Cesaro Needs A New Finisher

[CultOfPersonality]

Cesaro is hot right now, and guys who are hot tend to win matches. But to win matches you usually have to hit your finisher, and The Neutralizer is absolutely awful. It looks horrendous, and the past two times Cesaro has hit it he's managed to mess it up and hurt himself doing it.

Should Cesaro just drop that move and use his giant uppercut as a finisher, or come up with something new to take over?

 

[WarroBODFan]

It would look better if the opponent landed flat on their face and chest rather than taking the impact with their knees, but obviously that's not really an option. I agree he could do with something better that really shows off his strength. NOT the swing though. Great move to get over with the fans, but not for a finisher.

 

[GRIMLOCK]

I personally don't mind it, there are far worse finishers around.
I really wish he'd use the Ricola bomb though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xufu47SyFo4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Would be a devastating finisher IMO.

 

[MoxleyCrue]

The issue is the Neutralizer plays into Cesaro's "strongman" image, as Cesaro can hit the Neutralizer on larger guys like Brodus and Khali, whereas it's a lot, lot harder to powerbomb those guys and make it look good.

If he was to change I think an Iconoclasm would look good, especially a modified one where he wouldn't have to take them off the turnbuckle, if possible.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've got no real issue with The Neutralizer personally. It fits in with Cesaro's persona as something of a "throwback" because The Neutralizer is a very, very old school move that was used by Frank Gotch. The problem with the move is that, like some other lauded finishers, is that it really doesn't generate the sort of move ending impact that one would expect.

Probably the two most overrated finishers, at least in my mind, that spring to mind are Hulk Hogan's leg drop and John Cena's Attitude Adjustment. The leg drop is one of the most basic moves that can be performed by ANY wrestler on his or her first day of training as a wrestler. The Attitude Adjustment is nothing more than a modified Fireman's carry throw; again, something that's very basic and doesn't generate a lot of impact. At the same time, however, the idea of buying into ANY finisher has a lot to do with suspension of disbelief. If you can't suspend disbelief for something as generally basic as a wrestler's finisher, then I don't understand why you'd bother watching wrestling in the first place.

Moves are gonna be botched sometimes, it's a given that happens to EVERYONE sometimes. Somewhere along the lines of his career, you think Hogan didn't keep his leg bent enough? Do you think that he didn't catch someone across the face with the heel of his boot when doing the leg drop at one time or another?

 

[OYDK]

I have no clue how Cesaro didn't break Big E's neck last night... That was nasty

 

[Dragonslayer]

While I agree that the Neutralizer fits Cesaro's old school look & approach, I'm also not a huge fan of the move. If it was a classic Piledriver, that'd be something else, but due to the dangerous nature of the move resulting in it being banned, that variation of a Facebuster seems the toughest thing possible.

But I also think that the problem is that the move doesn't really capitalize on Cesaro's freakish strenght. Sure, he has to lift the guy up, but then he just drops the opponent down, and cannot really add any sort of force or momentum himself (which is possible e.g. with Triple H's Pedigree, where he can "add force" by pushing down on the opponent's back while dropping him).

I guess his finisher should still be a "classic" move, but I also can't really think of something decent off the top of my head either.

What Cesaro definitely needs too is a trademark submission move, since that also fits the "old school" mold. Maybe a Dragon Sleeper, or a Chicken Wing Crossface.

But if you wanna go with a Powerbomb, I'd go with a variation... maybe a Pyramid Driver / Double Pumpehandle Bomb or a Niagara Driver. Problem I see here is with Batista being back, that they won't have another (supposedly still "lesser" Superstar) using a Powerbomb as well, especially if that one probably looks better than Batista's.

OR give him the Jackhammer

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I actually think a running powerslam would fit Cesaro well. It's an older move that's hardly used anymore. The name alone appeals to his strong nature.

I don't have any major problems with Cesaro's finisher though. It doesn't provide the greatest climax to a match, but it gets the job done.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

If Batista hadn't come back he could use the Ricola Bomb, but since they're slightly similar that's not going to happen. The only logical finisher for him if not the Neutralizer would be the European Uppercut from various angles, which he does occasionally use as a finish anyway.

I like the Neutralizer myself... The problem is when he works with somebody green like Big E and they sandbag him, it ends up looking bad and reckless. A lot of people were calling for Cesaro's head last night during that whole ordeal with dropping E on his head.. but that shit was totally Big E's fault. He made no effort to lighten his body and it almost looked like he was intentionally trying to make Cesaro look weak.

