As 2014 began, it became readily apparant that the man formerly known as Antonio Cesaro was gaining some tangible momentum, based on a number of stellar in-ring performances that highlighted his unique strength and distinctive style. WWE was able to parlay that momentum into a tremendous spot at WrestleMania, where Cesaro hoisted up Big Show, carried him across the ring and slammed him to the arena floor below. 24 hours later, and he was introduced as the newest Paul Heyman Guy, the sky seemingly the limit for the WWE's newest big time prospect, who now appeared to be as complete an act as ever.
Of course, the eventual destination of this alliance looks to be a babyface turn and an encounter with Brock Lesnar, a match custom made for Cesaro to look incredible in defeat. But as we stand today on the verge of the biggest push of Cesaro's career, it's time to be realists, and ask ourselves the tough question - does Cesaro have the goods to be a true top guy? As things stand right now, unfortunately, my gut instinct tells me no.
As good as he is (and he is) in the ring, there have been very, very few examples in history where that alone has been enough to get somebody to that top level, and a lot of the other elements needed don't appear to be there at this time in Cesaro's act. When you look at the entire package - the name, the music, the look, the promo, the charisma - if you had to score him on each criteria, even his most ardent fans would have to admit that he wouldn't score high on many of them. Once you're at the show, he is one of the most entertaining aspects of it, but he's not the guy that makes you buy the ticket. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying every single person needs all the bells and whistles, and I understand that he's intended to come off like a throwback, a bare-bones minimalist.
But let's look at that counter-point, that you can be a bare-bones minimalist in wrestling and get over huge. Because that is the argument for him. Look at the ones who did it successfully, and there is a massive difference between them and Cesaro.
Steve Austin was a bare-bones minimalist, but he has charisma out the ass, and more personality in his middle finger than Cesaro has been able to show thus far in his WWE run.
Taz was a great minimalist in ECW, but he could talk the talk, came off like a badass, had intensity for days, and had the entire Heyman presentation magic around him to back him up.
Arn Anderson was a great example of a guy presented as a straight wrestler, a no-nonsense ass kicker. But Arn was also one of the best promo guys in the business. And despite that, he was never considered for the top spot.
Goldberg never spoke during his peak of popularity, but he was protected to such an strong degree that the comparison is immediately void. And besides, Goldberg had a physical charisma and presence that few could ever match.
None of the guys who truly made it under that mould were one-trick ponies. As horrible a comparison as this may sound on the surface, the best comparison to Cesaro would be Chris Benoit (eliminating the disgraceful end, of course). And in terms of a career parellel, Benoit's looks to be the most logical comparison, in that he'll be up there in the mix, he's a definite player. Respected immensely, a favourite of the die-hards. But he's never anything more than support for the top guy, a gatekeeper for the main event, and the only time he'll get a run on top (if he ever does), it's as a transition to somebody else, or as a tip of the cap if he's so awesome for so long that he gets it as a lifetime achievement award type of deal.
It is a different era, so maybe they'll put the belt on him in an effort to "make him". But the title doesn't work like that any more, and to sustain himself as more than just "the new guy with the belt" in the same way CM Punk was for his first two World Title runs, he needs to plug a lot of these holes.
Still, that isn't a bad career to aspire to. But the weaknesses will hold him back. You ask a fan about his matches and he can tell you a lot. Ask that same fan about his personality and he won't have much to talk about. And it's personality that draws money.
In fairness, it isn't as if Cesaro has really even had a proper chance to show what he can do on a mic in a meaningful situation. Outside of Swagger, he hasn't had a real rivalry to talk about in a heated manner up to this point. But he hasn't been kept completely mute either, and the guys that are mic magic are apparent very quickly - Dean Ambrose on day one let the world know he could talk. Bray Wyatt is where he is because he can communicate effectively. If anybody thinks the comparisons to previous stars is unfair or invalid for any reason, then that's fine, but these guys are Cesaro's competition.
Filling that gap with Paul Heyman would be a brilliant long-term decision - if the goal was for him to be a top heel. But that doesn't look to be the plan right now. The plan for Cesaro is to be a babyface. And all alone. There were reports about a year ago that Vince McMahon thought Cesaro was boring. Clearly something in McMahon switched to a degree to put him in this kind of position, but let's not kid ourselves - Vince can be incredibly stubborn when it comes to his perception of any given talent, and he will typecast Cesaro just like he has so many others before once these weaknesses are exposed.
Steve Austin, in talking about Cesaro on his podcast, always mentions how he feels he needs to tighten up the character, define himself better, work on the whole presentation. This is the time to do it. He has Paul Heyman, the master of bringing the most out of guys, by his side. He'd better work on this while he has the chance, because when the time comes for him to sink or swim on his own, we've seen time and again how easy it is for the WWE to give up on a guy just because he isn't perfect.
I really like watching Cesaro's matches. He's a tremendous talent, and I wish him the absolute best. I want him to succeed and prove every word I've just written completely wrong. But if this match with Lesnar takes place, he's about to get an incredible chance to launch himself that very few guys have had in the last few years, and he's going to have a lot of eyes on him.
I just hope expectations for him are realistic.
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