Here we go. The seventh edition, and only one left to go. I have tried to get all of your opinions on the best wrestlers of 2014, and this time, you decided “Best Technical Wrestler”
I disallowed Daniel Bryan for this category because of his inactivity (which no one disagreed with), and instead I asked for nominations. After much deliberation on my part, I decided to allow eight wrestlers to fight for this: AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kyle O’Reilly and Sami Zayn. The eight wrestlers fought in two fantasy fatal four-ways, and the winners would face each other in the final. The results were as follows:
- Cesaro (21) vs Aries (14) vs O’Reilly (6) vs AJ Styles (3)
- Ziggler (14) vs Zayn (11) vs Roode (10) vs Tanahashi (4)
The results were not well received by some. Feedback included a clear bias towards WWE wrestlers, and not enough credit given to Kyle O’Reilly. There were a number of comments about Ziggler’s placement in the polls. They thought Ziggler wasn’t “technical” enough. He doesn’t taraget opponents body parts, and he doesn’t do any mat work or submissions. I won’t disagree with anything said, however, I had to give everyone the opportunity to vote freely, and we ended up with an all WWE final between Cesaro and Ziggler.
The final was a one-sided affair, and in the end, Cesaro dominated the poll, winning by 22 votes to 6. Cesaro may have had an up-and-down 2014, but he was still recognized for his ring work. Let’s take a look at Cesaro’s year.
Cesaro’s Roller Coaster Year.
Antonio Cesaro started the year with his continued alliance to the Real Americans. The team unsuccessfully challenged other teams such as Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara, and The Usos. After suffering elimination from the Royal Rumble, Cesaro earned a spot in the Elimination Chamber by defeating Dolph Ziggler. His name shortened to “Cesaro”, and shortly after, he picked up a clean win over Randy Orton on an episode of Smackdown.
At the Elimination Chamber, Cesaro put on a show with Sheamus, as the two brawled each other back-and-forth. Cesaro would be eliminatedby John Cena via submission.
On February 27th, at NXT Arrival. Cesaro and Sami Zayn put on one of the best matches of the year. Cesaro was victorious in the 2 out of 3 falls match, and the wrestlers embraced each other afterwards.
Cesaro kept his momentum going at Wrestlemania XXX. The team failed to capture the Tag Team Championships on the pre-show, and Jack Swagger blamed Cesaro for the loss. Later that night, Cesaro was a surprise entrant in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He won the match by eliminating Big Show by body slamming him over the top rope, mirroring Hogan’s momentous body slam of André..
The following night, Hulk Hogan presented Cesaro with the André The Giant Memorial Trophy. Cesaro revealed Paul Heyman as his new manager, turning heel in the process.
With his new manager, Cesaro stopped performing the Giant Swing, and pursued the United States Champion Sheamus. He began a downward spiral after losing his winning streak to Sheamus. He failed to capture the United States Championship from Sheamus. He was also unsuccessful in the Money in the Bank match (for the vacant WWE title) won by John Cena. He continued the downward spiral after suffering losses to Kofi Kingston and Big E in singles matches. Cesaro ended his partnership with Paul Heyman on July 21st.
The rest of the year consisted of many feuds ending with Cesaro on the losing end. He suffered defeats to John Cena, Jack Swagger, Rob Van Dam, and Sheamus. Cesaro challenged Ziggler several times for the Intercontinental Championship, only to come up short again. On Smackdown, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd challenged Dolph Ziggler in a triple-threat match.
Cesaro fell so far since the beginning of the year, and it only got worse. Vince McMahon made comments about Cesaro’s year on Steve Austin’s podcast. Vince admitted that something was missing, and Austin defended Cesaro by pointing out his badly timed heel turn despite getting over as a babyface. Cesaro started working alongside Tyson Kidd as a tag team going forward, to end the year pretty much where it began. And although Cesaro’s year was a roller coaster, his performances were consistent, and this was clear to the fans who voted him the best technical wrestler of 2014.
Going to end this by giving you a quote from Steve Austin regarding Cesaro. Austin said he was the only star backstage who came into the dressing room to have a conversation.
“I like that dude. He’s missing one piece of the puzzle, but I think he’s got ‘Superstar’ written all over him.”
