Cesaro's Feud with Kevin Owens Will Elevate His Standing in WWE Universe

Cesaro's program with Kevin Owens promises to be a good one and is a welcome addition to Raw for fans of both men. Each guy can work and will bring everything he has to ensure this feud will be a memorable one.

But this rivalry is more for Cesaro than Owens, as the former NXT champion will elevate The Swiss Superman in WWE.

Cesaro needs help here. For all of his positive points, which include talent and ability, Cesaro has been missing something from day one.

He has the look: He's 232 pounds of lean muscle with a smirk that suggests he's confident he can overcome any situation. He has the power of two men and is arguably the strongest guy on the card on any given night.  

He is a technician in the ring and can work anyone on the roster, turning in a five-star match practically every time he steps through the ropes. He has toughness by the truckload and can stand toe-to-toe with any Superstar regardless of size.

On paper, Cesaro is the perfect WWE Superstar. But something is not quite right.

That something is character, which is the one thing that could potentially keep him a midcarder for the duration of his WWE career. Much of it is not his fault. Even though the gimmicks he has been saddled with were not unbelievable or out of his reach, he was not able to do anything with them.

Nothing ever seemed to click for him. But at long last, all of that is perhaps changing.

WWE finally seems to have decided on a plan for him, as he has been included in the semi-main and main event rotation on weekly programming. Cesaro is currently filling the void that remains from Daniel Bryan as well as the one at least temporarily vacated by John Cena.

He has been rubbing elbows with both Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose, and it seems to be going pretty well so far. The fans are responding, and he's getting over more than he ever has before. His supporters have always believed in him, and this is his time to shine and prove them right.

But all of this will be amplified by feuding with Owens in true pro wrestling fashion; Cesaro is getting a rub from a guy who just got a rub from the top guy. Working Cena was the best thing that's ever happened to Owens in the short term because that rivalry put him on the map and introduced him to a world of fans who likely had no idea who he was or what he had to offer.

The ramifications of ultimately losing to Cena could affect Owens in the long term, but for now, the buzz on him is transferring to Cesaro, which is a good thing.  

Owens rode a wave of popularity that few debuting heels had known before. Not since Brock Lesnar had a star come in with such confidence, charisma and hype. Every time he was on, he was must-see TV and brought much-needed new life to Monday Night Raw.

Unlike other heels of this era, Owens did not care about being popular; he just wanted to be the villain. He reveled in it, taking every opportunity to make the crowd hate him. And with every disarming promo he cut, he was higher on the food chain.

Now, he's taking the spotlight and legitimacy he earned working with Cena and sharing them with Cesaro. While Cesaro may have been on the main roster longer than Owens, his seniority has made no difference; WWE saw the chance to put Owens in a prime spot, and that's what happened.

It's a testament to the work Owens has done as a top heel that Cesaro is getting over right now. Had Owens not succeeded in his quest to become one of the company's most hated Superstars, Cesaro would arguably not be as popular as he is. Fans may have wanted to see him get a shot, but that shot is amplified thanks to the man standing across from him in the ring.

The trick for Cesaro is longevity. Will WWE stay the course with him as a budding main event star, or will it pull the plug as it did when he was working alongside Paul Heyman? Whatever happens from this point on, Cesaro has a great new start with fans because of Owens, and hopefully his career will do nothing but improve from here.

Tom Clark can regularly be found on Bleacher Report and his podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Windows Phone, Amazon Android and online here