The All American American VS The Very European Swiss Sensation

[MOExecution]

Antonio Cesaro is no stranger to expressing his international heritage. Since day one he has spoken in five different words or phrases commenting on how great he is, how his opponents isn't, or how America is a awful country. Antonio Cesaro managed to win the WWE United States Championship from Santino Marella (ironically another foreign superstar) and since he has been on a winning streak with a impressive match against Zack Ryder at Night of Champions, showing inhuman strength lifting up the 300+ pound Brodus Clay for the, "Neutralizer" and also defeating Tyson Kidd in a good match this pass week on RAW. Many rumors have went around that Cesaro's next opponent would be Brodus Clay, but it seems that the rumor has been shot down. So the question is who challenges Antonio Cesaro next? Christian (when he's healed), R-Truth, or maybe re-visiting Zack Ryder? My personal choice? Jack Swagger.

A few weeks back we saw Jack Swagger go on leave. Many believe that Jack Swagger will be repackaged once he returns. He has been on a losing streak as of late going from World Heavyweight Champion to jobber in two years. This occurred because Jack Swagger's character got stale and many got behind other superstars, but Jack Swagger does not need to be repackaged he should return, but when he does return he comes back as a FACE superstar to challenge Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship. He is the, "All American, American" so it would fit his character to want to dethrone the foreign superstar and bring back integrity to the United States Championship.

This would be a great move in my opinion because Jack Swagger has gone for months without any solid feuds and losing matches. You bring back Jack Swagger throw him into a feud with Antonio Cesaro as a face superstar and let the crowd get behind this patriotic gimmick then it would fit well against the Anti-American superstar. It would give both men something to work with. Not only does this keep Antonio Cesaro busy as well, but the main reason why I am not fully buying into him is because of his lack of character. This could be the feud to see Antonio Cesaro really shine and get across he is Anti-American, he believes he's better than America. These two are not bad in the ring either so their matches could be great. The fans are quick to catch onto a, "American vs Foreign" storyline. See, The Iron Sheik, Muhammad Hassan, Sgt. Slaughter (heel), and The Un-Americans, and etc. Now how do you do this?

I say have Antonio Cesaro go out to the ring and he talks on the microphone with his regular schtick of saying one word or phrase in five different languages, but then he goes on a rant about how disgusting America is, how much better his country is, why he's above and better than anyone in this country and etc and then have Jack Swagger's music start as he comes out and gets face to face with Cesaro and tells him that he is the All American American, how America is the greatest country, and to top it off use the quote, "If you don't like America then get the hell out!". That would plant the seed and then for the next few weeks have Swagger come out with an American Flag every week then you will hear, "U.S.A." chants echoing throughout arenas whenever Swagger or Cesaro are competing.

So what do you think?

- Should Jack Swagger turn Face?
- Should Jack Swagger be the #1 Contender for the U.S. Championship?
- If not, who should be the next #1 Contender for the U.S. Championship?

 

[Rayne]

You have to imagine that the WWE has some serious, serious faith in Jack Swagger. If they didn't, there's no way he'd still have a job.

That being said, America vs. Anyone is an easy sell. Listen to TNA fans shout "U-S-A" at Kurt Angle's opponents; often, when they're American themselves. Cesaro actually seems to be working out. (Being a great wrestler with years of performance history isn't enough in the WWE anymore- Hi, Kawal!) Normally, I think that the best way to get someone over initially is as a heel, but I think Jack Swagger might defy that role. It's tough to hate a guy with a lisp that bad. But people love rooting for an underdog with something 'less than perfect' about them.

Run him as a face, have him experience adversity, and eventually, but not always, overcome it. Jack Swagger, for all the shit people give him, has a huge upside. The WWE just has to find it.

 

[Evolution1991]

Ive actually just posted in the other Cesaro feud, that I feel he is doing well to make the title relevant again, so reading this I do think yes this would be a great next step in that. Swagger's return will hopefully be nothing like Barrett's.

So pretty much I do agree with all of this, they could end up turning it in to a really personal feud which could be very exciting. Obviously its all been done before, countless times like you suggested, but lets face it those storylines were some of the best.

In fact I feel this to be a very logical next step in the careers of both Cesaro and Swagger.

 

[Slash-LN]

- Should Jack Swagger turn Face?

It would be interesting to see if he could get over as a face. I had said before I would like to see him come back and destroy people with his strength and mat wrestling ability. He wouldn't have to work squash matches but he could just let his in ring ability speak for him. That could work as a face because people would like to see him shut heels up.

