Putting Barrett against Cesaro perfectly highlighted why Cesaro doesn't 'connect'

[Remix]

Cesaro is really good at things that don't matter and bad at the things that do. Barrett is the opposite. That's the TL;DR version of this thread. Now, if you want to make a one line post scroll down to the bottom of the page and say it. If you intend to refute me, read on.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, match quality doesn't matter. Never has, never will. The only thing that matters in WWE is presentation. It doesn't matter that the Bret vs Shawn Ironman was dull as shit for 55 minutes, what matters is that it's treated as an epic encounter, and one of the greatest match ever. Presentation is what matters.

How does this relate to Cesaro and Barrett? Cesaro's presentation just fucking sucks, while Barrett's is legitimately amazing. Let's start with mic skills, since they're the most obvious thing. Barrett is one of the best talkers in the company, Cesaro is not. The biggest demonstration of that was this Monday with the four ropes comment. It wasn't that he flubbed a line. Even the likes of The Rock flubbed their lines occasionally. It's that he recovered badly from it. He lost his composure and bought attention to it, to the point that that became the takeaway point of the promo, not 'I deliver' as he intended. If he'd recovered better, people would have been calling it a pretty good promo because other than that, it was but it was destroyed by his recovery.

But it goes deeper than that. Cesaro's act lacks two very important and closely related things, specifically definition and reaction cues. I'll do into both of these in more detail but these things boil down to 'what do they do?' and 'what do they do to get a reaction?' I'll start with definition. What makes Cesaro, Cesaro? What is unique to him. I haven't watched WWE in quite some time, so from Raw I can say Cesaro 'delivers' (which means what, exactly?) and that's it. Bad News Barrett gives bad news (which is an easily understood concept, even it it's very vague), wears a cape (not important but it's unique and therefore stands out among a sea of guys coming out in their official merchandise) and his finisher is the Bullhammer (yes, I know Cesaro has a finisher too, but Barrett mentioned his and Cesaro didn't). Because Barrett is well defined I can understand his act whicg makes it easier to get into and I can explain what his gimmick is, helping others (read: kids) get into it as well (Bad News Barrett is a guy that wears a cape, enjoys giving bad news and hits people in the head with his bullhammer).

As for reaction cues, Barrett's entrance alone is loaded with them. It starts with a recognisable, short audio piece (God save our Queen) telling the audience who it is and to react appropriately, then there's the pyro/capetoss which is another cue for the crowd to react, then once he's got to the ring there's the two BOOMS where he elbows/punches the air on each side of the ring telling half the audience when to shout it with him, as well as hitting the hard camera side for the TV watchers. During the match he has a couple more, like the elbow pad signalling the through the rope knees. Cesaro has/had the spin but that's it. So much of getting over is about training the audience to react to what you do. That's why catchphrases work, that's why repeated spots with crowd interraction work, that's why finishing sequences and pre-finisher actions (like tuning up the band, Randy's snake motions, the People's Elbow). Barrett's loaded his act with them, and it led to his initial BNB run being his most successful since the Nexus' first three months. Cesaro's got nothing and shows no signs of getting anything and that's why he's not going to get over, in spite of how well he 'delivers'.

 

[laodaron]

I agree, and it gets even worse. I think that the WWE let Cesaro cut that promo unscripted. I think they told him, "Hey, go out there and cut a promo on how connecting isn't important to you, but delivering in the ring is," and then he literally said what they said to say, because he couldn't put together his own promo. His segment was what Vince fears more than someone going into the shoot business. Someone is going to look really stupid. At least scripted promos are bad, but they aren't flubbed to the point of bringing gimmicks out of character.

