Paul Heyman has opened up about WWE's handling of Cesaro during their on-screen partnership, revealing that despite the Swiss Superman checking every box as a potential main event player, there was never a long-term plan in place to elevate him to the top of the card.
Talking to Chris Van Vliet, Heyman was asked why some of the wrestlers associated with him failed to reach the same championship heights as other "Paul Heyman Guys" (Brock Lesnar and CM Punk, for example), specifically referencing both Curtis Axel and Cesaro.
While discussing Axel's run, Heyman compared his situation to Cesaro's and suggested that neither man was ever positioned with a genuine long-term push in mind by former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
"I don’t think it was meant to work out. I don’t think there was ever an overall grand scheme to move Curtis Axel all the way up the ladder," he said. "Curtis Axel filled the need for there to be people around me to feed to CM Punk at the time, it’s the same thing that happened with Cesaro."
Heyman went on to praise Cesaro's in-ring ability and revealed just how highly regarded he was among WWE's top Superstars at the time.
"You look at Cesaro, and he checked, especially at that moment in time, he checked every box to become a top star. Everyone who got into the ring with him came back into Gorilla, saying, ‘Give me him.’ Everyone, 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."
"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, and you needed an excuse to have me out there on television, and if you put me on commentary, I can’t say it for two or three hours, I have to say it with impact once a week, just drill that into your head, reinforcement, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. So Cesaro became the excuse to see me say the line."
According to Heyman, once Brock Lesnar returned to WWE programming, Cesaro's role alongside him was effectively finished. When asked directly whether there had ever been a long-term plan for either Cesaro or Curtis Axel, Heyman responded, "I don’t believe so. If there was, I was never clued in on it."
"When I was told I was getting Curtis Axel, my question was, what are we doing with this, and Vince’s answer was going all the way to the top. I don’t think Vince really felt that about him, and I don’t think, I mean, I could tell by the third week I was with Cesaro, oh, I understand what we’re doing here, I get it. I see how this is going to play out, that as soon as Brock is back, this is going to get discarded."
Cesaro's pairing with Heyman began immediately after his victory in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30, a moment many fans viewed as the start of a major singles push. However, the partnership lasted only a few months before quietly ending, with Cesaro never reaching the WWE Championship glory fans wanted him to attain.
He's since signed with AEW, and Heyman is now managing another potential future WWE Champion, Bron Breakker. Only time will tell whether things pan out better for him in WWE than they did for Cesaro.