Cesaro’s departure from WWE left ‘The Swiss Superman’ sitting on the sidelines, but a return to the squared circle could soon be on the cards.
Many were left shocked when PWInsider broke the news of Cesaro’s WWE departure on 24 February. ‘The King of Swing’ had been with the company for eleven years, making his departure all the more enticing but he’s yet to resurface in the wrestling world.
Outside of trademarking for a new ring name that sees him now referred to as ‘Claudio CSRO’, the 41-year-old has maintained a low profile to focus on his family, as was reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer.
Meltzer elaborated as he explained that any news of Cesaro heading to All Elite Wrestling hasn’t been disclosed as of yet, though it’s known that Tony Khan has a high opinion of the Swiss grappler:
“Cesaro has been laying low for some time. He’s a free agent and is taking time off for family reasons with a young child. He did trademark a new name in case he goes elsewhere. It’s not known if AEW made an offer for him but Tony Khan has spoke highly of him.
But with the size of some of the new contracts WWE has given, there is the feeling a guy like Cesaro, in his early 40s, will return because he’s comfortable with WWE even though he recognizes he’ll never be used on top, but there’s nothing definite in that direction.”
While Cesaro’s next moves from an in-ring perspective may not be known, Dave Meltzer continued as he explained how Cesaro has been in talks with Conrad Thompson relating to the upcoming Starrcast festivities at the end of July:
“The only thing we know is he’s been in talks with Conrad Thompson about doing Starrcast and according to those close to him, has at least considered other projects that he wouldn’t be allowed to do if he returned to WWE.”
Cesaro was a former United States and multi-time Tag Team Champion during his time with WWE, as well as winning the inaugural Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Many felt he went underappreciated during his time there, however, with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter voting him the Most Underrated between 2013 and 2016.
Prior to WWE, Cesaro made a name for himself wrestling as Claudio Castagnoli. ‘Double C’ was found in nearly every top North American independent promotion throughout the 2010s, frequently alongside Chris Hero as The Kings of Wrestling as they captured tag team gold everywhere they travelled.