Antonio Cesaro

Ask Antonio Cesaro where he hails from, and you won't be hearing “parts unknown.” The Swiss-born Superstar is unabashedly proud of his roots, and is quick to remind allies and foes alike of his Lucerne hometown.

Walking the walk, Cesaro backed up his patriotism by serving in Switzerland’s famed militia before embarking on an athletic career. After excelling on several European rugby teams, Cesaro was banned from the league due to excessive aggression, and decided to apply his mercilessness in the ring. Honing his skills not just in Europe but around the entire world, Cesaro landed in the United States and developed a cult following exhibiting his vicious skills in tag team and singles competition alike.

But this brutally innovative grappler from the “Land of the Alps” is not all brawn. As versatile as a Swiss Army knife, the cultured Cesaro speaks five languages, allowing him to adapt to his surroundings while traveling the globe en route to WWE. When not European uppercutting his way through his opponents, he appreciates the finer things in life.

Cesaro backed up his multilingual smack talk with a string of big victories on SmackDown leading up to his title-winning stunner at the 2012 SummerSlam Pre-Show. By ending Santino Marella’s lengthy five-month United States Championship reign, The Swiss Sensation put the entire WWE Universe on notice that he’s one of WWE’s fastest-rising young Superstars.

Though he parted ways with girlfriend Aksana after the raven-haired Diva inadvertently caused Cesaro to lose a subsequent Non-Title Match, the uppercut-swinging powerhouse appears confident that his progress will not be hindered by her absence. Almost as if to punctuate that point, Cesaro went on to stun the WWE Universe with feats of strength that included applying his devastating Neutralizer to the massive Brodus Clay and the more than 7-foot-tall Great Khali.

Impressive though his strength may be, it was Cesaro's brashness that caught the attention of The Miz. The Swiss Superstar first interrupted The Awesome One’s “Miz TV” show and then leveled him during the Royal Rumble’s live Pre-Show, before brutalizing him on a subsequent edition of Raw. In a rematch at Elimination Chamber, Cesaro used his cunning to retain the U.S. Championship by employing devious means.

After a 239-day title reign, Cesaro lost the United States Championship to Kofi Kingston on the April 15, 2013, edition of Raw. Proclaiming The Dreadlocked Dynamo robbed him of his identity, The Swiss Superman opted to take from Kingston on a subsequent episode of WWE Main Event: Although he lost an exciting back-and-forth title bout, Cesaro jumped Kingston backstage following the contest and ripped a dreadlock from his scalp.

On a subsequent edition of Raw, following an impressive win over Zack Ryder, the powerhouse from Lucerne demanded the attention of the WWE Universe, stating he “put the ‘W’ in WWE” and boasting that nobody else in the organization — from NXT to Raw — could hold a candle to him inside the ring.

Truly in a class unto himself, Cesaro is very talented ... very bright ... “very European”!