- Should Jack Swagger be the #1 Contender for the U.S. Championship?

I had also said I'd like to see him work towards a mid card title so this would work perfectly. Antonio is brash and arrogant and that can get under people's skin. People want to see him get beat up. Having Swagger return in the way I mentioned above and then go after the United States championship would be a good move. If he's already beat a few loud mouth heels then having him go after Antonio would work. Add in the pro America vs anti America dynamic and people could really get behind Swagger and get invested emotionally in the feud.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Jack Swagger doesn't really have a patriotic gimmick though, "The All American, American" is just a nickname, that's all - you never see Swagger wearing the colors of the American flag on his ring gear or him coming out with the flag or to a patriotic theme or anything like that. However I do like the idea of Swagger being repackaged with a patriotic gimmick and him against Cesaro would be a pretty good match considering their styles in the ring, but the thing is Derrick Bateman is being repackaged right now as The USA Guy, and you can't have two guys with the same gimmick at the same time.

About a month ago, I came up with the idea of a Bateman vs. Cesaro feud for the US Title once he comes back as The USA Guy and I think I would be more satistified if Bateman was the one feuding with Cesaro instead of Swagger cause three things that Bateman has that Swagger doesn't are mic skills, personality, and charisma. An American vs. Foreigner feud with Antonio Cesaro, Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre or whoever, would play out much better if it was Derrick Bateman in the role of patriotic American. Plus Bateman isn't bad in the ring, so you could get some decent matches between Cesaro & Bateman too.

EDIT: Forgot about the attire that Swagger wore at WM 26, but that was like the only ring attire he wore which had the red, white & blue colors on it.

 

[Slash-LN]

Jack Swagger doesn't really have a patriotic gimmick though, "The All American, American" is just a nickname, that's all - you never see Swagger wearing the colors of the American flag on his ring gear

Swagger could easily switch back to his blue ring gear with white stars and red details that he used to wear.

Having the USA guy come in and fight for the United States title and battle some of the people you mentioned could also be a good idea though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's an interesting idea. As Rayne pointed out, have someone touting America going up against somebody that's slamming America is always going to be an easy sell. It's possibly the easiest sell in pro wrestling history.

Jack Swagger coming back as a babyface that takes issue with Antonio Cesaro putting down the United States, especially while being United States Champion, has the makings of a simple and very good mid-card feud. Also, as Rayne pointed out, the WWE has to have some sort of faith in Jack Swagger or they probably would've future endeavored him a long time ago.

If this feud does come about, however, I hope it doesn't happen for a while. Swagger could use the time to be built up as a face and WWE is still slowy building Cesaro as the US champ. Just jumping into this immediately could ultimately do more harm than good. For one thing, Swagger coming back so soon and ultimately losing in the feud won't leave him in any brighter position than he had before. Cesaro dropping the belt against his first real challenger, with Triple H wanting title runs longer, won't help things either for Cesaro.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Instead of having "The All American American" Jack Swagger going up against Cesaro, I think they should give "The USA Guy" Derek Bateman a shot at it. Bateman has a lot of natural charisma and the vignettes he made for himself and put on YouTube are really funny and show that he's willing to work hard to try and get himself over. You could show the vignettes on TV to hype up this new character before bringing him in to feud with Cesaro. Cesaro as a heel foreigner is a perfect match-up for the USA Guy and the storyline writes itself. You could do an angle where Cesaro re-christens the United States Title as the European Title and the USA Guy comes out to stand up for America. It's cheesy as hell, but that's the point. At least it would be an actual storyline in the midcard.

 

[bittermang]

I don't even have to hear your arguments, I like it from just the title of the thread. And I hate Jack Swagger.

I thought he and Ziggler were forming into a beautiful Odd Couple, Of Mice and Men style tag team. Two friends that shouldn't be friends, but they are. With their Mom, Vickie driving them to all their soccer practices, unaware she's not actually an M anyone would LF. I love Eddie, but the cruelest heel turn in professional wrestling was him dying, and unleashing that woman on the rest of us. Her "cougar" necklace is a priceless accessory. But I digress.

