5 times WWE should have made Cesaro a star

It was announced today that long-time WWE Superstar Cesaro is no longer with the promotion. While that doesn't mean they won't come to some sort of new agreement, it does mean that he's free to go work for any promotion that wants him.

What's especially frustrating is that WWE has had multiple opportunities to turn the Swiss Superman/Cyborg into a major player. What's even more frustrating is that they seemed as if they were going to do just that — only to let things fizzle.

So, while we don't know where the man born Claudio Castagnoli will go as of now, we're going to take a look back at five opportunities WWE had to turn him into a megastar... and then didn't, for some reason.

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#5. When Cesaro won his first WWE United States Championship

Cesaro first appeared on the WWE main roster in the summer of 2013, following a run in Florida Championship Wrestling. Within months of his debut, he won the WWE United States Championship from Santino Marella, was paired with a valet in Aksana, and seemed to be on his way to bigger and better things.

And then... they had him do this.

From the start, WWE clearly had big plans for him. Of course, WWE's history is littered with stars they've put the United States or Intercontinental Championships on and never followed up with. Still, titles like that are a sign of confidence from the company and, as we know, this wasn't the only gold the Swiss star held in WWE. Far from it.

By the way, that title reign lasted 239 days. It's impressive, any way you look at it.

Of course, this was early in his WWE career — obviously, things were going to pick up, right?

#4. The "Cesaro Section"

Eventually, Cesaro found himself adrift in WWE until he was eventually paired with Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter as part of their "Real Americans" faction (with the Swiss star being lauded by them as the "ultimate legal immigrant"). That really didn't do much for him, but an idea from an innovative fan did.

At the November 18, 2013 episode of Raw in Nashville, TN, a fan handed out 100 pieces of paper to his fellow audience members that had two simple words printed on them: "Cesaro Section." Clearly a play on the term "Caesarian Section," this show of support for the underrated Superstar did not go unnoticed. Soon, these signs began to appear anytime he was advertised.

From that point on, he would go on to form a pretty successful tag team with Tyson Kidd, as well as temporarily becoming a "Paul Heyman Guy." Throughout this time, the Swiss Cyborg would even be featured on the E! cable network's popular clip show, The Soup.

Then, before WrestleMania 32, he would need surgery on his shoulder - a situation that would keep him away from the Show of Shows. Fans were chomping on the bit, waiting for him to come back.

And when he did, it was pretty amazing.

#3. Cesaro is James Bond

The anticipation of Cesaro's eventual return from injury by the WWE fanbase was palpable. WWE knew this and held off his arrival for the Raw after WrestleMania 32. Not only did they give the fans what they wanted, but they also gave Cesaro one of the coolest wrestling entrances of all time.

WWE was finally playing up the Swiss Cyborg's numerous strengths, his incredible in-ring skill, his natural charisma, and his inherent European coolness. They also downplaying his weaknesses. Even Stone Cold Steve Austin had something to say about it on the very him on the very first edition of his program on the WWE Network.

It was also around this time that arguably WWE's biggest star of the last fifteen years, John Cena, gave the Swiss Cyborg his seal of approval.

Sadly, this didn't really lead to Cesaro breaking through into the main event scene — although he would eventually get his main event moment. But, we'll get to that.

This should have been the moment where the former United States Champion became a major player — and it nearly was. Unfortunately, it didn't lead into anything major. Cesaro, at this point, would go on to form a very successful tag team with Sheamus as The Bar, before getting his first main event. But let's talk about something else first.

#2. Cesaro won the first Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

WrestleMania XXX was a major milestone for WWE - and Cesaro ended up being a big part of it.

The third decade of WrestleMania saw the debut of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale, introduced weeks earlier by WWE Hall of Famer and one of Andre's greatest rivals, Hulk Hogan himself.

At the end of the bout, the Swiss Cyborg won by eliminating none other than the Big Show - a performer who, at one point during his run in WCW, was billed as the "son" on Andre. You can probably see the significance there.

While nowadays, the battle royale is seen as a way to help get lower card WWE talent a WrestleMania payday - and usually ending up as part of the kick-off show, this very first edition was made to be a big deal. Once again, the underrated star began to look like he was about to become a major star in the company - especially after the gracious handshake Big Show offered him following his victory.

This isn't the closest the former United States Champion has gotten to the main event. Not by a long shot. In fact, he reached the main event once before, and fairly recently.

#1. Cesaro vs Roman Reigns

Prior to 2021, Cesaro and Roman Reigns were no strangers to one another. The two had fought on Raw years prior — including a bout for the Intercontinental Championship Reigns held in 2017.

But this was back when the former Shield member was still being billed as WWE's next major babyface. Flash forward a few years, and Reigns is having a career resurgence as the Tribal Chief and WWE's biggest villain. It was right then that the company gave the Swiss Cyborg his first real main event match,

Reigns had just defeated both Edge and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania, and needed a challenger for WrestleMania Backlash. Enter Cesaro. Finally, the man overlooked by WWE for years was getting a main event match and a shot at the biggest prize in the company.

The fact that he didn't win the championship that night isn't surprising. It's the fact that WWE didn't build upon his momentum that's baffling. The Swiss Superman was, once again, arguably the most underrated star on the WWE roster in terms of popularity. Following his loss at Backlash, Cesaro fell by the wayside.

It's no surprise that he let his contract expire, even after signing an extension a year ago.

As we mentioned before, no one knows what the former United States Champion has planned from here. He may re-sign with WWE, he might sign with AEW, he might even retire. Only he knows. What we may never know is why the company built him up so many times, only to leave him hanging over and over again.

What do you think? Where will Cesaro end up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.