Antonio Cesaro Needs to Find a Way out of His Current Slump

There were plenty of snubs who weren’t on the WrestleMania 29 card, and one of the biggest was Antonio Cesaro.

Being that he’s the United States Champion and one of the best all-around talents in the WWE, just about everyone assumed Cesaro would somehow find his way into the show. But he ultimately didn’t, and there’s more to this than just the WWE not having “enough room on the card.” 

No, Cesaro’s absence from WrestleMania 29 was a result of several months of atrocious booking in which the US Champion became a jobber to the stars of sorts.

Much like fellow (now, former) midcard champion Wade Barrett, Cesaro has inexplicably been used as someone who makes the WWE’s top stars look good. While Barrett has consistently lost to guys who are slightly above him on the card, Cesaro has done the same by constantly putting guys like Randy Orton and Ryback over. 

It’s certainly perplexing to see Cesaro used in such a role when there are literally hundreds of ways to avoid having him do that. Yet, there’s been little to suggest Cesaro will find a way out of his current slump any time soon.

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel now that WrestleMania is over and many of the WWE’s part-time stars will be going away soon. That might free up some space for Cesaro to get the spotlight he deserves. 

Regardless, the WWE can’t keep booking Cesaro this way—at least not if the company wants either Cesaro himself or the United States Championship to mean anything going forward.

It’s one thing for the creative team to book a talented guy like Cesaro so poorly. But it’s a whole different ballgame to see him get booked like he has been when he’s holding one of the company’s midcard titles.

It’s absolutely imperative that the WWE do something to ensure that Cesaro doesn’t continue to be horribly misused. It’s not something that is all that difficult either. 

We’ve seen stars in the past consistently lose and struggle mightily as a result, only for those stars to suddenly get a renewed push that elevates them up the card. Guys like Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler have gone from losing midcard matches one week to winning main-event ones the next, and the fans can buy into it as long as the talent is there.

When it comes to a guy like Cesaro, there’s no doubt he has the talent to be taken seriously as an upper midcard or main-eventer, either. 

Cesaro is easily one of the strongest men in the WWE. He’s also proven to be a pretty good talker when given the chance to cut promos. And of course, he almost always delivers the goods during his matches—no matter who he’s wrestling.

He’s a rare breed of wrestler who doesn’t come around very often, which is what makes it so baffling that he could be used so poorly, especially when other guys with less talent are getting significantly bigger pushes.

A major push is exactly what Cesaro deserves. He’s patiently bided his time and put up with a number of lackluster feuds (Santino Marella, R-Truth, etc.) despite the fact that most can see he deserves better.

It’s not like Cesaro needs to be wrestling John Cena or competing for World titles tomorrow. What he does need, however, is a chance—a legitimate chance to get out of the slump that he’s in through no fault of his own. 

After all, it isn’t Cesaro’s fault that he’s stuck in the midcard and getting only moderate reactions from crowds.  That blame should rest squarely on the shoulders of the creative team, which has nearly destroyed Cesaro’s credibility with his constant losses and lack of direction.

Cesaro isn’t going anywhere if the creative team can’t get firmly behind him. Whether that will actually ever happen is up in the air, but it needs to if Cesaro’s slump will ever end.

Until creative wises up and starts booking Cesaro like it should, he will continue to struggle, and the WWE will continue to waste one of the most talented performers in the entire company.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!