-screen focus in recent years was chasing that championship, but he never ended up achieving the goal.

Jim Ross hopes Sheamus joins AEW —

On his Grilling JR podcast this week, Jim Ross expressed hope that AEW will bring in Sheamus whether it’s on a full contract or shorter term one. Ross said he would like to see Sheamus and Claudio Castagnoli reunite their old WWE team.

“I think putting him back together with Cesaro is a good thing, if that happens,” the announcing legend said. “It’ll create a real strong team to make your tag team division stronger. But he’s a good hand, he really is. He’s a good hand, and he’s a good guy. I don’t know why you’d have any issues bringing him back into the fold. He’s a team player. He’s big, physical. And the combination of he and Cesaro interests me a great deal. So we’ll wait and see.”

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.