That entire segment was hard to watch. You watched a guy that has worked hard his whole career just shit all over his probably final chance in a long time to start getting some heat back. He struggled before he flubbed, then he flubbed, then he paused, then he corrected his flub and made light of it, and then issued a rushed challenge to the back, and that challenge was IMMEDIATELY met. There was no dramatic effect. There were no BARRETT BARRETT BARRETT! chants. Nothing. Boring promo, immediate entrance, TERRIBLE match. I just hope that Barrett doesn't get the shovel based on that television return.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Frankly, from a kayfabe standpoint, Cesaro doesn't deliver at all. If he really delivered, he'd actually win matches. Isn't that what a wrestling match, from a kayfabe standpoint, is all about? Winning. He's been losing practically since WM30. It's that poor attempt to appeal to "smart" people about how he puts on good matches. DZ does it as well with his "steal the show" comments. Is this entertainment or wrestling guys? Because your premise is about entertainment. If they want to deliver from a kayfabe standpoint, they should actually win matches (which DZ has done more of recently). This is technically a competitive sport. Even if you get beat up for 20 minutes straight, do 5 moves and win the match with a clean pinfall, you've technically delivered completely.

Anyways, back to your post. Cesaro does have some of the things you mentioned, they're just bad. His stupid siren is a good cue on who's coming down the ramp. Also he does that neck twist thing whenever he's about to do his Neutralizer, but he just doesn't make it to that point very much anymore. He also has that alternating straight arm shoulder/fist thrust that he does that's different. And this might be just my opinion, but I think it looks stupid.

And yes, his mic skills are where the glaring hole is. When he first debuted and eventually won the US Title, no one gave a crap. He couldn't do anything but put the people to sleep when he got on the mic.

The guy really is fun to watch in the ring. But he's been that way since he debuted. If he can't use more than that to get over, he's always going to be limited.

A side note: I would disagree that Wade Barrett is one of the best on the mic.

 

[WimpyKid4Life]

Everything you said is what Cesaro's statement was all about. He isn't about the pyros and fancy music with flashy entrance. Cesaro is all about wrestling and in that aspect he excels in better than most. Puting on great matches day in and day out is delivering. He stated he doesn't need a special presentation( connect with crowd) because he always delivers( puts on entertaining matches) and that's what is important to him. And yes, I am a Cesaro fan! Spread the movement: #WeWantCesaro ( started by Dalyxman)

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

That's all well and good, but guys like Shelton Benjamin, Steve Blackmon, and other 'wrestling' guys didn't have a long shelf life because they didn't have a personality to match it. Cesaro is either holding back a lot or he doesn't have the natural ability to engage the fans with his personality and his in-ring work.

Best thing for Cesaro to do is ask to redo his gimmick, find his personality and give it one more run before he's given a release.

 

[L@RISANO]

Given Cesaro was way over as a Real American until the end of Wrestlemania 30, where he had his ill-fated heel turn and alignment with Paul Heyman, I can't really agree that he fails to connect as he was practically stripped bare by the WWE Creative and Vince,etc.


I think it is pretty clear that Cesaro sucks on the mic, and needs some help from the Top Brass with which to get over. Also, given his abilities in the ring, his alignment with Zeb was perfect, but the problem is, Swagger also requires Zeb as well... thus one guy had to be cut, and unfortunately Cesaro got the very over "We the People" chant taken away from him and went with Heyman for whatever reason...


Basically, since Mania 30, everything about Cesaro has sucked, from the Real American stuff being taken away, to being aligned with Heyman, then getting some awful entrance music and on top of that, he has been treated like nothing more than an enhancement talent.
The only reason we're discussing him is because the WWE have been smart enough to allow for him to have some longer matches every now and then which has kept him in our thoughts because he's a top in-ring performer, and through that he has been able to grab the crowd's attention.
Until he is allowed by the Top Brass to show himself based on that, he will be stuck where he is, there is no doubt about that.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I agree it showed the two are poles apart but not quite why you think. Cesaro DOES connect, but he isn't doing so in the WWE way. To Vince he's another Punk, Bryan etc... All substance over style and he's done pushing those type of guys. The "brass ring" is about doing it the WWE way, eating your share of shit, liking it and remodelling your approach. Cesaro hasn't he's not liking it and not changing... His whole mentality seems to be..."If I don't get pushed here I will go elsewhere and be HUGE"...and he will be.

