Cesaro

[Ed.]

Not that I think it's going to suddenly change his career after almost being a decade into his WWE run, but I'm really interested to see if Cesaro can put on something special with Roman when they inevitably meet for the title so that we get a glimpse of what we could of had if Cesaro was used as world title guy.  Presumably that's being added to Backlash and would probably be the biggest match of his career.

I had totally forgot the No Mercy performance.  Incredible talent to tough that out.

[CheapPop1999]

There's a whole lot of discussion of overarching wrestling philosophies in this thread, but it's a little bit lighter on Cesaro match recs. Does anybody have an essential 15-20 matches to get a good idea of his case?

[KawadaSmile]

Not exactly a great connaisseur of his body of work pre-WWE, but off the top of my head:

• 30.04.2013 vs Kofi Kingston
• 11.07.2013 vs Sami Zayn
• 27.02.2014 vs Sami Zayn
• 22.05.2016 vs The Miz vs Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
• 11.12.2017 vs Roman Reigns
• 14.07.2019 vs Aleister Black
• 10.04.2021 vs Seth Rollins
• 16.05.2021 vs Roman Reigns

[Tetsujin]

That Fatal Four Way is easily the best ever made, an Cesaro being the juggernaut to beat in it is a big part of why.

From his WWE run, I would add the Regal match, the SmackDown Orton match, basically every Sheamus match (the US title match in 2014) and the Bar run, specially the Ironman against the Hardys and the first Ambrollins match where he fucking breaks his teeth and keeps going like an absolute madman.

[concrete1992]

I don't think I foresaw a few years back that Claudio would come out of WWE and have enough juice to climb up the big board but he's doing just that. The Eddie Kingston match from SCOH this year is wonderful and is looking like we are going to be able to close a long open indie arc in Ring of Honor. Those two are 100% two great flavors that taste great together and they understand how to get the most out of one another despite being deeply different wrestlers.

I think he's been largely good in AEW but the ROH run is going to allow him to spread his wings again.

[CurtainJerker]

He seems like a different animal in ROH matches, similar to how his NXT matches were at another level compared to WWE main roster.

I still have issues weighing him being a charisma vacuum/forcing a character, i.e. Dean Malenko.

[DMJ]

I think the "charisma vacuum" criticism is a little silly. 

The only "fun" Dean Malenko match/moment I can recall is when he dressed like Ciclope during the feud with Chris Jericho (IIRC?). 

Comparing Claudio to Malenko is doing a huge disservice to a guy that has had some really fun moments in AEW that show how much the WWE missed the boat on him. Is he a top level promo? No, but he's been very good at playing the "straight man" against guys like Orange Cassidy and the Young Bucks who often inject some levity into their matches and, recently, I really enjoyed him and Toni Storm's handful of minutes in the ring together.

I'd also point to the Kings of Wrestling vs. Akira Taue and Jun Izumida match that's on YouTube for a really fun wrestling match with lots of comedy spots.

I'm not arguing that Claudio would rate highly in terms of charisma, but if Malenko would be a 0 or a 1, Claudio is probably a 5 or 6. 

 

[Boss Rock]

On 4/12/2021 at 4:39 PM, Boss Rock said:

He may very well be the greatest tag worker ever. Kings of Wrestling, Real Americans, Brass Ring Club, and the Bar. All really good tag teams with four very different partners. And while he may not have a ton MOTYC's or classics on his resume, his consistency as a utility player and TV match worker is almost unmatched. Seems like a pretty easy lock even if I'm not sure I'd put him in the top 50. But that could change depending on how his indie run holds up and if he can continue to deliver.

He will make my top 50. His AEW run has only added to an already pretty sizable resume.

[highflyflow]

Damn near a lock for me, model picture of consistency for what, 15 years now? I’m sure there’s good stuff past that too. All time great tag worker, great heel, great TV worker, he just checks a lot of boxes for me.

[Tetsujin]

His performance last week against Josh Alexander is so impressive. Here's Claudio, who's been working heel since september 2024, being a babyface champ who has to look badass and powerful while showing vulnerability through an injured leg, building anticipation for his signature spots. And he has the crowd in the palm of his hand, in part thanks to not only his strength spots, but to how he struggled to do them. He also moved as quick as a cat still, and he's in well into his fortys working full time with no injuries since I don't even remember when. Unreal pro wrestler.

[MidasGloves]

Claudio's physical consistency is really remarkable. He's been a freak athlete in basically the same incredible shape for over 20 years now, and all that's changed is that he lost the hair in the early 10s. I don't know if he's a very top-notch wrestler in any one category except for being one of the best bases for smaller high fliers ever, but as his career has gone on he's shown to be excellent in nearly every category in so many different settings (Chikara, wXw, 00s ROH, 10s WWE, AEW, etc). I think what's really won me over with him after all of his prior work is how he's adapted to working in CMLL; something about those crowds in Arena Mexico have unlocked another wrinkle to his work, and ironically I find that CMLL Claudio reminds me a lot of Ultimo Guerrero who is one of the only other contenders for the GOAT base guy. He's not a guy on my shortlist but once I hash out my list of names I think he'll find a way on the ballot.

[EnviousStupid]

He's flirting with my top 25. Just has so much great work across the board, still probably being among the best in AEW/ROH/CMLL/wherever the hell he decides to work. Biggest thing I'd criticise him for is how rigid and awkward he can sometimes come across as in moments of his matches, but the broad strokes are consistently strong and he honestly has an abundance of stellar moments that always leave me impressed. The man is 45 years old and still performing at a high level, still showing remarkable athletic ability.