Zeb Colter introduced an unlikely ally on the June 17 edition of WWE Raw when Antonio Cesaro stood by his side with the world watching. Cesaro is of course the second Superstar along with Jack Swagger, to follow Zeb as Colter’s Militia now includes two men who are apparently falling right in line with his ideology.
[adinserter block=”1″]That’s right, folks. Antonio Cesaro is now drinking the Kool-Aid.
If I told you that I did not see this coming, I would be lying. The fact is that nearly a month ago I wrote a column regarding the possibility of Colter and Cesaro joining forces in Vince McMahon’s company. My reasoning was that Colter would respect Cesaro for entering the country the right way and in essence for being an honorable man.
By the way, I was burned pretty hard on that one.
But the truth is that everyone is a critic and WWE fans can be a very tough crowd to impress at times so I took it on the chin and moved on to the next column. The fact is I really didn’t lose a lot of sleep over it.
Of course we’re now faced with the angle that began on Raw and those same fans that enjoyed ripping me apart are left scratching their heads. Not at my powers of prognostication, but the fact that on the surface the alliance between Zeb and Antonio does not seem to make all that much sense.
But I for one believe that it’s the ideal pairing. Why?
Because first and foremost, Antonio is going nowhere fast. Though many fans consider him to be one of WWE’s best talents, an established worker who deserves a fair shake, the truth is that he’s just not getting one.
His United States Championship run was good, it wasn’t great. The feuds he has been involved in have been okay, they have not been career defining.
To put it another way, the guy isn’t doing much of anything anyway.
While that is not much of a reason to just put him with Colter, the point is that he is now back on the fans’ radar. If Zeb can help get him over on TV then that could open doors for Cesaro that may be closed right now. I’m not suggesting that it would help elevate him to WWE or World title status but it would add another layer to his character and perhaps give him more opportunities somewhere down the line.
Then there’s the fact that Colter is very entertaining on the mic and needs more of the controversial spotlight he had when Jack Swagger was himself a World title contender. Colter excels at his role as the outspoken extremist, the proud American who has taken his personal patriotism a bit too far.
He gets a reaction out of the crowd whenever he speaks and gets heat just by showing up on the ramp. He is a throwback to the old school WWE manager and along with Paul Heyman, is bringing back some of that element to the current product.
But the main reason why the partnership between Colter and Cesaro makes sense? Because they’re heels. That’s it.
A heel does not have to explain anything to anyone. His logic only has to make sense to himself. Despite how warped or how insane his approach may be, the fact is that he’s right and everyone else is wrong.
Fans may not understand why heels sometimes do the things they do in WWE, but from a storyline perspective, these characters all inhabit the same universe and have to interact with each other from time to time. Rivalries begin, alliances are formed and whether we can see the reasoning behind it all or not, the fact is that when WWE creative is at its best, they are capable of great things.
And they are also capable of massive train wrecks.
So which will it be in this instance? Are we looking at an angle that will be highly successful for both men? Will Cesaro become a strong mid-card performer once again, perhaps even going higher in WWE? Or will this union be the last act of a misguided company and Antonio will eventually see his WWE career fizzle out and fade away?
[adinserter block=”2″]I believe that Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro will make for a very interesting duo on WWE programming. Each man has proved how talented he is at his respective job and at the end of the day; the best always rise to the top. If the commitment from the company is there and the fans respond accordingly, then Colter’s Militia could become one of WWE’s most powerful factions.
We the people.
Follow Tom on Twitter @tomclarkbr
Tom Clark is a WWE Featured Columnist and Consultant for Bleacher Report and a Contributor for JBL’s Layfield Report
http://bleacherreport.com/users/316723-tom-clark
http://www.layfieldreport.com/Tom-Clark_0dc953ce97.html
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