Cesaro

On January 6, 2012, Cesaro, as **Antonio Cesaro**, made his WWE live event debut in Jackson, Mississippi, where he teamed with Michael McGillicutty in a tag team loss to Alex Riley and Mason Ryan.

Cesaro made his WWE television debut on the April 20 episode of *SmackDown*, appearing in a backstage segment with Aksana and Theodore Long, ending with him going to talk to General Manager John Laurinaitis about a contract. In storyline, the multilingual Cesaro served in the Swiss militia, before embarking on a career in rugby, which ended with him being banned for "excessive aggression". The following week on *SmackDown*, Cesaro defeated Tyson Kidd in a tryout match. In May, Aksana revealed that she and Cesaro were lovers. On the July 3 live episode of The Great American Bash *SmackDown*, Cesaro suffered his first loss when he and Aksana were defeated in a mixed tag team match by The Great Khali and Layla. On the July 27 and August 3 episodes of *SmackDown*, Cesaro scored back-to-back non-title wins over United States Champion Santino Marella. On the following *SmackDown*, Cesaro suffered his first loss in a singles match as he was pinned by Christian. On the SummerSlam pre-show, Cesaro defeated Santino Marella to win the title, his first singles title in WWE. Cesaro made his first televised title defense on the September 3 *Raw*, defeating Marella in a rematch. Cesaro retained the title against Zack Ryder at Night of Champions. On the September 21 *SmackDown*, Cesaro ended his relationship with Aksana after an inadvertent distraction from her cost him his non-title match with Santino Marella. This led to a title rematch between Cesaro and Marella the following week, where Cesaro was able to retain his title easily.

After Cesaro was defeated by Justin Gabriel in a non-title match on the October 22 episode of *Raw*, the two were booked in a United States Championship match six days later at Hell in a Cell, where Cesaro successfully defended his title. Cesaro then began feuding with R-Truth after Truth saved Kofi Kingston from a post-match assault from Cesaro on the October 29 *Raw*. At the same time as his feud with Truth, Cesaro was successfully defending his title against Tyson Kidd on the October 31 episode of *NXT.* On November 18 at Survivor Series, Cesaro defeated R-Truth to retain the United States Championship. The feud continued on the following *SmackDown*, with Truth defeating Cesaro in a non-title match. Cesaro then defeated Truth in two more matches, first in a four-way match, which also included Kofi Kingston and Wade Barrett on the December 3 *Raw* and second on December 16 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a singles match, to retain his title. On the December 31 *Raw*, Cesaro issued a title challenge to Sgt. Slaughter as part of the "Champion's Choice Night" and then defeated Slaughter in the match that followed to retain his championship. Two days later on the January 2, 2013, episode of *WWE Main Event*, Cesaro defeated The Great Khali to retain his United States Championship with a massive *Neutralizer*. Afterwards, Cesaro began a short-lived feud with The Miz, who confronted Cesaro after he insulted Americans as being soft. In the pre-show of the Royal Rumble on January 27, Cesaro defeated Miz to retain the United States Championship. Later on in the pay-per-view, Cesaro entered his first Royal Rumble match at number 22. He lasted a decent amount of time, and even managed to eliminate Daniel Bryan, but was the 18th man eliminated by the eventual winner John Cena. Cesaro's feud with Miz continued on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, where he retained the United States Championship via disqualification after Miz accidentally hit him in the groin. Cesaro and Miz faced off in a Two-out-of-Three falls match for the United States Championship on the March 1 *SmackDown*, where Cesaro yet again retained his title. During the March 21 *NXT* tapings (which aired on April 24 due to tape delay), Cesaro successfully retained his title against Adrian Neville during the "Clash of the Champions" *NXT*. On the April 15 *Raw*, Cesaro lost the United States Championship to Kofi Kingston in an upset victory, ending his long-lived reign at 239 days. Cesaro received his rematch for the title on the May 1 episode of *Main Event*, but was again defeated by Kingston.

