But don't you think that it's a risk they're taking with turning him heel? When he swung Swagger and won the Battle Royal he got some massive WM pops, he was very over as a babyface. It was pretty much a face turn. Now, I'm not saying I wanted to see an extended feud with Swagger or him with Zeb, but pairing him with Heyman and immediately re-turning him heel, so to speak, was a questionable call imo. He was getting big pops not just from the smarks (who will always cheer him) but from the rest of the crowd as well, and I think that's something they could've capitalized on, but instead, they paired him with a big heel magnet, which will kinda kill your pops. I thought this decision was strange (if they're going to turn him in the future or not I'm not sure, they could, but imo not going forward with a face turn right after WM was weird).
I do think it's a risk. But I also think it's a risk that's currently working out. This goes back to the whole "no black and white; only gray (that's "grey" for our British friends) characters" that really started with Bret Hart and his "pro-Canada, anti-US" persona but was really kicked up during the Attitude Era, but I think a "sorta-Face" Cesaro can justify being with a "mostly-heel" manager Heyman because Heyman is usually touted as "the best manager in the business". I also love how we're seeing something of a rebirth of the role of the manager with Heyman, Coulter, and Lana all actively giving advice, orders, etc., during matches.
The other side of that is that the crowd is still reacting to Cesaro mainly as a face and Heyman as a heel. It's an interesting dynamic, but it's one that's being successful. I know it's a weird decision (I questioned it the night after Mania when they paired Cesaro with Heyman, too), but I'm starting to think that's because we're looking at it from the perspective of being longer-term wrestling fans and not as quick to understand where WWE Creative is taking this ship.
I think at this point Cesaro is above Swagger, I mean I think Swagger needs to get a little momentum going before they try a little feud. Cesaro is coming off some great performances (Elimination Chamber, Andre the Giant BR.. and those are just the PPV ones) they're doing a good job pairing him against Sheamus to make the US Title relevant again and I dig that a lot. The set ups whether it be a beat the clock challenge, or a tournament or a battle royale have been solid for the mid card titles as of recent even the singles matches and performances leading up to Cesaro being the #1 contender (should it be confirmed) are legit.
Cesaro is still prime, entertaining although I do think Heyman isn't really necessary , I know I've said Cesaro's mic work is bad in the past but meh I'd rather hear about him then Brock Lesnar.. unless that's an intentional thing where Cesaro will be like "Yo Paul Stfu about Brock already I'm your client he's not around.." something along those lines leading to a Brock Lesnar vs Cesaro moment.. well at least that's my dream at the moment
I agree that Cesaro is currently above Swagger in the pecking order and I actually think that's been happening for a while now. Vince is said to have been very high on both guys for a long time, but Swagger's stock has leveled out while Cesaro's continues to rise. Also, it's rumored that HHH loves Cesaro's work but is not big on Swagger.
As for the thing about Heyman touting Lesnar's WM victory, it seems like that's toned down a lot in the last few weeks. He still mentions it, but not as prominently as he did before and not as repetitively as he did before (of course, now that I've said that, he'll come out on Raw and do another deal where he repeats it over and over for five minutes). His focus has seemed to be more on the Cesaro character. I do think they're shading things in the direction of having Lesnar return and feud with Cesaro (a similar angle to what they did with Lesnar and Punk last summer) and I'm sure Heyman's touting of Lesnar's abilities will be a part of that. I just don't know how Cesaro's mic work (which I feel is often underrated) will match up with Heyman's. But, we'll see about that.
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