Professional wrestling tag team
Professional wrestling tag team
The Bar
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Cesaro_and_Sheamus_2017.jpg/250px-Cesaro_and_Sheamus_2017.jpg) The Bar (Cesaro (left) and Sheamus (right)) in May 2017
|
|
Members
| Cesaro
Sheamus
|
---|
Name(s)
| Cesaro and Sheamus
The Bar
|
---|
Billed heights
| Cesaro:
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Sheamus:
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
|
---|
Combined
billed weight
| 499 lb (226 kg)
|
---|
Debut
| September 26, 2016
|
---|
Disbanded
| April 22, 2019
|
---|
Years active
| 2016?2019
|
---|
The Bar
, originally simply known as
Cesaro
and
Sheamus
, was a
professional wrestling
tag team
in
WWE
. They were record-setting five-time
Raw Tag Team Champions
and two-time
SmackDown Tag Team Champions
, making their team overall seven-time champions in WWE.
The duo were originally in a feud together from July to September 2016, but after a Best of Seven series
culminated
in a tie, the two were forced to work as a team by then-Raw General Manager
Mick Foley
. "The Bar", originally an informal nickname until they joined SmackDown in 2018, originates from their catchphrase: "We don't just set the bar, we are the bar!"
[1]
The team was forced to disband in April 2019 due to
Sheamus
suffering an injury and
Cesaro
being
drafted
to
Raw
.
History
[
edit
]
Feud and formation
[
edit
]
Cesaro
(right) wrestling with
Sheamus
On the July 19 episode of
SmackDown Live
, Cesaro and Sheamus were drafted to the
Raw
brand
in the
2016 WWE draft
, being the last two televised picks for the brand.
[2]
The two men started a feud shortly after the draft. Cesaro defeated Sheamus in two consecutive matches, resulting in Cesaro earning a match for the
United States Championship
, which he received on the August 8 episode of
Raw
against
Rusev
, but lost after interference from Sheamus. Both men had issues about being on Raw, with Cesaro saying he would have more opportunity on the
SmackDown brand
, and Sheamus having been in a career slump since
The League of Nations
dissolved. Raw General Manager
Mick Foley
then announced that the pair would face each other in a best-of-seven series with the winner to receive a future championship title match. Sheamus won the first match at
SummerSlam
. Sheamus would defeat Cesaro in the second and third matches, but Cesaro defeated Sheamus in the fourth, fifth, and sixth matches, tying the series 3-3.
[3]
At
Clash of Champions
, Cesaro fought Sheamus to a no contest when neither man could continue, leaving the outcome of their best-of-seven series undecided.
[4]
Since Foley did not want to insult the impressive effort and performance the two had in the seventh match, and because he did not want the two to potentially injure themselves from an extra eighth match, he decided to reward both men with a championship match in the form of an opportunity at the
Raw Tag Team Championship
.
Raw Tag Team Champions (2016?2018)
[
edit
]
Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Raw Tag Team Champions
The New Day
(
Big E
,
Kofi Kingston
, and
Xavier Woods
) in a non-title match on the October 24 episode of
Raw
, and defeated them by disqualification at
Hell in a Cell
, but did not win the title.
[5]
On the November 7 episode of
Raw
, Cesaro and Sheamus were announced as part of Team Raw for the
10?on?10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match
at
Survivor Series
on November 20, 2016, which Team Raw won. Cesaro and Sheamus were the sole survivors for their team, and for this reason, Foley gave them a title opportunity the following night on
Raw
. On
Raw
, however, Cesaro and Sheamus again failed to capture the tag titles from The New Day following interference from Xavier Woods. After a scripted bar fight on the November 28 edition of
Raw
where they initially spoke of their apparent split as a tag team, the two men finally began to co-operate, reforming their team.
[6]
They lost to The New Day in a triple threat tag team match on the December 12 episode of
Raw
also involving
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
. They received another title shot after winning a fatal four way #1 contenders match at
Tribute to the Troops
and at
Roadblock: End of the Line
, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, marking Cesaro's second reign and Sheamus' first reign. In winning the title, they ended New Day's record setting reign of 483 days. They then retained the title against New Day in a rematch on the December 26 episode of
Raw
, ending their feud. On January 16, Cesaro and Sheamus announced their participation in the
Royal Rumble
match. Before that match, however, they were scheduled to defend the Raw Tag Team Championship against Gallows and Anderson on the Royal Rumble pre-show, where they lost the titles, ending their reign at 42 days. The duo then began to show tension between each other and were both later eliminated from the match by
Chris Jericho
. Their championship rematch was sabotaged by
Enzo Amore and Big Cass
, who interfered and caused a disqualification loss for the pair. Cesaro then defeated Enzo before he and Sheamus were defeated by the duo the week after to become the number one contenders to the title. At
Fastlane
, Cesaro defeated
Jinder Mahal
. It was later announced that Cesaro and Sheamus were to compete for the Raw Tag Team Championship against Enzo and Cass and Anderson and Gallows in a triple threat
ladder match
at
WrestleMania 33
. At the event, however, the match was made a four-way ladder match when the returning
Hardy Boyz
were added, who won the match.