BNB is exactly what Vince wants... He has done well when given the ball, eaten more than his share of shit, taken what horrified us all and probably him in BNB when first mooted...and grabbed the "brass ring". He'll get a strong Rumble showing and MITB this year... And he deserves it... Cesaro seems "entitled", Barrett nearly lost his career through no fault... He wants it more, is willing to do more for it and he's connecting with the fans... The mechanics of an entrance are just one way... People WANT BNB more than Cesaro right now... That match proved it.

 

[cornerdon26]

They could have done two things with him at/after Wrestlemania.

1) Keep the Real Americans together. Let the Andre the Giant trophy tease a split, but they stay united and have a successful tag career. Them vs Uso's would be a great long term feud.

2) The Heyman thing could have worked if he remained a top guy. He should have been the man who was essentially Brocks bitch, then enter a feud with Brock through jealousy.

Before yesterday very few had criticism of him. We know he is limited on the mic. But Bryan has had poor performances on the mic. Half of Cena's promos are rubbish. Batista is average. Being good on the mic is not always needed if booked well which he has not been.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Cesaro is really good at things that don't matter and bad at the things that do. Barrett is the opposite. That's the TL;DR version of this thread. Now, if you want to make a one line post scroll down to the bottom of the page and say it. If you intend to refute me, read on.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear, match quality doesn't matter. Never has, never will. The only thing that matters in WWE is presentation. It doesn't matter that the Bret vs Shawn Ironman was dull as shit for 55 minutes, what matters is that it's treated as an epic encounter, and one of the greatest match ever. Presentation is what matters.

How does this relate to Cesaro and Barrett? Cesaro's presentation just fucking sucks, while Barrett's is legitimately amazing. Let's start with mic skills, since they're the most obvious thing. Barrett is one of the best talkers in the company, Cesaro is not. The biggest demonstration of that was this Monday with the four ropes comment. It wasn't that he flubbed a line. Even the likes of The Rock flubbed their lines occasionally. It's that he recovered badly from it. He lost his composure and bought attention to it, to the point that that became the takeaway point of the promo, not 'I deliver' as he intended. If he'd recovered better, people would have been calling it a pretty good promo because other than that, it was but it was destroyed by his recovery.

But it goes deeper than that. Cesaro's act lacks two very important and closely related things, specifically definition and reaction cues. I'll do into both of these in more detail but these things boil down to 'what do they do?' and 'what do they do to get a reaction?' I'll start with definition. What makes Cesaro, Cesaro? What is unique to him. I haven't watched WWE in quite some time, so from Raw I can say Cesaro 'delivers' (which means what, exactly?) and that's it. Bad News Barrett gives bad news (which is an easily understood concept, even it it's very vague), wears a cape (not important but it's unique and therefore stands out among a sea of guys coming out in their official merchandise) and his finisher is the Bullhammer (yes, I know Cesaro has a finisher too, but Barrett mentioned his and Cesaro didn't). Because Barrett is well defined I can understand his act whicg makes it easier to get into and I can explain what his gimmick is, helping others (read: kids) get into it as well (Bad News Barrett is a guy that wears a cape, enjoys giving bad news and hits people in the head with his bullhammer).

As for reaction cues, Barrett's entrance alone is loaded with them. It starts with a recognisable, short audio piece (God save our Queen) telling the audience who it is and to react appropriately, then there's the pyro/capetoss which is another cue for the crowd to react, then once he's got to the ring there's the two BOOMS where he elbows/punches the air on each side of the ring telling half the audience when to shout it with him, as well as hitting the hard camera side for the TV watchers. During the match he has a couple more, like the elbow pad signalling the through the rope knees. Cesaro has/had the spin but that's it. So much of getting over is about training the audience to react to what you do. That's why catchphrases work, that's why repeated spots with crowd interraction work, that's why finishing sequences and pre-finisher actions (like tuning up the band, Randy's snake motions, the People's Elbow). Barrett's loaded his act with them, and it led to his initial BNB run being his most successful since the Nexus' first three months. Cesaro's got nothing and shows no signs of getting anything and that's why he's not going to get over, in spite of how well he 'delivers'.