In May, Cesaro started a feud with Sami Zayn in NXT, where the two held some of what would later be considered the best matches of 2014. The two first squared off in the ring during the May 22 episode of *NXT*, where Zayn scored an upset victory over Cesaro in his debut match. Cesaro later defeated Zayn in a rematch on the June 13 episode of *NXT*. On the June 17 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro became an associate of Zeb Colter. Colter and Cesaro went on to justify their alliance by saying that Cesaro is the ultimate (legal) immigrant and thus a superior American. Cesaro unsuccessfully challenged Bo Dallas for the NXT Championship on the July 3 episode of *NXT*. At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Cesaro and Colter's fellow client Jack Swagger competed in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, but were both unsuccessful as the match was won by Damien Sandow. The following night on *Raw*, Cesaro and Swagger, now billed as "The Real Americans", teamed together for the first time, but ended up being defeated by The Usos. On the August 21 episode of *NXT*, Cesaro defeated Zayn in a Two-out-of-Three Falls Match to conclude the feud.

During the Night of Champions pre-show, The Real Americans competed in a number one contenders Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, in which they were the last team eliminated by The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil). Simultaneously, The Real Americans began a feud with the returning Santino Marella after he defeated both of them in singles competition. On October 6 at Battleground, The Real Americans defeated Marella and The Great Khali in a tag team match. The Real Americans moved onto feuding with Los Matadores, culminating in a tag team match on October 27 at Hell in a Cell, which Los Matadores won. The following night on *Raw*, The Real Americans defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a non-title match. At the *Raw* of November 18 in Nashville, Tennessee, a fan handed out a hundred simple black and white signs on standard printer paper with the words "Cesaro Section" printed on them. A group of fans held them up together in Cesaro's match and this made it to air and was remarked on by the commentators, as well as by Cesaro himself after the show; this was picked up by other fans, and the Cesaro Section phenomenon quickly spread from there to other arenas and events.

In early 2014, The Real Americans competed against several tag teams (Rey Mysterio and Big Show/Sin Cara as well as The Usos), but were not successful in winning. Cesaro also competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble, entering at number 21, but was eliminated by Roman Reigns. On the January 31 episode of *SmackDown*, Cesaro defeated Dolph Ziggler to earn a spot at the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. On the February 14 *SmackDown*, while his ring name was shortened to Cesaro, he defeated WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton clean in a non-title match. At the Elimination Chamber, Cesaro was eliminated third by Cena via submission. On February 27 at NXT Arrival, Cesaro defeated Zayn again, but embraced Zayn after the match.

During the WrestleMania XXX pre-show, The Real Americans were the final team eliminated during a Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Elimination Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Jack Swagger blamed Cesaro for the loss and put Cesaro in the *Patriot Lock* before Colter demanded that the duo to shake hands. Cesaro instead retaliated with a *Cesaro Swing* on Swagger. Later during the pay-per-view Cesaro was a surprise entrant in the inaugural André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which he won by making the final elimination of the Big Show, body slamming him over the top rope and out of the ring in a manner reminiscent of Hulk Hogan's body slam of André at WrestleMania III.

On the post-WrestleMania *Raw* on April 7, Hogan endorsed Cesaro's WrestleMania victory. Cesaro proceeded to dump Colter as his manager, instead revealing that he was a Paul Heyman guy. After Cesaro was eliminated by Rob Van Dam from a tournament for an Intercontinental Championship title shot, he defeated Van Dam and Swagger in an elimination match at Extreme Rules in May. Cesaro had a series of matches against United States Champion Sheamus, but failed to win the title at Payback in June. Cesaro then defeated Van Dam to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by John Cena. After that, Cesaro went on to lose to likes of Kofi Kingston and Big E in singles matches, while also being eliminated by Heath Slater in a battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship at Battleground in July. On the July 21 *Raw*, Cesaro ended his partnership with Paul Heyman.