The Bar as
Raw Tag Team Champions
at
WrestleMania 34
At
Payback
, they were defeated by The Hardys, and attacked them after the match, turning heels in the process. They began calling themselves by the collective nickname The Bar, stating "We don't just set the bar, we are the bar!", and their entrances became further synchronized, wearing the same attire to the ring. They regained the titles at
Extreme Rules
in a
steel cage match
and defended them in a
30-Minute Iron Man match
against The Hardy Boyz at the
Great Balls of Fire
pay-per-view.
[7]
During the Summer, The Bar started a feud with Seth Rollins, who allied with his former stablemate Dean Ambrose. At
SummerSlam
they lost the titles against Rollins and Ambrose and lost the rematch at
No Mercy
.
[8]
Cesaro and Sheamus aligned with
The Miz
as a result of the continuing feud with this eventually resulting in the reunion of the Shield when Rollins and Ambrose re-aligned with
Roman Reigns
. At
TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs
, the team of The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus,
Braun Strowman
and
Kane
lost to Ambrose, Rollins and
Kurt Angle
, who replaced Reigns due to Reigns being removed from the match on medical grounds, in a five-on-three Handicap Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.
On the November 6 episode of
Raw
in
Manchester
,
England
, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Ambrose and Rollins following a distraction from their former rivals The New Day to win the titles. By winning this match, it set them up to face
SmackDown Tag Team Champions
The Usos
in a champions vs. champions match at Survivor Series. Cesaro and Sheamus lost the match.
[9]
Cesaro and Sheamus then lost the Raw Tag Team Titles to Rollins and
Jason Jordan
on the Christmas episode of
Raw
. They had their rematch at the
Royal Rumble
, where they regained the titles, becoming record four-time champions as a team and marking an individual record fifth reign for Cesaro. After Braun Strowman singlehandedly won a tag team battle royal for a Raw Tag Team Championship match at
WrestleMania 34
, Cesaro and Sheamus were scheduled to defend the titles as long as Strowman found a partner. After weeks of failed attempts of finding out who Strowman's partner was, Cesaro and Sheamus walked into WrestleMania clueless. At the event, Strowman chose a 10-year old fan named
Nicholas
as his partner and they defeated Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team Titles.
[10]
SmackDown Tag Team Champions (2018?2019)
[
edit
]
The Bar as
SmackDown Tag Team Champions
in January 2019
On April 17, as part of the
Superstar Shake-up
, Cesaro and Sheamus, now officially known as The Bar, were traded to SmackDown. Despite the trade, they still had an opportunity to win the Raw Tag Team Championship as they faced
Matt Hardy
and
Bray Wyatt
at the
Greatest Royal Rumble
, but failed to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. They entered a brief feud with The New Day, losing to them and failing to qualify for the
Money in the Bank
ladder match
. After going on a hiatus, the duo returned in late-July to take part in a
No. 1 Contenders Tournament
for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
beat The Usos to advance to the finals, where they lost to The New Day. After failing to become number one contenders again, the duo finally were gifted a title match. At
Super Show-Down
, The Bar failed to win the title.
At
the 1000th episode of
SmackDown
on October 16, The Bar defeated The New Day to capture the titles with unlikely help from
Big Show
. They subsequently retained the titles against The New Day at
Crown Jewel
and
Starrcade
.
[11]
On the November 27 episode of
SmackDown Live
, The Bar and Big Show's brief alliance ended after a confrontation backstage.
[12]
They later entered a feud with The Miz and
Shane McMahon
, culminating in a match at the
Royal Rumble
on January 27, where The Bar lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship to Miz and McMahon. The following
SmackDown
they lost a number one contenders match to The Usos.
[13]
The Bar defeated Kofi Kingston at
Fastlane
in an impromptu 2-on-1 handicap match. The team then lost to New Day,
DIY
, The Hardy Boyz, and
Aleister Black
and
Ricochet
over the next two months on
SmackDown
.
