Paul Heyman believes WWE missed a massive opportunity with Cesaro, going as far as to describe the company’s handling of the former star as both a “major fumble” and a “crime.”
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Heyman reflected on his partnerships with both Curtis Axel and Cesaro, revealing that neither arrangement was ever intended to be a long-term vehicle for elevating either performer.
When discussing Curtis Axel, Heyman explained that the role primarily existed to support his ongoing storyline with CM Punk. “I don’t think there was ever an overall grand scheme to move Curtis Axel all the way up the ladder. Curtis Axel filled the need for there to be people around me to feed to CM Punk at the time.”
Heyman said the same basic concept applied to Cesaro. “It’s the same thing that happened with Cesaro.”
According to Heyman, Axel was essentially cast as a generic antagonist designed to help Punk’s babyface run. “Curtis Axel was cast as a Paul Heyman guy, a generic Paul Heyman guy. You may as well have put a mask on him and call him the Mad Russian, Mr. X, the assassin, the punk destroyer, so that we could feed the babyface CM Punk.”
Despite that reality, Heyman felt Axel possessed far more potential than he was ultimately allowed to show. “And that’s a shame for Curtis Axel, because he had a lot more to offer.”
While Heyman was complimentary toward Axel, his strongest comments were reserved for Cesaro, now known as Claudio Castagnoli in AEW. “He checked, especially at that moment in time, he checked every box to become a top star.”
Heyman recalled how highly regarded Cesaro was among WWE’s top talent. “Everyone who got into the ring with him came back into Gorilla, saying, ‘Give me him.’”
He even pointed to praise Cesaro reportedly received from John Cena. “I remember John Cena worked with him on television and came back and looked at Vince and said, ‘I could main event WrestleMania with him.’ And probably could have, and should have.”
Heyman explained that Cesaro’s alignment with him following Brock Lesnar’s victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 was largely created to give him a reason to remain on television while Lesnar was away. “Cesaro was placed in that position the day after Brock Lesnar conquered the streak, so that when Brock took his hiatus, I had an excuse to be on television to say my client Brock Lesnar conquered the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.”
However, Heyman said he quickly realized the partnership was never intended to be permanent. “I could tell by the third week I was with Cesaro, I understand what we’re doing here. As soon as Brock is back, this is going to get discarded.”
One of the biggest missed opportunities, in Heyman’s view, was WWE’s failure to capitalize on Cesaro’s multilingual abilities.
Cesaro is fluent in several languages, and Heyman believes that aspect of his personality could have helped him become a much stronger on-screen character. “If Cesaro was given the opportunity to answer every question in a different language, you’d have seen a side of his personality, because he will put emphasis in the dialect, and you will see his mannerisms match the dialect that he’s presenting.”
“So I think Cesaro could have been a fascinating promo if he was given the chance to do that in WWE. He wasn’t.”
Heyman did not shy away from assigning blame. “That’s our fault. That is a major fumble. That was a crime that was committed against the career of Cesaro, and a crime that was committed against the audience for not allowing this gifted performer to do what, at the time, certainly he could do better than most anybody else on the face of the planet.”
He also revealed the storyline he wishes WWE had pursued. “When you realize what he’s capable of, what an opponent he could have been for Brock Lesnar.”
“Had I turned on Cesaro and we built him up to be a threat to Brock, the matches the two of them could have had are mind-boggling.”
Heyman concluded by acknowledging that the missed opportunity belongs to everyone involved, including himself. “A tremendously wasted opportunity, and no one for us to blame but ourselves, including me.”
Castagnoli departed WWE in 2022 after an 11-year run with the company and has since become a key member of AEW, where he continues to be regarded as one of the most respected in-ring performers in professional wrestling.