 

[RKOrob]

I think the Neutraliser is actually one of the best finishers around at the moment. I wouldn't mind seeing him adding an additional submission finisher to his repertoire to mix things up but I'm a huge fan of his moveset as it is, the Neutraliser included

 

[Chauncy Talon]

Hell no he doesn't. For the WWE to allow the Piledriver to be used by Cesaro is really an honor. Piledriver have been banned by many companies due to people not knowing how to use it correctly. Cesaro is doing it fine. He has a ton of special moves such as the uppercut, the giant swing and the waterfall (which he barely used) as great moves.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Hell no he doesn't. For the WWE to allow the Piledriver to be used by Cesaro is really an honor. Piledriver have been banned by many companies due to people not knowing how to use it correctly. Cesaro is doing it fine.

What he does is NOT a pile driver. It's a very weak facsimile of one.

I was thinking the Samoa Joe Muscle Buster would be perfect for him.

 

[LuckyLouie]

Why is everyone blaming Cesaro for the botch......... should Big E know not to curl his god damn head down. Its wrestling. It takes two to make it safe and Big E fucked up the most during the match. Big E. fucked himself over by doing the move wrong. Not Cesaro.
The Nuetralizer is a good move. No one said shit about AJ Styles using a version of it. Its a good finisher that makes him seem like beast.

 

[CeramicDuck]

Big E was just a mess last night, I said to myself "This dude is going to get himself hurt and its gonna look like Cesaro's fault" well before the finisher...

If you notice when everyone else gets the giant swing they clasp their hands behind their head, when he took it his arms were just dangling free. That guy is gonna wind up having some type of bad injury and its unfortunate for whoever he is facing at the time because they will come out of it looking like they are dangerous to work with...

With that said, I also agree that the finisher is kinda week looking. He needs some type of old school finisher that he can add...

I would suggest a neckbreaker, Rude Awakening style, fits in nice with him and it can be something he does slow in squashes and hits out of nowhere for false finishes/wins in big matches.

I also think he should have a signature submission hold as well.

Why not give him the torture rack? can display his power and strength when he gets guys like Mark Henry up, this was super effective for Luger back in the day.

 

[enviousdominous]

The odd thing with a finishing move is that literally anything can be a finishing move. If you dance around the ring and scream while doing some kind of infectious gesture, you can make poking someone's throat with your fingers a finisher. I remember when, no matter who performed it, the pile-driver was a move that nobody got up from.

I buy into the Neutralizer because the show demands as much of me, I honestly don't see much of a problem with it. I only suggest other potential finishers for him because coming up with a fresh maneuver would be a good way to keep his momentum strong.

Cesaro is the type who absolutely has to do something that requires a brute display of strength, it's his gimmick. I'm thinking that maybe he should take his move where he hoists his opponent up from the apron and into a superplex, and convert it into a fisherman suplex off the top rope. Thus he shows how strong he is and it sets up an automatic pin.

Maybe give him the full nelson as a submission move, we haven't seen that one since Chris Masters.

 

[Papa Pillman]

The thing is...

The Neutralizer is not the problem.

The old school throwback to Frank Gotch is cool and fits Cesaro's character. The move can be hit by him on huge guys which helps his "Swiss Superman" gimmick. The set-up is cool- the neck cracking and then getting his hands set is as obvious and recognizable as any signature in the company and the crowd pops for it.

The problem is this:

Big E was just a mess last night, I said to myself "This dude is going to get himself hurt and its gonna look like Cesaro's fault" well before the finisher...

If you notice when everyone else gets the giant swing they clasp their hands behind their head, when he took it his arms were just dangling free. That guy is gonna wind up having some type of bad injury and its unfortunate for whoever he is facing at the time because they will come out of it looking like they are dangerous to work with...

And This:

Why is everyone blaming Cesaro for the botch......... should Big E know not to curl his god damn head down. Its wrestling. It takes two to make it safe and Big E fucked up the most during the match. Big E. fucked himself over by doing the move wrong. Not Cesaro.
The Nuetralizer is a good move.

This was Big E.'s mistake. 100%.

It wasn't even the only one of Cesaro's power moves that Big E. failed to protect himself on last night. That match was potential disaster for Big E. all over the place. And none of it was on Cesaro, who is surprisingly very clean and safe considering his moveset.

In fact Big E. made the opposite blunders on the swing and the Neutralizer last night.

