Cesaro Details What Happened When He Was Fired From Deep South Wrestling In 2006
While interviewed on this week's episode of Chasing Glory, Cesaro corrected host Lilian Garcia on what happened back in 2006 when he was fired from Deep South Wrestling, WWE's former developmental territory, after signing with the company. He explains the whole story to sort out any confusion.
"So, literally, I got signed. I finished all of my indie bookings. At that point, me and Chris Hero were the Kings of Wrestling. We had – which was unheard of at the time – we had three different championships from three different promotions," Cesaro recalled. "So we finished our business there, and when that was done, I got a call that [WWE] couldn't hire me. To which I responded, 'But, like, I am hired. I'm already getting paid.' I was told I was going to get my release papers within that next week."
When Garcia asked if he ever found out why he got fired, to this day, Cesaro still has no clue.
"They never said why," he replied puzzlingly. "I never really knew why. I saw the person that hired me after, and still to this day, he still doesn't know why I got let go."
Following his firing, "The Swiss Cyborg" made his rounds around the indies again. But this time, he expanded his horizons by touring in both Mexico and Japan. He calls his dismissal from Deep South Wrestling as a silver lining towards his newfound career.
"I had to start from zero again. The silver lining was it gave me more time to grow up," he stated honestly. "It gave me more time to acclimate to the U.S., to the wrestling. I got to wrestle way more than before. I did tours in Japan and Mexico. There's a lot that happened to me that was absolutely amazing; I'm very happy it didn't work out."
If one were to invest time towards researching Cesaro's start in the business, they'll see that the man has gained many tag titles across the United States. From Combat Zone Wrestling, to Ring Of Honor, to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, "The Swiss Sensation" has left a footprint everywhere he's been.
To understand where he stands as a competitor, Cesaro says that being part of a tag team is no different from the successes he could accomplish as a singles star.
"So in Ring Of Honor, I did some singles work towards the end [of my career there], but my tag matches were the most memorable," he began. "This may sound conceited, but I'm going to say it anyway – I think I can excel at making the best out of any situation and bring out the best in others, whether it's my opponent or my tag team partner. I think I'm more focused on the situation than what's necessarily best for me. I've been lucky to be paired with some amazing other talents over the years."
From 2016 – 2019, Sheamus and Cesaro swept the tag team divisions on both RAW and SmackDown. Now that they've disbanded, Cesaro still holds on to those memories he made with "The Celtic Warrior" fondly.
"It was so much fun. The best part about that whole thing was us going from competitors to best friends," he said with a huge smile on his face. "Everything that happened, you saw that on TV. "
Cesaro says it was only a matter of time before he knew that The Bar was no more.
"We felt like we hit a point where they didn't really know what to do with us, you know? Sheamus got hurt for a minute, so we thought, 'What could we do?' Well, stuff happens and you just go with it," he answered.
Following their formation as the Artist Collective (with Sami Zayn), Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura found themselves on the receiving end of a very special golden prize when they won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules against New Day. Although their reign as champions subsided after 82 days, Cesaro is confident that he and Nakamura will rise to the occasion once more in the near future. But for now, he's okay with signing Nakamura's praises as a partner and as an opponent.
"Shinsuke is one of the coolest people that I've ever met. I say that in every single interview," he chuckled. "He's such a good wrestler. I used to watch him back in New Japan; I watched him and thought, 'Wow, he's awesome!'"
You can watch Cesaro's full interview here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Lilian Garcia -Chasing Glory with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.