[14]
At
WrestleMania 35
in April, The Bar lost to The Usos in a match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
[15]
At the
Raw
following WrestleMania, The Bar interrupted a
Winner Takes All
match between Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston, resulting in a tag team match. This resulted in "
AEW
" and "
CM Punk
" chants from the crowd, voicing their displeasure in the match they were given instead.
[16]
The next day on
SmackDown
, Sheamus suffered a
concussion
in a six-man tag team match with New Day. Cesaro was drafted to Raw a few weeks later and started competing as a solo wrestler, although he would keep the bar theme song and attire. He would later premiere a new song and attire different from the bar.
[17]
Cesaro stated in a later promo that The Bar had broken up due to Sheamus having to take the time off.
[18]
Sheamus returned to action in 2020 and both resumed their careers as singles wrestlers. On February 24, 2022, Cesaro left WWE after his contract expired.
[19]
Championships and accomplishments
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"WWE News: The Bar reveal who came up with their gimmick and how it all started"
.
www.sportskeeda.com
. March 9, 2018
. Retrieved
January 22,
2020
.
- ^
"2016 WWE Draft results: WWE officially ushers in New Era"
. WWE
. Retrieved
July 19,
2016
.
- ^
Jansen, Johnathan (September 12, 2016).
"Cesaro wins matches four and five in series"
.
WWE.com
. Retrieved
September 14,
2016
.
- ^
"WWE Clash Of Champions: Sheamus Vs. Cesaro (Best Of 7 Series), Chris Jericho Vs. Sami Zayn - WrestlingInc.com"
. September 26, 2016.
- ^
"411MANIA - WWE News: Sheamus & Cesaro Getting Tag Title Shot, Shield Members Close to Grand Slam, Raw Pre-Show"
.
WWE News: Sheamus & Cesaro Getting Tag Title Shot, Shield Members Close to Grand Slam, Raw Pre-Show
.
- ^
"Identity Of Bar Patrons In Cesaro / Sheamus Bar Fight Segment On WWE RAW, Rollins Ambushes Jericho In Parking Lot (Videos) - Wrestlezone"
. November 28, 2016.
- ^
"Can The Hardy Boyz become "Iron Men" against Cesaro & Sheamus this Sunday?"
.
WWE
. Retrieved
July 4,
2017
.
- ^
"Medical update on Cesaro following injury at WWE No Mercy"
.
WWE
. September 25, 2017
. Retrieved
September 25,
2017
.
- ^
"Breaking: New champions crowned at Raw in U.K."
WWE
. Retrieved
November 6,
2017
.
- ^
Powell, Jason (April 8, 2018).
"Powell's WrestleMania 34 live review: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship, Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon"
.
Pro Wrestling Dot Net
. Retrieved
April 8,
2018
.
- ^
"WWE STARRCADE"
. U.S. Bank Arena. September 17, 2018.
- ^
Barnett, Jake (November 28, 2018).
"11/27 Barnett's WWE Smackdown Live TV Review: AJ Styles and Becky Lynch return, Jeff Hardy's 20th Anniversary with WWE celebration, Sheamus and Cesaro vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Titles"
.
Pro Wrestling Dot Net
. Retrieved
January 7,
2020
.
- ^
"The Usos def. The Bar, Heavy Machinery and the New Day to earn a SmackDown Tag Team Titles opportunity at WWE Elimination Chamber"
.
- ^
"Matches ≪ Sheamus ≪ Wrestlers Database ≪ CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database"
.
- ^
"The Usos turn WrestleMania into the Uso Penitentiary in frantic Fatal 4-Way"
.
- ^
"WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Returns, surprises and disappointments after WrestleMania 35"
. April 9, 2019.
- ^
"Report: Cesaro Moving to WWE Raw | Fightful Wrestling"
.
- ^
@WWE (August 18, 2019).
".@WWECesaro is focused, determined, and ready to be king! #KingOfTheRing #WWEFargo"
(
Tweet
)
. Retrieved
April 28,
2022
– via
Twitter
.
- ^
Johnson, Mike (February 24, 2022).
"Surprising WWE Departure After Failure To Come To Terms On New Deal"
.
PW Insider
. Retrieved
February 25,
2022
.
- ^
"Raw Tag Team Championships"
.
WWE
. Retrieved
January 10,
2019
.
- ^
"WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships"
.
WWE
. Retrieved
July 31,
2018
.
- ^
Thomas, Jeremy (December 23, 2018).
"WWE Announces Year-End Awards on Instagram"
. 411Mania.com
. Retrieved
December 30,
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]