On the Swing, the guy taking the move has the option to use his hands to hold his neck up, or at the very least should tuck his chin toward his chest. Making those choices protects the wrestler being swung. Big E. just let his head dangle back, and flirted with being released into a possible broken neck.

On the contrary; with the Neutralizer, which should be one of the easiest moves to execute safely, the only way the move can be dangerous is if the wrestler tucks his head with chin toward his chest, risking catching his head and rolling his neck into the mat on impact. If the guy taking the move keeps his head flat or tilts it toward his back, he'll receive the proper flat impact every time.

I doesn't require wrestling school to figure out that tucking chin to chest with the motion of the Neutralizer is potentially disastrous, while not tucking your chin on the Swing is also hazardous.

But sometimes guys do panic a bit. Even far more seasoned guys can make the mistake that Big E. made, as I pointed out in the Raw LD:

Huge mistake by Big E. He took that Neutralizer the exact same way that Roderick Strong took the Styles Clash during AJ's ROHtv debut. Hopefully he's as lucky as Roddy was and didn't just suffer some serious damage to his neck.

Roddy only missed a couple of bookings with a sore neck. Hopefully Big E. will be so lucky.

 

[Soulblazed]

I agree that Claudio Castagnoli(Cesaro) needs a secondary finisher.

I've included a video of his top 75 moves below. The #12 move at 10:19 into the video is a good move he can use as a submission finisher..It's ironically called the Neutralizer as well, by the way though he can obviously change the name of it. For people who don't want to watch the video, the move is a Half Boston Crab along with a head scissors choke.
Another submission move he can use is #34 at 6:22 into the video which is a single leg giant swing followed up by a Half Boston Crab.

As for the people who suggested he bring back the Ricola Bomb, I agree. There's a normal version #7 at 11:19 into the video and a delayed Ricola Bomb at #11 at 10:38 into the video.

Another move that he can use is the Awesome Kong Torture Rack she used to use, or as others have suggested, he can use the old school Lex Luger Torture Rack as well.

Top 75 Moves Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI-vnv69dUQ

 

[Dagron]

The torture rack would be sick! It's unique and flashy, he can play to the crowd, it hasn't been used in WWE in years and it lets him display his strength in the classic "Can he get the big man up?" way that he needs.

 

[CultOfPersonality]

Big E didn't help last night, but I've noticed a few times when Cesaro has managed to get caught doing the move, most evident was on Smackdown this past Friday when he hit it on DBryan and you literally saw him in pain because he got caught. I just think it's a pretty messy finisher and as mentioned, I think a submission move might be a good fit

 

[#tamale]

He doesn't. It's a high impact finisher which ties into his old school style. It's impressive when he uses it on smaller wrestlers, but it's even more impressive when he is able to finish off the bigger guys (Khali, Big Show, Brodus) with it because it's a dead weight lift showing off his strength.

I would like to see him add a submission finisher down the road, but right now he has a great arsenal of moves he can use. Don't change it.

 

[Reflection]

I think The Neuralizer looks awesome and suits Cesaro very well. Also, the name of the move is great too, unlike names like "Flying goat" or "Yes lock"... Plus, the move is unique in WWE and not done by many, like the Spear or the Powerbomb or Chokeslam.
Sure, there can be ways to make the move look more impactful, like falling back on his ass instead of falling forward, i.e. making it a sick Piledriver, but the way he does it now is much more safer, without looking too weak or anything, and is thus the better option.
If he has to have a second finisher, instead of the Giant Swing or the Running Uppercut, I'd like it to be the move where he launches the opponent in the air before hitting the uppercut (European Uppercut?), or a new move; maybe a submission attack like the Cobra Twist, or another unique move like the Suicide Solution (with a different name, of course *PG*).

 

[MCMG]

I'm not a fan of the Neutraliser. It is ok but it often looks sloppy and is perhaps not a great, impact finisher.

The uppercut and the swing aren't great finishers either. Cesaro has a shitload of moves which is a great thing. I think he definitely needs a new "finisher" but I'm struggling for ideas.

It should be something to show of his strength. Maybe something like a Gorilla press Slam - something Goldberg esque. A death valley driver? TKO? - I remember Mark Mero using the latter but Cesaro's would be far more impressive.

They aren't great suggestions but I think there should be an upgrade on the Neutraliser. He should still use it as well as the swing but I'd love a high impact finisher that shows him off a bit more. Only problem is could he hit something like a TKO on The Big Show. Probably not but that is where he would use the Swing.