Cesaro is arguably the best wrestler in WWE, if not the world. That isn’t hyperbole; Cesaro is arguably the closest thing WWE has to a truly complete performer. He’s arguably stronger than John Cena, as shown with JBL constantly referring to him as ‘pound-for-pound the strongest Superstar in the WWE’.
He can do springboard, jumping and diving moves almost as well as A.J. Styles. He has the technical skill of someone like Styles, Daniel Bryan, or Seth Rollins. Finally, he has the unyielding fan support that Daniel Bryan still has and that Roman Reigns wishes he could have.
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So why hasn’t this man reached the top of the company yet?
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Cesaro has been on the main WWE roster since 2012, and in that time he has proven to be arguably the best natural athlete on their roster. While his work as a heel left a lot to be desired, Cesaro’s quite possibly the perfect babyface wrestler.
He has so many admirable qualities and traits, both within wrestling and outside it, that it’s incomprehensible to believe that despite grabbing (and smashing) Vince McMahon’s metaphorical brass rings, Cesaro still isn’t even a regular contender for the World Championship on either brand.
This is despite the fact that he has incredible support from many people within the wrestling industry as well. John Cena went to great lengths to praise Cesaro for his unbelievable abilities in the ring:
Mick Foley was an initial critic of Cesaro’s, thinking he was a relic of a bygone era. But Foley changed his tune very abruptly after seeing how well Cesaro wrestled against John Cena.
Ric Flair, one of the most universally-respected names in wrestling history, once said that no one else brings more to the table than Cesaro. Even ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin grilled Vince McMahon for not coming up with a believable explanation for Cesaro’s lack of a push.
In the end, Vince McMahon is the one that decides which Superstars get pushed and which ones don’t. But believe it or not, there are several excellent reasons why Cesaro should be a world champion in WWE.
It isn’t just because he has earned at least one proper main event push or title shot. WWE would benefit from having someone like Cesaro as World Champion. Here’s why…
#5 He’s an exceptional and versatile wrestler
As mentioned earlier, Cesaro’s wrestling ability speaks for itself. This is a man that can out-power WWE’s resident superman John Cena, jump like A.J. Styles, and can transition from one move to another like Daniel Bryan. These are critical qualities to have in a top-level WWE Superstar.
Today’s WWE fans want to see wrestlers do exceptional things.
That usually means a strongman showing even more exceptional strength, a big man showing surprising agility, or even a serious wrestler doing something so incredibly wacky that you cannot help but cheer them. Cesaro has done all of these things many times.
WWE’s bookers wouldn’t have to do much in order for Cesaro to get a strong reaction.
In fact, all they’d have to do is let him do whatever he’s been doing already. Everything he does gets a huge reaction, no matter how (ir)relevant his match is. From his ‘uppercut train’, to the Cesaro swing, the man knows how to control an audience.
Also read: 5 reasons why Cesaro would be a great MMA fighter
This is a wrestler that could get the crowd to roar with approval by doing very little. They’ve already been entranced by his feats of strength with his delayed Superplexes and him lifting enormous opponents for the Neutralizer. Even the giant swing, which is as unrealistic a move as any, gets a massive reaction on a regular basis.
Honestly, how hard would it be to book the following storyline?
Each week, Cesaro’s put in a match against very small opponents, and every week he does more revolutions in his Giant Swing.
This number keeps getting higher and higher until he managed to swing someone around 100 times (which, given his strength isn’t that farfetched). The audience would give him a standing ovation.
Of course, if you really want to see how gifted Cesaro is, just watch him do the UFO:
#4 He’s an international draw
WWE’s recent international expansion strategy has seen them attempt to break into new markets in which they might not have had much of a stronghold before. The UK tournament was a success that brought increased interest from that country.
They’ve also been making progress in tapping into the Japanese market. And most recently, they’ve broken new ground in China, which represents a huge market.
Clearly, in order for them to succeed in these international ventures and in others, they need Superstars with more of a ‘global’ flair. Cesaro fits this description perfectly.
Cesaro speaks five languages and has an air of ‘European culture’ about him. Though he might not be the same kind of draw in the United States, he’d most certainly be one elsewhere in the world. If WWE were to go to Europe, he’d definitely sell a lot of tickets.
