In November 2013, wrestling fan and Reddit user europeanuppercut wanted to show just how passionate he was for his favorite wrestler—WWE Superstar Cesaro—at a Monday Night Raw taping in Nashville, Tenn. His idea? Hand out 100 black and white signs with the words “Cesaro Section” printed on them.

Not only did the signs make it on air, but the match’s commentators mentioned it and even Cesaro himself mentioned it after the show.

That’s when Cesaro Section posters began started showing up at matches from coast to coast, from Portland to Buffalo.

The Cesaro Section phenom had a nice run that year, but the trend began to fade away. Cesaro began a tag-team run with partner Tyson Kidd, but the passion to support Cesaro’s singles push wouldn’t stay quiet for long.

Courtesy of WWE

Worried that Cesaro’s in-ring opportunities might be on the decline thanks to the recent injury of Cesaro’s tag team partner, Reddit user deekortiz3 decided to take matters into his own hands: A Cesaro Section revival was overdue, and with a San Jose, Calif. taping of Monday Night Raw right around the corner, he knew what to do: Hand out “at least 100” 8.5×11-inch Cesaro Section sign for that night’s show.

“I had a lot of concerns in my head regarding exactly how it could go,” deekortiz3 shares with Upvoted. “Early on, I had a couple people mention that they saw the post on Reddit which was cool. I wound up making multiple laps around the arena as the lines outside grew so that I could cover both entrances.”

deekortiz3 says the night turned out to be overwhelmingly positive:

“So many different people took the signs: kids, adults, Cena fans, Owens fans, etc. It was cool to see that a lot of different folks really respected Cesaro and enjoy his in-ring work,”deekortiz3 says. “It really showed Cesaro’s crossover appeal, he may not be everyone’s favorite wrestler but he is well respected and genuinely liked by a huge portion of the audience.”

With that night, the Cesaro Section had been successfully revived, as signs completely littered the arena—not a single section of the arena was not represented by deekortiz3’s signage.

With the Cesaro Section now currently alive and well, Upvoted has reached out to WWE Superstar Cesaro for an interview, for his thoughts on the Cesaro Section, where he’s headed to next, and, uh, of course: fruit baskets.

How did it feel the first time you saw Cesaro Section signs begin to pop up at shows? What do you think of the phrase?

The first time I saw the Cesaro section was a couple years ago in Nashville and it was very cool. Since then, it has become even stronger. My favorite part about it is that it came organically and was the fans’ initiative in support of me which is very humbling and makes me proud. It is something that connects me with the fans and motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing.



Courtesy of WWE

Were you expecting the huge show of support that started around the San Jose Raw taping?

I was not expecting that huge show of support because it kind of slowed down at one point. After my two matches with John Cena it started to gain momentum again. When I walked out for the MIZ TV segment it was crazy and there were Cesaro Section signs everywhere—which was one of the coolest feelings I have had since joining WWE. After that, it just kept growing with more and more cities picking it up.

Are you familiar with the Reddit Squared Circle community?

I am familiar with the Reddit Squared Circle community, and when I heard that is where the resurgence of the Cesaro Section started, I made sure to check it out. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who had a part in bringing the Cesaro Section to life and building it up to what it is today.

What would you rather possess: A fruit basket or the brass ring? (This is a reference to the Reddit Squared Circle community previously sending HHH a fruit basket as a thank you for the NXT PPV.)

That’s a very good question. I would rather have the Cesaro Section signs. Let Triple H keep his fruit basket. [laughs] I am very happy with the Cesaro Section signs—[it’s] all I need.

The online wrestling community has been very vocal with their support for you. How do you think that the Internet changed the way professional wrestlers interact with their fans?

The internet has definitely changed the way fans interact with WWE Superstars/Divas. We are more accessible than ever before and people can see what we are doing at all times.

It really brings a new level of connectivity that was never there before. The fans these days are so knowledgeable about the product, which is a direct correlation to what is available on the internet for them to read up on.

I am very thankful for the people who use it in a positive way to support their favorite Superstars and Divas. The fans are what keep me going even when I am having a bad day, just knowing they appreciate me and what I do.

Who are some of your favorite Superstars to work with in the WWE? In ring, and in storylines with?

There are a lot of Superstars I love being in the ring with. I tend to have great chemistry with whomever I step in the ring with because of the way I train and came up in this business. If I had to name a few, I would say people like Sheamus, Kevin Owens, and John Cena are all great guys to be in the ring with.

Do you have a favorite story from the road to share with your fans?

The road is always fun and we get to visit some very cool places. Just recently we had a chance to go to the zoo in Sydney, Australia. It was an amazing experience because we actually went behind the scenes and met some of the animals. A bunch of us went and we got to play with a sea lion which was an unbelievable experience.

Do Tyson and Sting’s recent injuries make you think twice about taking chances during matches?

When you get in the ring, there will always be risk involved, but you do your best to try and minimize that risk to the best of your ability for you and your opponent.

Do you still follow Chikara?

I do still follow it as much as I can, and try and keep in touch with all of my friends over there. I am extremely happy they are still going strong. It is just great seeing people I came up with have success on different levels. It is definitely a good time to be a WWE fan.

What do you like to do on your days off? Can you describe your ideal day for us?

On the day and a half I get off every week, I like to relax, listen to music, watch some TV. and eat food I actually cook myself—which is fun for me. It is kind of hard to describe an ideal day because our schedules change so much, but every day is an ideal day if you just make the best of it.

Courtesy of WWE

Who is your dream opponent and what would the scenario for the match be?

My dream opponent would be whoever is WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania. That has to be your dream opponent or else you are doing something wrong.

Who should be the next signing for NXT

That is out of my hands, but I feel like those in charge have been doing a great job in signing talent and giving them a chance to be a success.

Considering your match with Sami Zayn at NXT Arrival, do you take credit for getting the ball rolling with NXT’s popularity?

I would like to think it had some type of influence. It was an honor to be the first match on the first live WWE Network special. That is something nobody can take away from me and it was a huge milestone I was involved in. That is something I am very proud of and is part of my “body of work” as Dream would say. It has helped make me who I am today, and it is definitely one of my favorite matches I have been a part of in WWE.

Special hat tip to the mods of Squared Circle for providing some great questions.