How WWE has struck the right combination with Cesaro - Heyman

Antonio Cesaro with Paul Heyman

On June 27 almost three years ago, CM Punk sat at the end of the ramp and called himself a ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ and ever since then this term is used for every superstar who has the pleasure of getting managed by Heyman. This week, Cesaro became the newest inductee in that list of superstars and it sure looks like the perfect combination.

Why do wrestlers need managers? It’s definitely not a case of adding more muscle. Most heels have managers and most of those managers do pose as an advantage to the performer they manage. But they’re definitely not the brawn of the dynamic. They’re the brains. And so, almost all of them act as mouthpieces and add to the enigma of the superstars they manage. Paul Bearer managed Undertaker and Kane. Bobby Heenan managed Andre The Giant among others. And Paul Heyman managed Brock Lesnar.

We’ve never really heard the above mentioned superstars speak much when their managers are around. These superstars have never been called as the top promo guys of the company. And there are many like them who can’t work a mic and it’s obvious how important that aspect is in the WWE. But every such performer is not presented with a manager of Heyman or Heenan’s caliber. As Dumble dore would once say to harry Potter, “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who DESERVE it.” And hence, just like, managers will always be given to those WWE performers who deserve. And the deciding factor to that happening is the WWE management.

Heyman, Heenan and Bearer have many things in common and they have a personality of their own as WWE characters and the pivotal job of the manger is to complete or atleast be a catalyst to the gimmick of the superstar they are managing. Brock lesanr never needs to pick up a mic and speak, he actually doesn’t speak a single word. All he needs to do is to sell what he is marketed for and that is pure brutal strength and agility for a man of his size. When Brock Lesnar came came to the company, that is exactly what WWE wanted to do with him and now 12 years later this is still working.

When Punk and Heyman got together on screen it seemed more like a fun experiment than a necessity. Two people who’ve had so much relevance in each others’ careers backstage came together to form an alliance on stage. As fun as it was sometimes, it did not quite click as Punk and Heyman clearly did not need each other to further their gimmicks. Punk was already established as a great wrestler and a great talker. Hence Paul Heyman managing him did not do anything much other than build up to the match of year 2013 versus Brock Lesnar. And around that time Heyman went on to manage a repackages Curtis Axel and for the umpteenth push of Ryback.

And here is the reason why his association with Ryback and Axel did not last and did not work. Bot of these guys certainly possess talent but none of them has the audience in awe of them. What WWE tried to sell with Ryback and Axel was tried and tested. They wanted the audience to believe in Ryback as this monster with unlimited power and with Axel, they wanted us to follow him follow his dad’s footsteps and get enthralled by his wrestling skills. This, as I said before, isn’t new.

And now in 2014, the rise of Cesaro has been under constant discussion and it was made sure that he’ll be going solo and splitting from his tag team with Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger. And people wanted that to happen. Cesaro has been surprising the audience with his unique wrestling moves and the audience is certainly in awe of him. And in a rare moment of perfect timing, the WWE surprised many by making Cesaro a Paul Heyman Guy. Not only does this new feud with Jack Swagger give opportunity for Colter and Heyman to face off on the mic, it also gives Cesaro the much needed completion of his gimmick and the certainty that he is now in the company of one of or maybe the greatest manager in sports entertainment.