Literally none of what you said is his fault. He doesn't choose his theme music, he doesn't choose his finisher, and he sure as hell doesn't choose his promos. The segment was a squash for Barrett to get over as a returning face. It was never meant to put over Cesaro in any way. If he had overshadowed Barrett with all the things you said, he would have been failing at what he was assigned to do.

He was assigned to go out there, talk about how he delivers in the ring and then fail to deliver when a (in kayfabe) superior competitor answers his challenge.

 

[Navi]

Actually I never had a problem with Cesaro and didn't even notice the disconnect with the crowd until McMahon pointed it out. Then I did begin to notice a few things.

Now don't get me wrong Cesaro is good in the ring, his strength is amazing, but he doesn't connect with the crowd and he doesn't even try. When he comes down to the ring, there is no stopping and acknowledging the fans like other wrestlers do. He wears that towel over his head and walks directly to the ring. He doesn't try to get the fans going by doing something on the stage, ramp anything, it's like they aren't even there.

The only thing I've ever seen him do is lift his arm motion for the swing and then not do it, other than that the fans are forgotten about. Guys like Cena, Rollins and others stop look around and acknowledge the fans before coming to the ring. Reigns comes through the crowd fistpumping people on the way down, when he gets into the ring, gets on the rope's just to let them know he's there.

I've always said Cesaro comes across to me like a cold fish, and it's true. When he was part of the Real Americans he at least got some attention, mainly because of Colter and Swagger, now he's on his own his real personality or lack thereof is showing thorough.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Cesaro is not as bad as described and BNB is not nearly as good. The difference is that I can't remember much of anything that Barrett has done in his injury riddled career and I am very fond of quite a few Cesaro matches and moments. Cesaro's limitations seems to have him more over with the paying attendees, I have no idea where Barrett stands because he is never around. Barrett has hair.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Both men are good, I very much enjoy watching them in matches. Barrett's a good, athletic bigger guy who can brawl and deliver physical matches and so is Cesaro. From an in-ring perspective, I think Cesaro is the stronger of the two but I don't think there can really be any denial that Barrett has a much stronger charismatic personality.

Barrett's biggest problem is that he's been sidelined by injury during times when he has all the momentum he needs and things are going his way. Cesaro's biggest problem is that he hasn't demonstrated any real charisma or personality to speak of. I have a feeling, and it's nothing more than a guess, that Cesaro's promo Monday night could be the beginning of something for him. There were reports that Cesaro was gonna get pushed in 2014 but that it was being pushed back in order to give time for Reigns to show what he's got, so maybe this past Monday was the start of some sort of push for Cesaro.

During the first several months of the year, Cesaro was over with fans. They were responding well to him in the ring and he delivered some fantastic matches against guys like Cena and Orton. However, his momentum was killed because Vince wanted it killed. The Cesaro Swing, for instance, is something fans were enjoying but Vince told him to stop doing it because it didn't seem like the sort of thing a heel should do.

Cesaro is someone like Punk and Daniel Bryan who may not fit with Vince McMahon's personal vision of that a major league star should be and maybe it's something that Vince just can't wrap his head around. More and more, I'm starting to agree with the notions that Vince is out of touch because the tastes of fans are and have been changing. At the end of the day, and this is just my opinion, what does it really matter if a wrestler doesn't fit with the certain, idealized vision you might have as a promoter as long as fans are interested and that interest generates a lot of money? I thought that was supposed to be what really matters when it's all said & done, from a business perspective.

 

[DCLXVI]

I think people are overreacting a little but about how bad Cesaro is on the mic. He was thrown into a fairly lengthy in-ring promo (by his standards) and fucked up with the "4 ropes" comment. We all knew he wasn't great on the mic, but he isn't dreadful... it would take some time to adjust to and I don't think he's going to get that unfortunately. Steve Austin might have shot Cesaro in the foot by putting him in particular under a magnifying glass and Cesaro was unable to capitalize on it. There are way worse on the roster. As far as Barrett goes he is way more polished and was on his way to a sweet run earlier this year. The crowd was a little weak but he came out and delivered... the "I'm gonna lay this Bullhammer across your shiny little head!" or however it went line was great.