Without Heyman, Cesaro went on a losing streak, being defeated by Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and finally Rob Van Dam at the SummerSlam pre-show. By defeating Van Dam in a rematch on *Raw*, Cesaro earned a United States title match against Sheamus, but lost again at Night of Champions in September. Instead, Cesaro switched his sights to another title, the Intercontinental Championship held by Dolph Ziggler, as Cesaro became number one contender after winning a battle royal. In September to November, Cesaro faced Ziggler in a title match on five occasions, on *Raw*, *SmackDown* and at Hell in a Cell, but lost every match, including three-way matches and a two-out-of-three falls match. Also in November, along with losses to Ryback and Erick Rowan and failing to win the United States title in a battle royal, Cesaro's tease of joining Team Cena for a Survivor Series match turned out to be a ruse.

Cesaro began a tag team with Tyson Kidd on the December 1 episode of *Raw* and were eliminated from a gauntlet match for a tag title shot by The Usos. They gained victories over Los Matadores, and proceeded to ally with Adam Rose in a feud against The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) in January. On the Royal Rumble pre-show, Cesaro and Kidd defeated The New Day. Later that night, Cesaro entered the Rumble match at number 28, however he was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. At Fastlane on February 22, Cesaro and Kidd defeated The Usos to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship. They retained their titles in a rematch the following night on *Raw* after their valet Natalya caused a disqualification. Cesaro and Kidd managed to retain their titles on the WrestleMania 31 pre-show in a fatal four-way tag team match. Cesaro also competed in the André the Giant memorial battle royal, but was eliminated by Big Show, whom Cesaro had eliminated the prior year. Cesaro and Kidd then reignited their feud against The New Day, where a double turn took place; Cesaro and Kidd turned face by displaying a fighting spirit, marking Cesaro's first ever face turn in the WWE, while The New Day turned heel by using underhanded tactics during their matches. At Extreme Rules, Cesaro and Kidd lost the Tag Team Championship to The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston), ending their reign at nine weeks. They failed to regain the championship on the April 30 episode of *SmackDown* and at Payback in a 2-out-of-3 falls match, with Xavier Woods interfering in both matches. At Elimination Chamber, Cesaro and Kidd competed in the first ever tag team Elimination Chamber match, but failed to win the titles. On June 7, it was announced that Kidd had suffered a legitimate spinal injury and would be out of action for over a year.

On the June 29 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro answered John Cena's United States Championship open challenge and won by disqualification after Kevin Owens interfered and assaulted Cesaro. He unsuccessfully challenged Cena for the title again the next week on *Raw* in a match that was hailed as an 'instant classic', and that was later awarded the Slammy Award for "Best John Cena U.S. Open Challenge". After *Raw* went off the air, Cena praised Cesaro to the crowd, stating "Cesaro should be main eventing every night". On the July 13 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro confronted Kevin Owens and Rusev about who should face Cena for the championship. This resulted in a triple threat match, where the winner would face Cena immediately after, which Rusev won. On the July 16 episode of *SmackDown*, Cesaro became only the second man (after John Cena) to pin Rusev in a singles match. In the main event of the July 20 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro teamed with John Cena and Randy Orton to defeat Sheamus, Kevin Owens, and Rusev. Cesaro was again attacked by Owens after losing a match to Seth Rollins on the July 23 episode of *SmackDown*. Cesaro teamed up with Randy Orton to defeat Sheamus and Kevin Owens on the August 17 episode of *Raw*. At SummerSlam, Cesaro was defeated by Owens in a singles match. Around this time, with Cesaro now firmly established as a fan favorite, the Cesaro Section phenomenon that originated in early 2014 again found traction, and home-made printed "Cesaro Section" signs again became circulated widely for fans to hold up during events to show their support for Cesaro. On the September 7 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro faced The Miz in a match resulting in a double countout, after which he was knocked out by Big Show. On the Hell in a Cell kickoff show, Cesaro teamed up with Dolph Ziggler and Neville to defeat Rusev, Sheamus, and King Barrett. Cesaro defeated Sheamus on the November 9 episode of *Raw* to advance to the quarterfinals in a tournament to crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Survivor Series after previous champion Seth Rollins injured his knee at a house show in Dublin, but lost to Roman Reigns in the semi-finals on November 16. On November 23, WWE announced that Cesaro needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff muscle in his left shoulder that had been injured for at least two months, and that would leave him out of action for four to six months

