On Cesaro and Being Seen

Cesaro's talents are being misused, but at least he's being seen
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Cesaro was the victim of a hoax on Tuesday night. Word spread that he was released from WWE, and to be honest, it caught on because his booking of late has been sporadic at best. The writers and Vince McMahon clearly have no clue on how to utilize his talents, and when "creative has nothing for you," you're a prime candidate for release. However, the hoax was just that, a hoax. Cesaro is still with the company. Sure, he's losing to Big Show and, according to Smackdown spoilers, "struggling" to defeat lower card talent, but is this a bad place to be located?

Wrestling is presented like a sport, and sports have winners and losers. The stark reality is that someone has to take the loss in mostly every match lest the booking becomes a milquetoast array of draws and non-finishes. Cesaro is probably going to lose a bunch of matches, but is it a bad thing if he's losing them on RAW and Smackdown? On one hand, losses can make a wrestler look "weak," even if they're competitive. If a wrestler loses all the time, theoretically, fans can lose interest in him.

Then again, wins and losses may not matter as much as one thinks in a wrestler being over. Tomoaki Honma spent two years jobbing in singles matches in the G1 Climax, and when he finally won one over Tomohiro Ishii, the reaction was pretty strong. If the fans invest in a wrestler enough, it won't matter if that wrestler wins or loses. People are invested in Cesaro. HE has his own fan section. They cheer for him specifically, even when he's not in the ring. So if creative has nothing for him, is the worst thing in the world having him go in the ring and help make other guys like, ugh, the Big Show look good?

I'm as frustrated as anyone that Vince McMahon can't find a way to get juice out of a handsome, muscular dude who can do amazing feats of strength and can charmingly speak five different languages. He should always be in a story, he should always have a feud, and he should always be wrestling in competitive matches. However, if he's gonna be withered creatively, having him just be on the program isn't the worst thing in the world.

Being seen, being made aware of, is the best currency in wrestling. It allows the fans who are into you to have a hook, and repetition helps breed familiarity with the fans who aren't. Additionally, Cesaro is mega-talented. Theoretically, he's a guy who can go out and make the most of his opportunities. At worst, he'll make everyone he's in the ring with look better, and that will enhance future matches. At best though, he might finally convince people to give him some kind of chance to run with the ball.

Cesaro's booking is suboptimal, especially for a guy as talented as he is. However, if he's being seen every week, his talents are not totally being underutilized. WWE is a frustrating company, and I'm not saying it's in the right for how it's handling its talent like Cesaro. However, if he's going to be on the roster, showing up on RAW and showing his wares is not the worst thing in the world. In fact, it could be a lot worse; he could be where Heath Slater is right now. Where is Slater, you might ask?

Exactly.