I'm not sure where Cesaro goes from here, but I hope they keep him in the mix and give him time to find his stride. I don't think he is an overnight success with one shot at a promo on live TV.

 

[JDHale]

I agree that in this moment Wade Barrett is far ahead of Cesaro, but to say he can't connect to the fans would be lying.

If you went back to earlier this year at a Smackdown it was Cesaro vs at the time WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton, a match he would win cleanly. Now at that point there was no argument Cesaro couldn't connect to the crowd. His patriotic theme got a crowd reaction, Zeb was putting over how great he was at wrestling on the microphone and commentary, and Cesaro had the moveset to connect to the fans with the Swing, European Uppercuts and the Neutralizer finisher.

Fast forward to this past Raw and Cesaro did the right promo to a high quality, until his math error which I will excuse as he rarely speaks on tv. The basis of the promo suited his character perfectly, which is simply I am better at wrestling then all of you, and I will prove it. It is a character that works well in the WWE. Then give him ring music which actually fulfills it's job of getting a reaction, not some joke theme which no one in the company deserves which he has now. Have him perform his moveset, using the swing more often, and consistently winning off lifted uppercuts. That gets you back to the point he was at back in February.

I feel using the whole he can't connect thing is ridiculous. You wouldn't see WWE give John Cena a theme as bad as Cesaro, have him not use the five knuckle shuffle and stop anyone promoting how good he is. It would give the crowd less ways to connect to him. That's my opinion anyways!

 

[DCLXVI]

I don't even mind his music, in fact I kind of like it. It seems to be common opinion that it is awful and doesn't fit him so change it already. Does anyone remember when Saturn came out stone-faced to nothing but air raid sirens as his theme? I loved that. lol

 

[Kidpolean]

Cesaro has absolutely NO personality or character so of course he doesn't connect with children and a portion of the adult audience that isn't the IWC or hardcore fans. He is one of the best in the ring though. Not everyone has to be "the man" in the WWE, just making it there is a huge accomplishment. Cesaro will have a long midcard WWE career and there is nothing wrong with that. He will never be super over because their isnt anything likeable about the guy. He could be a good heel I guess but still not a top guy.

 

[MartialHorror]

I think they should try Cesaro as a face.

As a heel, he's grown stale and I feel we've seen everything we can hope to see out of him. Granted, it would be tough as his best attribute in terms of personality is that smug expression he gets. Even though everyone criticizes his pairing with Heyman, I thought they worked pretty well together. Cesaro spoke, but never too much.

As a face, he can utilize his moveset more effectively and connect to the audience using that. Ziggler is proof that you can connect to the audience using in-ring talent alone because sorry fans, he isn't much of a personality or talker. His psychology is outright terrible, whereas Cesaro's is usually fine.

But look at that Barrett match, which was confusing. Barrett gouged the eyes, requiring dirty tactics to take down a guy who was crushed by Ziggler. Yet Cesaro did his face popping Cesaro swing. I think fans want to cheer for Cesaro, they're just currently bored with jerkass Cesaro. Ryback had it worse before he came back and was pushed, so Cesaro has hope as well.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The problem is the fans also want to cheer for Barrett and it really is between the 2 right now as to which gets a push/turn... and Barrett seemed to win it... he had the fans, he had the performance on the night and as I said earlier has Vince and particularly Trips onside... think back to when he got hurt and that RAW before MITB... Trips's promo was signalling him as the winner... if Trips is doing an impression of you and putting you over, you're going over...

Someone mentioned strength and that is true... but think why... Zig's fuck up literally snapped the guys arm at the elbow... it's why he has the pad there now and he moved from Wasteland to the Bullhammer... an injury of that type will permanently affect strength, again he adapted... this injury was a shoulder, again, it'll cut his strength... but he's athletic enough to compensate.