If they were to tour Japan, he’d get a louder reaction than normal due to Japanese fans appreciating work rate over gimmicks. If WWE were to go to any foreign country where they simply need someone to put on a good match without it affecting weekly TV storylines, Cesaro’s the perfect man for the job.
If WWE’s all about making money, Cesaro can do that in foreign markets just as much as Vince’s top American stars do so in the United States.
#3 Contrary to popular belief, Cesaro IS charismatic
To say that Cesaro isn’t charismatic (that is, to say that he doesn’t connect with the audience) would be one of the most asinine comments one could possibly make. Cesaro has proven that he has plenty of charisma, as seen with his ability to control the audience with incredible ease.
One doesn’t have to wait long during one of Cesaro’s matches to notice the crowd being entranced by whatever he’s doing. The moves he executes in the ring (and sometimes outside of it) are geared towards impressing the audience while still telling a believable story.
His strength, agility, explosiveness and unpredictability make him a diamond in the rough when it comes to WWE-style matches. Even in the ultra-predictable world of WWE where everyone has the same Superstar comeback, Cesaro seems to add slight changes here and there that make him more fun to watch.
This, in turn, leads to more and more fans wanting to see him, thus investing more money into WWE’s product to see him live, to buy his merchandise, to watch WWE’s regular programming.
Even after WWE tried to downplay the ‘Cesaro section’ signs that kept appearing in the crowd throughout 2015 and 2016, many fans have remained loyal and adamant about showing their appreciation for Cesaro’s hard work.
Some do this by showing signs, others do so by cheering very loudly. Either way, Cesaro has managed to capture the hearts and minds of WWE fans, regardless of his promo abilities.
#2 Other wrestlers could benefit from working with him
There are very few wrestlers in the WWE that could qualify as ‘Jack of all trades and King of them too’, but Cesaro is one.
He can work with anyone and wrestle any style of match, from a serious championship match with John Cena to a comedy match. After all, when he wrestled in CHIKARA prior to his WWE run, his ring name was ‘Very Mysterious Ice Cream’.
Cesaro could work with anyone and they’d benefit from doing so. He could adapt to any situation and change his match style to tell a proper story, no matter what kind of match it is.
There’s a good reason that John Cena’s best U.S. Open Challenge match was with Cesaro, and there’s an equally good reason why the team of Cesaro and Sheamus it still popular: Cesaro knows how to adapt to changing situations and making them work.
#1 He’s an ideal role model for anyone
The reason Vince McMahon pushes guys like Cena and Reigns is because he wants them to be role models for younger viewers (and to get them to buy those Superstars’ merchandise). Well if it’s a role model Vince wants, there might not be a better one than Cesaro.
Cesaro is the kind of guy every person wishes they could be, not just children. Everything about him and the way he behaves, both inside the ring and out of it, serve as examples of the kind of behaviour that his fans should strive to emulate.
Cesaro’s always well-dressed and carries himself with professional composure. He sets very high personal standards for his conduct and has a deep respect for morals and values. He works incredibly hard but doesn’t brag about it, as he considers this to be rude.
These are all values and behaviours that more people should strive to copy, as they reflect positively on the person demonstrating them.
But most importantly, if he’s given a task, he’ll see it through to the end. William Regal, one of the most important figures in WWE when it comes to spotting talent, said the following about Cesaro in a WWE.com interview:
“He’s such a professional that you could send him anywhere in the world to represent WWE, into a completely hostile environment where people don’t want to like WWE or anybody or anything about it.
He could go in with the way he conducts himself and the way he dresses, and those people would become fans of our industry by the time he left.”
In many places around the world, WWE is viewed with scepticism given its emphasis on American attitudes on everything foreign (just look at how WWE treated Rusev despite him being the good guy in almost all his confrontations with the supposed babyface characters).
Cesaro personifies traditional European values and respect for traditions that, while not too popular in the Western Hemisphere, are still held in high regard in the Old World.
A U.S.A.-born and bred babyface like John Cena or Roman Reigns, who personify everything that’s American, might not resonate amongst wrestling fans beyond their borders. An internationally-recognized man of multiple languages that carries himself with poise and professionalism transcends cultural and linguistic barriers.
If Vince McMahon wants to make money in pro wrestling in this increasingly integrated world, he needs someone like Cesaro at the top of his company.
Cesaro’s probably the only person in the company right now that can bring the company millions of American Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, or any other foreign currency, for that matter.
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