By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE wrestler Sheamus talked in-depth about his sudden rise to main event status last year, WWE "not being pro wrestling anymore," the new Fatal Four-Way PPV concept, and other topics in an interview with Alfonso Castillo of Newsday.

-- Sheamus talked about being "hungrier than the rest of the roster" fueling his rise to main event status, which he believes he maintained even after dropping the WWE Title at the beginning of the year.

"I don't think I ever left the top tier. I went into a feud with Triple H and I've been in a feud with (Randy) Orton. I mean, yeah, I was out of the title picture, which was basically taken up by (John) Cena and Batista," Sheamus said.

"For me there are so many hungry athletes or performers coming up. Like you watch all these new guys on NXT paying their dues and coming up. All these guys are just as hungry as I was. But I believe that I'm hungrier than everybody in the company. ... I never wanted to just say, 'Oh yeah, I'm a WWE entertainer, a WWE Superstar. It's great and I'm just happy to be here. I've always wanted to be the best in the world."

-- Sheamus repeated the company line about WWE not being "pro wrestling" anymore, as WWE continues to re-brand the image of the promotion since they believe "pro wrestling" doesn't give the company credibility. The context of Sheamus's quote is he was talking about whether he'll get in line for a WWE Studios movie role after having some previous work in movies.

"Like you said, there are WWE movies. That's why we call ourselves entertainment. We're not really considered pro ... We don’t like pro wrestling. People say, 'pro wrestling.' It's not really pro wrestling anymore. It is entertainment. It's Superstars and Divas. We have a global movie company. We've got a lot of publications. We're entertainers," Sheamus said. "But that's the whole movie situation. There are a lot of movies in the works right now. But for me? (laughs). It might be a little more difficult to fine me a role."

-- Sheamus also hammered home WWE's promotion for the Fatal Four-Way PPV that it's a night where "anything can happen" and both major titles are in jeopardy due to the four-way matches.

"I think sometimes when people see the same things over and over again, it just becomes maybe a little bit repetitive. And I think these pay-per-views are separating each other," Sheamus said. "You're not seeing singles matches all of the time. I think it creates that ... anything can happen in a four-way. There are so many variables that can happen in there, you know what I mean. It's not your standard one-on-one. It's the four top guys in each brand basically fighting to be the one. I think it creates a different scenario, a different backdrop, a different setting. To me, it's exciting."

Caldwell's Analysis: Yet another WWE wrestler trying to push the idea that these concept PPVs are the ticket to increasing PPV buys. The concept PPVs are foolish "get rich quick" schemes when WWE has thrown long-term planning out the window and is looking to create short-term, inorganic reasons for a PPV built on a "concept" to occur.

WWE could have pulled off the WWE Title match in a four-way situation, but they dropped the ball on creating an issue where all three challengers have a rightful claim to the WWE Title and the only way to settle the issue is in a four-way match. Rather, WWE simply took three top guys and stuck them in the same match. WWE's logic is (a) Cena and Sheamus have an issue and (b) Orton and Edge have an issue, so (c) let's combine them into the same match. In this case, it's subtraction by addition because both programs are watered down without establishing that all three have a rightful claim to the title. The exact same thing with Swagger and Show having an issue, Punk and Rey having an issue, and WWE combining the two programs into a watered-down mixture. Think about how hot the Punk vs. Rey program was last month and now no one is talking about that feud.

Specific issues between two individuals with a heated argument over who's better in the ring sell PPVs, not "concepts" or "gimmick PPVs." One of TNA's highest-drawing PPVs of all-time was Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle, not because of the "Lockdown concept," but because there were two very strong characters having a match with an interested audience to see an epic match-up. It's simple stuff, yet WWE has over-complicated the process trying to make money with "get rich quick" schemes that will fail over time.

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