Cesaro is the guy who will suffer for Punk, ADR and all the others of his type... He deserves better but just won't get it... he'll do his contract and walk to GFW and be their top guy or there abouts, he knows it, more importantly Vince knows it... Barrett has made some mistakes, particularly talking pre-injuries about being out of the ring young... but those injuries seemed to focus him, he's gone through troubles getting his Green Card thanks to the bogus non-arrest issue he had... and he's overcoming, getting over and doing it doing what Vince wants... Cesaro just can't seem to do it... they told him not to use the swing.. he NEEDS the swing... it's sad but it's reality.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Look, wrestlers connect in different ways. Bret Hart did not speak like The Rock and The Rock certainly did not wrestle like Hart. The audience isn't exactly dumb. Even if they aren't smarks, they do have the ability to recognize a good wrestler from a bad one. To borrow a line from HBK's theme song, "he got the moves that really move em up." He's a really cool moveset with the Giant Swing and the Neutralizer both being very eyecatching moves. In fact to be honest, I feel that Cesaro is a lot like Roman Reigns in the sense that both connect with the fans very well when they are wrestling because they both have rather cool moves. Roman is just more handsome I guess and hence he's getting the push, but even he's god awful at promos, worse than even Cesaro.

I think that it's just the WWE being WWE with Cesaro. Somehow I feel that WWE feels that you have to fit a certain mould to become a superstar. You need to be good looking and be a great talker. Only then are you deemed "charismatic". Well, charisma isn't so easy to define IMO and Cesaro can be a very charismatic powerhouse face. He has got the moves and the look.

 

[Navi]

I think that it's just the WWE being WWE with Cesaro. Somehow I feel that WWE feels that you have to fit a certain mould to become a superstar. You need to be good looking and be a great talker. Only then are you deemed "charismatic". Well, charisma isn't so easy to define IMO and Cesaro can be a very charismatic powerhouse face. He has got the moves and the look.

Oh I disagree with that statement about being good looking brings charisma. They are two totally different things.

Yes Reigns is gorgeous and it has helped him, but Rollins isn't that fantastic looking and he has charisma as well, same with Ambrose. Not all WWE superstars are nice on the eyes. Ryback, Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Titus O'Neal, The Uso's, Alberto Del Rio, Harper, Rowan and CM Punk weren't what I would call dreamboats, but they've done well for themselves. Well take Axel and Slater out of that equation.

Part of the reason Reigns has done so well is he has the female vote. He has mine anyway. I'm sure his looks do nothing for the men in the crowd, and that might be part of the reason some don't like him. But the women love him.

Cesaro isn't a bad looking guy, but I've said it before he's like a wooden board. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but shit there is no personality there. He's like a robot in the ring. Nothing for fans to get invested in. Now that's not saying he's a bad wrestler, because he's a great wrestler, but he needs to show a bit of himself. He hasn't really so far.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Nobody's going to be a big star with the music this new "composer" does. The themes for Cesaro, Rollins and Ambrose are downright horrific. As far as I'm concerned, Steve Austin wouldn't have been selling over a million t-shirts a month in 1997 if he'd kept that goofy Ringmaster music, and DX wouldn't have been the hottest stable in the WWF in 1998 if Triple H was still making his entrance to the incredibly cheesy "Blue Blood" theme. The entrance music is Cesaro's biggest obstacle, IMO.

 

[DCLXVI]

It is true... theme music plays a big part in things. Who can imagine Goldust without "Shattered Dreams" or Stone Cold without "Glass Breaks"... those tunes have stood the test of time as well. Don't know if we'll be hearing Seth Rollins music in 20 years. Jim Johnston was on his shit though. These CFO$ guys have done a couple good ones, Finn Balor's comes to mind which is one of the coolest WWE themes past and present.

 

[The Brain]

Cesaro does connect with the fans. At least he did before WWE dropped the ball with him. I am typically one to defend Vince but I like to think I'm honest in my opinions. When it comes to Cesaro's failures it's Vince that needs to look in the mirror, not Cesaro. Are people really saying Cesaro can't get over? You people have short memories. Cesaro was over around WM30 and WWE didn't capitalize on it.

You remember WM30 don't you? It was on the pre show where the long awaited break up of the Real Americans took place and the crowd was 100% behind Cesaro. Then he went on to win the battle royal to a huge pop in what should have been a turning point in Cesaro's career but instead looks like it will be the highlight. After several weeks of receiving great reactions and finally breaking up with Swagger you would think Cesaro had just turned face. We all left mania thinking Cesaro was a face but for some reason WWE insisted on keeping him heel despite all the fans wanting to cheer him.

