RAW Talent: Most improved wrestler of the week – August 5th, 2013

Antonio Cesaro

Ever since stepping foot into the WWE, Antonio Cesaro has never failed to impress the WWE universe. With a charming personality and technically sound skill set, Cesaro has certainly managed to turn some heads.

Despite all his credentials, success seems to elude Cesaro. He is a one time United States Champion and that perhaps does it for him. He has not received many title shots till date and continues squashing jobbers, including the likes of the Great Khali and lower mid-carders, week in week out.

The WWE wanted to put him in a place where they thought he would best be utilized, and associated with him the Patriot himself, Zeb Colter. With Colter as their manager, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro formed the ‘Real Americans’ stable.

The group was former just ahead of the ‘Money in the Bank’ pay-per-view and on pre shows leading up to the event, both superstars said that irrespective of whoever won the MITB ladder match among them, they would be happy with the outcome and that the contract would stay within in the stable.

However, that was not the case with team Rhode-Scholars, who are now involved in a prolonged feud because of what transpired at MITB. As Cody Rhodes climbed the ladder to retrieve the briefcase, his partner ‘the intellectual savior of the masses’ Damien Sandow shoved him aside to become the new World Heavyweight Championship contract holder.

These set of events that transpired at MITB shifted the focus completely to Cody Rhodes and Sandow, neglecting others involved in the match. However, drastically affected by this were Cesaro and Swagger. Despite their stable remaining intact, they are currently direction-less leading up to SummerSlam.

Unlike Swagger though, Cesaro has certainly upped the ante. His recent ‘live event’ performance against Curtis Axel earned him the ‘match of the night’ and ‘this is awesome’ chants. Crowds are starting to cheer for Cesaro, who has been a heel throughout his WWE career.

Despite finding his mantle in singles competition, Cesaro has quite not found his footing in the tag team division, notching up more losses than wins. However, Swagger and himself are both dominating in the ring and are certainly a force to reckon with, if taken seriously.

Cesaro has been wrestling in almost all of WWE’s shows including the likes of NXT, Superstars, live events and the major RAW and SmackDown brands. He is a hard worker and has impressed in all.

This week on RAW, The Real Americans faced the Uso’s in an exciting tag team match. The match went back and forth as both teams hit their fair share of offenses. The Uso’s, with their high flying manoeuvres, were ultimately unable to defeat the ‘pound for pound’ pair of the Real Americans, as they grounded their opposition for an impressive win.

Cesaro was, however, the pivotal part of the match as he showcased some of his trademarked upper cuts and perfect holds. His double team moves with Swagger were certainly a treat to watch. The match generated much heat after Colter took a dig at the city’s football team, but that did not certainly affect its quality. After the referee was distracted, Swagger hit Jimmy Uso with a shot to the head and Cesaro delivered the ‘Neutralizer’ for a win.

For his impressive performance not just this week, but for over a couple of months on the trot now, ‘The Very European’ Antonio Cesaro is our most improved wrestler.