Cesaro made his return from injury on the *Raw* after WrestleMania 32 on April 4, 2016 episode of *Raw*, introducing a new *James Bond* style entrance and attire to his character, including a tear-away business suit. He replaced Sami Zayn as a surprise entrant in the main event, a Fatal 4-Way match between himself, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Chris Jericho to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, with the match being won by Styles. He then teamed with Styles to defeat Owens and Jericho in a tag team match on *SmackDown*. On the April 11 edition of *Raw*, Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens to become the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship held by The Miz. At Payback, Cesaro failed to win the title after a distraction by Zayn and Owens, allowing Miz to retain the title. A Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship match between Cesaro, Miz, Owens, and Zayn was then made for the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on May 22. The Miz ultimately prevailed by pinning Cesaro after Zayn executed a Helluva Kick on Cesaro. The following night on *Raw,* Cesaro defeated Miz for a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match. On the following episode *SmackDown*, The Miz retained the title against Cesaro. At Money in the Bank, Cesaro was unsuccessful as the match was won by Dean Ambrose.

On 19 July at the 2016 WWE draft, Cesaro was drafted to Raw. Afterwards, while being interviewed live on the WWE Network by JoJo, Cesaro legitimately complained about how he should have been drafted "at least top 10" and thought he would be a better fit on the more wrestling-oriented SmackDown brand, as well as criticizing the decision to have the storyline focus on the potential drama between Stephanie McMahon and Raw General Manager Mick Foley as opposed to the wrestlers themselves. After the draft, Cesaro would then begin a rivalry with Sheamus; he defeated Sheamus in two consecutive matches, resulting in Cesaro earning a championship match for the United States Championship, which he received on the August 8 episode of *Raw* against Rusev, but lost after interference from Sheamus. The following week, Mick Foley announced that the pair would face each other in a Best of Seven Series, with the first match taking place on August 21 on the SummerSlam kick-off show, which Sheamus won. Sheamus would defeat Cesaro in the second and third matches, but Cesaro defeated Sheamus in the fourth, fifth and sixth match, tying the series 3-3. At Clash of Champions, Cesaro fought Sheamus to a no contest when neither man could continue, leaving the outcome of their series undecided. The next night on *Raw*, Mick Foley decided to make the two partners to receive a future Raw Tag Team Championship opportunity. Later that night, they defeated a few local athletes, but still did not seem to be seeing eye to eye. Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day on the October 24 episode of *Raw* and defeated them by disqualification at Hell in a Cell.

On the November 7 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro and Sheamus were announced as part of Team Raw for the 10–on–10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match at Survivor Series on November 20, which Team Raw won with Cesaro and Sheamus being the sole survivors of their team. The next night on *Raw*, Cesaro and Sheamus again failed to capture Raw Tag Team Championship from The New Day. After hinting at a break-up, the pair got into a bar brawl with men who offended them and finally began to cooperate with each other. They received another title shot at Roadblock: End of the Line, where Cesaro and Sheamus finally defeated The New Day to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, marking Cesaro's second reign. On January 29, 2017 on the Royal Rumble kickoff show, Cesaro and Sheamus lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and failed to regain them after The Hardy Boyz won the titles at WrestleMania 33.