I've read a lot of people saying Cesaro got his opportunity on Monday night and he blew it. Give me a break. What opportunity did he have? Even if he delivered his promo flawlessly it would have been forgotten immediately when he was jobbed out to Barrett. He made one mistake with his words and now people are crawling out of the woodwork to criticize Cesaro.

There is a major flaw with this "brass ring" theory. How is Cesaro, or anyone, supposed to grab that brass ring in such a heavily scripted environment? He had the fans solidly behind him as a result of his actions in the ring. WWE decided to ignore that. What is he supposed to do?

 

[stingray11214]

Saw RAW on DVR after the ball dropped. I can understand why people cannot deal with Cesaro: He is a technician who leaves it in the ring. Problem is, VKM wants trained monkeys and clowns in the ring. Barrett fits the mold with his "bad news". Hell, he even pulled pulled a DDP-type chant. Barrett fits the WWE wrestler to a T.

In the end, Cesaro will become Claudio Castignoli in New Japan or GFW, and will be a main eventer, as someone else said on this thread. Those companies are more for "wrestling fans" rather than glorified Saturday morning cartoons.

 

[Remix]

Cesaro does connect with the fans. At least he did before WWE dropped the ball with him. I am typically one to defend Vince but I like to think I'm honest in my opinions. When it comes to Cesaro's failures it's Vince that needs to look in the mirror, not Cesaro. Are people really saying Cesaro can't get over?

I just did, so clearly at least one person is.

You people have short memories. Cesaro was over around WM30 and WWE didn't capitalize on it.

What was there to capitalise on? An over move does not a star make.

You remember WM30 don't you? It was on the pre show where the long awaited break up of the Real Americans took place and the crowd was 100% behind Cesaro. Then he went on to win the battle royal to a huge pop in what should have been a turning point in Cesaro's career but instead looks like it will be the highlight. After several weeks of receiving great reactions and finally breaking up with Swagger you would think Cesaro had just turned face. We all left mania thinking Cesaro was a face but for some reason WWE insisted on keeping him heel despite all the fans wanting to cheer him.

Translation: They took him away from the mouthpiece that hid his inability to cut a good promo, the catchphrase that was over and told him to stop doing the only move people react to him for. Sure, they could have pushed him hard as a face, but before long people would have got tired of the spin and moved onto the next flavour of the month.

I've read a lot of people saying Cesaro got his opportunity on Monday night and he blew it. Give me a break. What opportunity did he have? Even if he delivered his promo flawlessly it would have been forgotten immediately when he was jobbed out to Barrett. He made one mistake with his words and now people are crawling out of the woodwork to criticize Cesaro.

Motherfucker, Cesaro has had months to impress, to connect. He hasn't. He's been in title feuds, gotten wins over the likes of Orton and been given regular TV time. Has he gotten bigger reactions from that investment? No. It's easy to look like the next big thing when you're in a group that hides your flaws and all you need to do to get a pop is be a beast. That's kinda why Roman Reigns is in the position he's in now.

Yes, he's had good matches but that's irrelevant when it comes to getting over and drawing money. It's not just that he flubbed a line and recovered badly. It's that he's been unable to connect to the audience in any meaningful way. Having an over move isn't meaningful. It's a shallow connection that would be getting shat on if it involved doing a flip.

There is a major flaw with this "brass ring" theory. How is Cesaro, or anyone, supposed to grab that brass ring in such a heavily scripted environment? He had the fans solidly behind him as a result of his actions in the ring. WWE decided to ignore that. What is he supposed to do?

How is Damien Sandow supposed to grab the brass ring after he got 'buried' by Cena, and jobbed out so many times that he's now coming out in fancy dress... Oh wait, he did turn that around and turned it into a tag title run, revitalising his and Miz' careers. Cesaro doesn't have to turn himself into a main eventer over night. But if he's to get the push so many people think he should have by rights of his matches he's got to do something to earn that.