Cesaro had binned off his figurative dead weight on the pre-show before eliminating the biggest one from the first ever Andre The Giant Battle Royal to signpost what theoretically should have been his overdue ascent into the upper echelon.
'The Swiss Superman' was a babyface megastar in waiting following the demise of the All Americans with Jack Swagger and a spirited series with Sami Zayn on the burgeoning cult hit NXT, but WWE had promoted the inaugural edition of the banter battle royal so effectively that it was as though this one wasn't going to just be like all the others.
Regrettably, much like the push that failed to materialise, it went exactly as all the pessimists would have predicted. For one night at least though, the mass adulation bore out years of internet adoration - the master of the Swing was King.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
