WWE SmackDown's Cesaro Talks Finally Getting the Respect He Deserves

Cesaro is known by many names, including the King of Swing and The Swiss Superman, but aside from his various titles, he is also known as one of the best wrestlers on the WWE roster. That's why fans have always rallied around Cesaro over the years, wanting the bigger opportunities afforded to other superstars to make their way to Cesaro, and recently he shared that same frustration on SmackDown. Since then he and Shinsuke Nakamura have been on a tear, and on tonight's SmackDown, they'll get their shot at The New Day for the Tag Team Championships. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Cesaro ahead of his big match, and he's quite confident about his chances, especially since he knows exactly who to plan for this time around.

"So in the past, the most difficult part was always to anticipate which version of The New Day you're going to get because they have Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E," Cesaro said. "So, you never knew if you were going to get Big E and Kofi or Big E and Woods or Kofi and Woods. Now it's actually pretty easy to just narrow it down since Woods is injured, and I think that gives us a distinct advantage."

Now, some might remember that it wasn't too long ago that The New Day actually held a Cesaro Appreciation Day for the superstar, but don't expect that to sway him in any way once he gets in the ring with them.

"No, no. See, once you enter the arena, once you enter the ring, there's going to be no swaying me with the Cesaro Appreciation Day," Cesaro said. "I'm going to attack these guys full on today, and after that, next week after we've won, I'm going to host The New Day Appreciation Day."

Winning The Tag Team Championships is one huge step in Cesaro and Nakamura's quest to get the respect from WWE that they've deserved for a while, and winning the titles will give WWE no choice.

"Well, I mean, once you're going to be the Champions, there's going to be no way around it," Cesaro said. "I feel WWE have just overlooked us by the fact that we are so good and it's just like, 'Oh no, let's focus on this over here and do this over there', instead of focusing on something that is reliable. I mean, we've been there and delivered on a constant basis for so long while they're jumping to every other flavor of the month, so to speak.
So I feel like that needs to be more rewarded but I think that's a problem with society, that we just need something new every day, something new every week. We just lose that focus really fast. So once we become the Tag Team Champions, that's going to change, I feel, and there's going to be no way around us."

Now, while WWE might have overlooked both stars, fans have not, and both have cultivated a devout following, which isn't unnoticed by either one. That said, there are other fans who get distracted by the current hot star.

"There's been a big group of fans that have been extremely loyal, as they're called the Cesaro section, and Shinsuke has his loyal fans as well," Cesaro said. I feel me and Shinsuke do have a ton of loyal fans here in the U.S., and especially internationally since we are two big international WWE superstars, but I feel like a lot of fans, they always want to see something new right now, and if that doesn't happen right away, then they're going to lose faith and go to something else and they just want change. It's just, there's no patience."

"I sound so old right now, but you know when you say that you used to work for a company for 10, 20 years, and then you get that old watch? There's no such thing as that anymore," Cesaro said. "There's no pride in just working hard and working well and delivering every single day. It's always like, 'okay, how do I get famous? How do I get this? How do I get that?' They always want to find who the new big guy is or who the new chosen one is. Who can I jump on the bandwagon before everybody else?"

Part of that has resulted in Cesaro's latest evolution, The Wrestling Purist, though he's not just some egotistical heel. Sure he's confident and doesn't take anything from anyone, but he's probably the most polite heel in the business, making for a different kind of heel than we're used to seeing on television, and Cesaro explains it took a few different tweaks and false starts to arrive where he's at now.

"I think it was just a natural evolution," Cesaro said. "I felt really lost after The Bar broke up and I tried some different things, tried some new gear, some new outfits, and it kind of came to a realization that sometimes you need to try something different to find out who you are. I was just kind of looking more inside at who I am, what I stand for, and I'm like, I stand for wrestling. That's the pure form, that's what I love, that's what I grew up on."

"And even in life, I feel like we all should have a pure heart or approach situations that way, and then we can say I'm the politest heel," Cesaro said. "Even in the backstage interviews and stuff, I feel like people just yell at somebody to no fault of their own. So like, if I'm mad at New Day, why would I go yell at somebody else? You know, just to be a complete jerk. I let the other guys do that. If I had a problem with somebody, I feel like that anger is towards them, but then I don't want to take my anger out on somebody else."

Cesaro will take a big step towards claiming that respect he's owed in his match with Shinsuke Nakamura against The New Day for the Tag Team Championships, and you can watch it all go down on tonight's SmackDown, which airs on FOX at 8 EST. As always you can talk all things WWE with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!