Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and current ROH commentator Steve Corino recently appeared on The Ross Report and talked with Jim Ross about Cesaro being underutilized by WWE, Kevin Owens’ success and Samoa Joe’s future with the company.
Corino on Cesaro being one of the most underrated and underutilized WWE performers:
“I believe he [has] got all the tools! The guy speaks a few different languages. He’s a monster in the ring. He’s likable, so if you need him to be a babyface, he’s very likable, but he can be smug in the ring, so he can be a heel. When I watched Mr. McMahon on Stone Cold’s podcast on the [WWE] Network, and when he said that Cesaro isn’t connecting with the fans, I’m like, ‘are you serious?’ Like, I attended WrestleMania 30. That guy was in the top five of the most popular people that night!”
Corino wondered if Cesaro wasn’t too nice a guy backstage:
“He’s the nicest guy ever and that might just be a detriment to him, because he’s a company guy too. No matter how dumb the idea might be, and I don’t know if [WWE] have given him dumb ideas, [but] he’s going to do it and he’s going to do it to the best of his ability and he’s not going to put up a fight.”
Corino on Kevin Owens and Owens’ WWE success:
“He’s like a little brother to me! I’ve known him for 10 years and we had so many great times in Ring of Honor. I still talk to him every week. And he’s just a great guy, a great guy, and he makes me so proud just because he goes in there and he has just destroyed stereotypes of what a pro wrestler should be and that’s his niche. Just like when you brought Mick [Foley] into the WWF in ’96, he broke the mold of what normal fans thought a WWE, WWF at the time, wrestler was supposed to be.”
Corino on if Samao Joe could have similar success in WWE:
“Kevin, I think, was one of those guys that no one expected him to explode this quick, where Joe has been a guy on TNA for 12 years. You know Samoa Joe, but, like, how is he going to be in the big time? I think he’s going to do great, but it’s that power of the pencil. Are the writers going to get behind him?”
Ross then said he add high hopes for Samoa Joe and added he once tried to get Joe signed with the company years ago:
“I have shared my feelings about Samoa Joe with everybody there and I really believe that he’s a company man, he’s solid, I think he’s going to be an asset to the locker room, I think he has the skill set to work with anybody of any skill set whether he be a fan favorite or a villain, so I think Joe’s going to do real well there.”
