The Bar, originally simply known as Cesaro and Sheamus, was a professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were record-setting four-time Raw Tag Team Champions and one-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions, making their team overall five-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!" The team was forced to disband in April 2019 due to Sheamus suffering an injury and Cesaro being drafted to Raw.
History
Feud and formation
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. 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. 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. 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.