But this. This I like.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Swagger or Cesaro would have to turn face in order for this to work. Cesaro is doing good in his heel persona and annoying fans by bragging in multiple languages, so I would keep him as a heel if this happened. Swagger, on the other hand, could do well with a face turn. A face version of the "All American American" would help him regain some momentum and the fans might actually care this time around, it comes down to the booking in the end though. I recall saying in the past that having him become the "All American American United States Champion Champion" sells itself, but the booking (and lack thereof) for his US Championship reign proved otherwise. I would like to see a face Swagger (although still under the All American American persona) feuding with Cesaro over the title.

The face turn is not the only thing that would be needed in order for it to work though. Swagger would need to be booked strongly when he returns, he had turned into a joke and became annoying to watch in matches no matter who he faced. That horrible haircut of his didn't do him any favors either. I fully support Swagger becoming #1 contender for the US Championship but only if he is booked strongly enough to be viewed as a threat. The Swagger that we saw in the last two years would never be seen as a threat, if done correctly this could be the feud that helps bring him back to where he needs to be momentum-wise. I'd have him win the title by the end of the feud, Cesaro retains once or twice then loses the belt to a face Swagger. Then I'd have him be booked properly as champion, that's what he'd need more than anything.

 

[MOExecution]

It's interesting how many people are saying that Derrick Bateman should get the opportunity with his, "The USA Guy" gimmick before Jack Swagger. I have watched WWE NXT (from Full Sail University) and I have seen his vignettes as well and they are pretty good. Of course as most of us agreed the American vs Foreign storyline is a cheap sell the fans will attach themselves to automatically, but now it goes from should Derrick Bateman or Jack Swagger be, "The American Hero" that dethrones Antonio Cesaro?

Jack Swagger or Derrick Bateman can capitalize off of, "American Hero" gimmick against Antonio Cesaro. I would personally go with Jack Swagger because we know what he is capable of. We don't really know much about Derrick Bateman can do and from what I have seen I have not been sold on him yet.

 

[fafa1021]

The America "F*ck Yeah!" gimmick is being given to Bateman. I think Swagger will come back as a face but more of a focused more aggressive version of the Swagger we have seen. I don't think he will get a "gimmick" but just kind of be a bad ass along the lines of what we see out of Orton. They need him to be taken seriously.

I read an article once that said they asked around the locker room on the roster would win in a real shoot fight and Swagger was the guy. Let him show those skills in the ring and make him more about what he does in the ring as opposed to a goofy gimmick. That hasn't worked out to well for him in the past.

 

[xavyer]

It would be a great idea, someone else said that Triple H want longer title reigns, and if the WWE is planning for Cesaro to have a long title reign, it could still work if Swagger doesn't win the title, they can have a real feud,Swagger can beat the hell out of Cesaro without taking the belt out of him, for example, Cesaro can go to the ring and have a promo about the USA not being ok or something like that ( no disrespect for the USA, this is storyline wise ), and out of nowere Swagger shows up and tell him that this is America, he should love it or leave it, and as soon as Swagger turns his back, he starts to attack Swager, but then he turns things around and beat up Cesaro, and every time they have a match, Cesaro gets beat up really bad and leave, loosing the match by count out, the next match he get himself disqualified because he has no choice, and they can have matches like that if they want to keep Cesaro champion and Swagger still looks very strong and dominant, just an idea.......

 

[theBec2101]

I do want to see Swagger turn face. But I also think Swagger should be in either WWE of WHC title picture. I wouldn’t mind seeing him wrestle US title or Int, but I think he needs another shot and a better story and push then the lackluster one he got before.

 

[Dirk]

Interesting thing here will be the international audience. The USA isn't the most loved country in the world and the Swiss (among others) will probably be rooting for Cesaro.

But I agree that Swagger should turn face. I think he's amazing inside the ring. His look isn't great (okay, just that haircut) and his mic work isn't great either, but you can't fault him in the ring and that's what we're here for, basically, the wrestling.

 

[Wald]

Interesting thing here will be the international audience. The USA isn't the most loved country in the world and the Swiss (among others) will probably be rooting for Cesaro.

I like the idea of a Swagger vs Cesaro feud outline din the OP a lot, mostly cause it's an easy sell, repackages Swagger and gives us a mid-card feud to get excited over, but with the above idea.

What if they inverted the Bret Hart vs US storyline somewhat and made Swagger a patriot to the extent that he is supposed to get booed in every other country outside of the US? It might be hard to pull off, as he would have to play up most obnoxious points of America, according to the rest of us at least (basically anything to do with the Republican party), whilst keeping himself face in the US. Would be a hard job to do, but if he could pull it off it would really be something special I think