Chris Masters Doubts Cesaro's Strength

[Jack-Hammer]

I came across this story this morning. Chris Masters gave an interview recently in which he questions Cesaro's ability to genuinely body slam Big Show. In the interview on The Roman Show, Masters stated:

"I'm pretty sure Big Show jumped for him. Not to take anything away from Cesaro, he looks like a talented worker who can probably bring his down a little bit and build his body up, but that's just my opinion. If he slammed the Big Show, I can probably press, the Big Show."

I just typed in "Cesaro Slamming Big Show" on YouTube and the first video it brought up was a 21 second or so clip showing the last bit of the battle royal. After watching it, I honestly don't see any indication that Big Show jumped in any way. As he was coming towards Cesaro after being shoved against the ropes, it's possible that there was a little extra momentum made it a bit easier, but it looked pretty legit.

It's sort of a misconception that you have to have a super jacked physique in order to have a lot of physical strength. Guys who have a Herculean physique like Chris Masters don't automatically have Herculean level strength to go with the look. Not to suggest that Masters isn't a strong guy, but having the chiseled look of a bodybuilder doesn't necessarily mean that you can bench press 500 pounds. Georg Hackenschmidt was all of 5'9.5" 205pounds in 1898 when he set the, then, world record for the bench press at 361 pounds; a record that stood for roughly 18 years. When JBL says that Cesaro has "God given" strength, there could be some truth to it. There are some people who're naturally very strong even if they don't lift weights all that much. For example, a man named Dennis Rogers is considered, pound for pound, the strongest man in the world. He has been on various shows like Oprah Winfrey, David letterman, etc. displaying great feats of strength. He's all of 5'6" 168 pounds but can bend steel bars, steel tools, rip phone books in half, etc. His muscles can generate in excess of 1,000 pounds of force, more than someone several times his size. Various medical tests show that he's somehow able to tap into muscle acceleration and more muscle fibers than most other people, granting him much greater physical strength than someone with larger muscles.

 

[laodaron]

I'm neither a body builder or a muscular guy nor can I perform crazy feats of strength...but from what I can tell genetic nerve control has much more to do with raw power than any amount of bulky muscles.

 

[Torgo]

I dunno what Masters is looking at it appeared to me that Show didnt jump at all and that was a pure deadlift. Cesaro is really a strong guy, which is why i think he still uses the Nutralizer as a finisher even though its a dippy one. Its showcases his strength.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Of course he jumped. It's professional wrestling and it was at the biggest show of the year. They're not going to have Cesaro dead lift Big Show and risk him fluffing when Show could easily assist him.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I just started doing scoop slams a few weeks ago and there is definitely some assistance given from the guy taking it.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Chris Masters blows the lid on the legitimacy of professional wrestling. Next he will admit that his greatest achievement in WWE, his man-boob dance, was done with hidden wires. I don't know if he was just asked a question or if this is sour grapes but it all seems kind of silly. It was a cool moment and appeared to be well done. Not much else matters, it is not like Cesaro is trying to get in to Guiness based on the slam.

 

[Reflection]

I don't blame Masters for doubting Cesaro's strength. It has been vastly overrated by the IWC as if he is as strong as Hercules or Atlas. And Masters, by virtue of not being a WWE superstar, probably spends a good deal of time on the net; and thus he must have inevitably come across the Cesaro-worshipping.
Cesaro is strong considering his size and visible back/chest muscles, definitely, but he is no Masters or Cena or Big E. or Ryback. As for the Swing of his that is deemed as a huge feat of strength, once you get the circular motion going, the pressure exerted by the weight of the swinging person on your body is reduced significantly. Its like tying a stone with a string and swinging it- you don't feel its weight much once it starts swinging. People who call this and the Neutralizer "pure deadlift ability" either have never done deadlifts in their life (more likely) or are mentally challenged (less likely, but possible).
As for Masters' claim of being able to bench press Big Show's weight, that's totally believable. Last month, John Cena uploaded a photo of himself doing Squats with 400 (or 450?) lbs... Bench Presses are much easier than Squats, so someone of the build of the above four guys should be able to press Show's weight with some effort, without tearing their ligaments.

 

[XXJJ]

Cesaro is strong, but he is not the strongest on the roster.

Of course Big Show jumped. I'm not sure Cesaro could dead lift Big Show, but if he could it would take a lot more effort and it wouldn't look as good to the audience.

 

[Headman]

I think Cesaro's long frame gives him the leverage to do some of these power moves. With that said, it wouldn't kill him to work on his body a little. If you're going to push the power gimmick in what is basically a cartoon world it's not the worst thing in the world to look the part.

 

[wrestler36]

Cesaro's pretty damn strong. Those superplexes when wrestlers are standing on the apron are nuts, even if the opponents hops a little. They showed video of Cesaro working out on WWE a few months ago. He was doing one arm snatches with 135 lbs, which is crazy. So even though he doesn't have the physique of a body builder, he is probably more of a functional lifter/power lifter. I remember people saying that Dan Severn was one of the strongest guys when he was in the WWE, and he looked like a regular guy. I think JR said somewhere that Danny Hodge was born with double the muscles or nerves in his hands, so he hand unbelievable hand strength

 

[GeneralKarim]

What an idiot Chris Masters is. I really liked the dude but this really bugs me. IS IT STILL REAL TO HIM DAMMIT? or smth? That's how wrestling works. U dont do 100% of the move. Ofc he assisted Cesaro, but let me see Show assist Zack Ryder, would he do it with the same level of ease that Cesaro did?

To me what Chris Masters sounds like he would be saying "Hey I could've had a 21-0 WM streak, it's just that management decided to give it to Taker, it could've just as easily been me there". It's not the same situation but it illustrates that Chris Master seems to, for a short while I assume, lost touch with kayfabe-reality.

 

[Pedigree1]

Coming from Masters this is not surprising at all.. Masters is someone who to me,is jealous and a bitter person.. The fact that he got busted twice for Roids says a lot right there.. Cesaro slamming the big show was legit and no way assisted by show himself..

Sure show bounced off the ropes a little maybe adding some momentum,but still Cesaro lifting someone of shows girth and size,and easily depositing him over the top rope shows amazing strength. Cesaro pound for pound IMO is the strongest guy on the roster..

JBL is correct in saying he has god given strength.. You dont have to be hercules to be strong,some folks are just naturally strong without really lifting weights all that much.. NOt to say Cesaro doesnt lift,he is gifted in just being strong as an ox

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Ofc Show assisted a bit, but it looked good and thats what mathers at the end of the day. Showed Cesaros strenght and he really looked like a beast with it.

As for strenght, I have a brother who is not some "muscular-athletic" body type. He can easily show a lot in strenght and even can easily arm wrestle any of guys who go to gym everyday and jack up on suplements. So you dont have to be built like Hercules to show impressive strenght...

 

[Sean Valjean]

Cool story, Masters? Regardless of whether Show assisted with a little bunny hop (which, based on the footage, doesn't look like it), the spot still looked awesome which is all that matters. His skepticism does nothing to convince me that Cesaro couldn't swing the bricks off the Empire State Building if he wanted to.

 

[chicagokmc]

So what if he did jump? Wrestling hasn't been about "how it happens" in years, it's just about "what happens". Besides, you still have to be pretty strong to get him over the rope.