The following night on *Raw*, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass to become the number one contender's for the Raw Tag Team Championship at Payback. At Payback, after failing to regain the title, both Cesaro and Sheamus turned heel by attacking The Hardy Boyz. From there, now known as "The Bar", their entrances became further synchronized as they wore the same attire into the ring. They then won a tag team turmoil to earn another opportunity for the tag title at Extreme Rules. The match was made a steel cage match after Matt Hardy defeated Sheamus on the May 22 episode of *Raw* in a match where the winner chose the stipulation for their Extreme Rules bout. At the event, The Bar defeated The Hardy Boyz to win the Raw Tag Team Championship for the second time, making Cesaro a three-time champion. The duo made their first televised defense of the title against The Hardy Boyz on the June 12 episode of *Raw* in a two out of three falls match where the two teams tied at 1-1 after being counted out. They defended their title against The Hardy Boyz at the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view in a 30-minute Iron Man tag team match by the score 4-3. The Bar lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam. The Bar lost their rematch for the title to Rollins and Ambrose at No Mercy, during which Cesaro lost his two front teeth following a throw into the turnbuckle by Ambrose. Cesaro continued to fight despite blood coming out of his mouth and eventually taking a Brogue Kick from Sheamus. WWE released a statement on Cesaro's medical condition stating that his teeth had been pushed up into his upper jaw by about 3 to 4 mm and that he would next go to see a maxillofacial surgeon. They teamed with The Miz, Braun Strowman and Kane against a reunited The Shield and Kurt Angle who replaced Roman Reigns after he wasn't medically cleared to compete in a five-on-three TLC match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a losing effort. On the November 6 episode of *Raw*, the duo regained their titles from Rollins and Ambrose, winning the title for the third time. At Survivor Series, they were defeated by SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in an inter-brand Champion vs Champion match. The Bar later lost the tag team titles to the team of Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan on the Christmas episode of *Raw*.

On January 28, 2018, The Bar won back the title at Royal Rumble, becoming record four-time champions as a team, and a record fifth reign for Cesaro individually. Earlier in the Royal Rumble match, Cesaro entered at number 11 but was eliminated by Seth Rollins. Following consecutive losses to Titus Worldwide (Apollo Crews and Titus O'Neil) on *Raw*, they defended their title against the two at Elimination Chamber, retaining successfully. On the March 12 episode of *Raw*, Braun Strowman won a tag team battle royal to determine the number one contenders for their tag titles at WrestleMania 34 although he lacked a partner, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle still allowed Strowman to wrestle for the titles, under the provision that he reveal his mystery partner at the event. At the event, Strowman revealed his partner to be a 10-year-old fan called Nicholas. The Bar were defeated by Strowman and Nicholas, therefore losing the tag team title and in turn making Nicholas the youngest champion of any kind in WWE history.

On April 17, as part of the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Cesaro and Sheamus were both drafted to SmackDown. Despite the trade, they still had an opportunity to win the Raw Tag Team Championship as they faced Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, but failed to win the WWE RAW Tag Team Championship. The Bar entered a brief feud with The New Day, losing to them and failing to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. After going on a hiatus, the duo returned in late July to take part in a number one contendership tournament for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship and beat The Usos to advance to the finals, where they lost to The New Day. After failing to become number one contenders again, the duo finally was gifted a title match. At the Super Show-Down event, The Bar failed to win the titles. At *SmackDown 1000*, The Bar won the titles from The New Day with the help of Big Show. The Bar lost to Raw Tag Team Champions AOP in an inter-brand Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series. On the November 27 episode of *SmackDown*, they had a backstage argument with Big Show, causing him to break away from the team and turn face. At TLC, they successfully defended the championship against The Usos and The New Day in a triple threat tag team match. On the January 8, 2019 episode of *SmackDown*, they accepted a challenge from The Miz and Shane McMahon, which would lead to a tag team title match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, in which they lost the titles. The following *SmackDown* they lost a number one contenders match to The Usos. The team then lost to New Day, DIY, The Hardy Boyz, and Aleister Black and Ricochet over the next two months on *SmackDown*.

