Cesaro Is the Modern-Day Version of Antonino Rocca

Cesaro is a mold-breaking, athletic marvel who is reimagining the art of pro wrestling. He leaves fans wowed by what they see in the ring, much like Antonino Rocca did before The King of Swing was even born.

One is a Swiss strongman, and the other was an Italian-Argentine high-flyer, but the parallels between the two grapplers are many.

Rocca's career began before WWE was WWF, before it was even WWWF. Throughout the '50s and '60s, the Italian native and Argentine citizen upended audiences' expectations of what wrestling was supposed to be.

His offensive arsenal was a hefty bag of tricks from which he pulled during his matches. The barefoot star performed moves wrestling fans had yet to see. What was primarily a mat-based medium become a much more aerial affair when he stepped between the ropes.

That innovation earned Rocca a rabid fanbase. Crowds converged on Madison Square Garden night after night to see him.

Credit: WWE.com

Cesaro is creating that same kind of excitement. The Swiss powerhouse is as inventive and dazzling on the canvas as Rocca. One line from Rocca's WWE.com profile is one that just as easily applies to Cesaro.

It reads, "He was the most dynamic performer the business had ever seen up to that point."

Like the WWE Hall of Famer, Cesaro is the ultimate showman. To see his matches is to assure oneself of at least one "I can't believe I just saw that" moment.

So even with Cesaro having five inches on the 6'0'' Rocca and boasting a more power-centric attack, it's easy to draw comparisons between the two. John "Bradshaw" Layfield did just that on Monday's Raw, saying with a thrill in his voice that Cesaro reminded him of the Italian great.

The folks at the Markin' Out podcast are among those who see the same thing:

When Cesaro is done wrestling, there's a good chance fans will look back at him as a trailblazer, just like they do to Rocca. He's gone beyond perfecting what's already been done and moved on to crafting elements of wrestling that did not exist before him.

Innovation, Athleticism

Rocca was a marquee attraction of the highest order. It didn't matter whether he was on the same bill as the world champ; audiences wanted to see this showman at work.

In an era heavy on headlocks and grinding foes into the mat in slow, gritty contests, Rocca decided instead to soar. He darted around the ring, hitting high-flying moves that others simply weren't, mastering the dropkick before it was commonplace.

His in-ring repertoire featured his own invention, the Argentine Backbreaker. It boasted the leg-scissors takedown and the running elbow drop, moves that must have seemed alien to audiences at that time.

Rocca would even manage to smack foes in the face with his feet.

This bout against Karl Von Hess showed off a number of those pioneering moves. He hit the heel with a series of rolling leg takedowns, did a headstand mid-match and knocked Von Hess with his feet. 

Cesaro is a different kind of attraction. He's the acrobat and the strongman fused together. Whether he is overpowering a foe or bounding from the ropes, though, he delivers that same wowing sensation that Rocca did.

A part of that is his use of little-seen moves, from the Alpamare Waterslide to the Karelin Lift. Beyond that, though, he makes ordinary moves spectacular.

Today's fans have seen the superplex hundreds of times. Cesaro does his without the leverage of having his opponent on the top rope. His superplex from the ring apron is a stunning, fresh take on the move.

He has adopted a throwback move in the Giant Swing and made it new again by smoothly transitioning it into a Sharpshooter. He's elevated the European uppercut by launching himself off the ring ropes and rotating before landing the blow. 

A recent bout against Sheamus showed off more of his amazing arsenal. He flipped his way out of a hold and put away the Irishman with a pretzel-like pinning combination.

Both Rocca and Cesaro share a proficiency in execution but go a step further and make wrestling fun. People didn't flock to Rocca's bouts to see a wrestling clinic; they came to see a show. That's what Cesaro is busy providing several decades later.

Popularity

Buzz followed Rocca throughout his career. 

A combination of his background, in-ring excellence and charisma catapulted him to superstardom. When TV first blossomed, wrestling was front and center on the new medium, and Rocca was a huge part of it.

As Greg Oliver noted in Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams, Vincent McMahon Sr. said, "Next to Milton Berle, Rocca has sold more TVs in this country than anyone else."

He took on the biggest stars of his era from Lou Thesz to Buddy Rogers. When boxing heavyweight champ Primo Carnera moved over to the wrestling world, Rocca was one of his more high-profile opponents. 

Rocca even battled Superman, appearing in an issue of the famed comic.

As a solo act or a tag team with Miguel Perez, crowds came to see him. As Tom Burke noted for the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, "He with his tag team partner, Miquel Perez, sold out the old Madison Square Garden 20 times."

His Italian-Argentine heritage endeared him to the immigrant populations from those countries. He was a blue-collar hero, a highly marketable, cross-cultural star.

Rocca's popularity was more mainstream than Cesaro's is today. The King of Swing is hugely popular among WWE's diehard crowd. And the casual fans are now catching up. "Cesaro Sections" are becoming an increasingly common sight.

The powerhouse is getting louder reactions in arenas around the world, as well. During WWE's recent European tour, fans in Stuttgart, Germany, gave him an impassioned welcome:

More and more fans are loving what they're seeing from Cesaro, but it has yet to force the company to fully back him as it did Rocca years ago.

While Rocca's ethnicity was a boost to his career, Cesaro's being Swiss is apparently part of why Vince McMahon doesn't think that he has "it." McMahon commented on the Stone Cold Podcast (subscription required) about what may be holding Cesaro back, mentioning his nationality.

That was nearly a year ago. Fans have since made it clearer and clearer how much they love seeing Cesaro perform. As the Cesaro Section grows, one has to wonder if McMahon is watching and whether he'll see that as reason to shift how he presents his Swiss star.

Not Credited Enough

Celebrated during his prime, Rocca has since fallen out of the discussion of the greats too often. 

Blame his peak's coming before many of those having that discussion were born. Blame his coming from an era before WWE exploded on the national and global scene. Rocca just isn't revered in the way that we revere so many of wrestling's pioneers.

Credit: WWE.com

On the WWE Top 50 Superstars of All Time DVD (h/t SEScoops), Rocca missed the cut. Voters instead chose to add Batista and Dory Funk Jr., among others.

IGN left Rocca out in its list of the top 50 wrestlers ever. The Sportster excluded him from its all-time top 25.

Cesaro is instead going underappreciated during his career.

Rocca was never world champ but was often in the main event. Cesaro is not in the same boat. WWE frequently leaves him off pay-per-view cards and has failed to give him a top-tier rivalry to show off his skills. Survivor Series is coming up with Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Kane all awaiting big matches in front of them.

The King of Swing, though, can only hope to be added to the last-minute elimination match that is set to round out the card. 

There has been no consistent push for him. There has been too little direction. 

As thrilling as Cesaro is, and as captivated as the fans are, one would think WWE would treat him a lot more like it once did Rocca.