At WrestleMania 35 in April, The Bar lost to The Usos in a match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. At the *Raw* following WrestleMania, The Bar interrupted a match between Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston, resulting in a tag team match. The next day on *SmackDown*, Sheamus reportedly suffered a concussion in a six-man tag team match with New Day. Cesaro was drafted to Raw a few weeks later. On the May 20 episode of *Raw*, Cesaro debuted a new entrance theme and titantron separate from The Bar as he defeated Ricochet. He would then trade wins with Ricochet as they would feud over the following weeks. He accepted Aleister Black's open challenge for a match at Extreme Rules in July, but was defeated at the event. Cesaro would go on to issue an open challenge at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff on 31 August, which would be answered by Ilja Dragunov, where Cesaro would go on to win the match. Cesaro would enter the 2019 King of the Ring but would be eliminated by Samoa Joe in the first round. Following the 2019 WWE Draft, Cesaro was drafted back to the SmackDown brand. At Crown Jewel, Cesaro lost to Mansoor. Following this, Cesaro would align himself with Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn, teaming with Nakamura on several occasions including challenging for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles where they were unsuccessful. Cesaro participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view and entered at #9, but was eliminated by the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. At WrestleMania 36, Cesaro defeated Drew Gulak in his first singles match at the show of shows. On the Money in the Bank pre-show, Cesaro was defeated by Jeff Hardy.

Following the loss at Money in the Bank, Cesaro began teaming with Nakamura more frequently as they feuded with the New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. On the July 10 episode of SmackDown, Cesaro and Nakamura challenged the New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, but the match ended in a no contest with Cesaro and Nakamura putting Kofi Kingston and Big E through a table. On July 19 at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, Cesaro and Nakamura defeated Kingston and Big E in a tables match to capture the titles, marking Cesaro's second reign. On the October 9 edition of *Friday Night SmackDown*, they lost the titles to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Shortly after, Cesaro and Nakamura went their separate ways after Nakamura turned face and started a feud with Roman Reigns and Jey Uso. Cesaro went on to defeat Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler in consecutive weeks. Cesaro would however, lose in a 10-man tag match on the January 29 episode of *SmackDown*, as well as in the Royal Rumble match, where he was eliminated by Braun Strowman.

On the February 5 episode of *SmackDown*, after defeating Daniel Bryan, Cesaro turned face for the first time in nearly four years when he gave him a fist bump as a show of respect. The following week on *SmackDown*, Cesaro began a feud with Seth Rollins, after Rollins attacked him from behind following a walkout by the *SmackDown* roster. Later that night, Cesaro teamed with Bryan to defeat The Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode) to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match at the eponymous event. At Elimination Chamber, Cesaro managed to eliminate King Corbin but was the second to last man eliminated by Jey Uso. After the event, he would continue his feud with Seth Rollins and on the March 26 episode of *SmackDown*, he would be challenged by Rollins to a match at WrestleMania 37, to which Cesaro accepted. At WrestleMania, Cesaro defeated Rollins.

Cesaro then entered a storyline with the Universal Champion Roman Reigns, requesting an opportunity to face him for the championship, but Reigns would decline Cesaro's request. On the May 7 episode of *SmackDown*, Theodore Long returned for a throwback episode and made the announcement that if Cesaro could beat Rollins in a match that evening, he would receive a chance for the title at WrestleMania Backlash, which he did. However, Reigns defeated him at WrestleMania Backlash; after the match, Rollins attacked Cesaro and would continue to ambush him on subsequent episodes of *SmackDown*, culminating in Cesaro being taken out on a stretcher on the May 21 episode of *SmackDown*. Cesaro would make his return on the June 11 episode of *SmackDown*, attacking Rollins. A rematch would be scheduled for Hell in a Cell the following week, in which Rollins defeated Cesaro. Cesaro was again defeated by Rollins on the July 9 episode of *SmackDown*, failing to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. In October, he entered the King of the Ring tournament, where he lost to Finn Bálor in the first round. By November through February 2022, Cesaro engaged in a brief feud with Sheamus and his protégé Ridge Holland after costing his spot on the men's Survivor Series team. After defeating Ridge Holland in a match, Cesaro lost several matches between Sheamus and Holland, also involving Ricochet. On the February 11 episode of *SmackDown*, Cesaro was defeated by Happy Corbin, in what would be his last televised match in WWE.

On February 24, 2022, Cesaro quietly left WWE when his contract expired, ending his ten-year tenure in the company.