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One man will enjoy exercising his bragging rights when the superstars of WWE visit Merseyside next month.

Antonio Cesaro was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, just over an hour's drive away from the home of Liverpool FC's Champions League opponents Basel, who recently defeated the Reds 1-0.

Cesaro, real name Claudio Castagnoli, learned how to wrestle in his homeland before achieving great success on the American independent scene.

The 'Swiss Superman' signed with WWE in 2011, and since winning the WWE United States Championship in 2012, has gone on to establish himself as one of the finest in-ring performers in the world today.

(Image: WWE)

As one of the growing number of European Superstars on the WWE roster, do you particularly look forward to the UK tour?

“Yes, I always look forward to coming back to Europe. Unfortunately it’s only twice a year. That to me is always the highlight of the year because European crowds are just awesome and they’re so into what we do. Every time we film TV in England, whether its Raw or SmackDown, it is always a great time because the fans are rowdy and loud and that’s what makes it so special. It's a much better atmosphere than over here!”

I believe you competed in England earlier in your career and were trained here by former WWE Superstar Dave Taylor?

"Yes, I came to England when I was very young, early in my career. It's always nice to come back somewhere where you competed in front of 100 or 150 people and compete in front of a sold-out arena, 10,000 people yelling and screaming."

Raw and SmackDown will be filmed at the ECHO Arena in Liverpool on November 10 and 11. Have you been to Liverpool before?

"No, I've only been to London and Manchester for TV shows before, so I'm really excited to come see how Liverpool's crowd will do."

You're known for speaking five languages, English, German, Italian, French, and Swiss-German, but do you speak Scouse?

"Er... no! Ha ha. But I'm excited to hear it! Isn't Liverpool in a Champions League group with Basel by the way? Didn't you guys just lose right? I had to bring it up, it's not often I can do that. I tried to tease Robbie Brookside [A WWE NXT trainer from Liverpool] about it, but he didn't care so much because he's an Everton fan."

Since making your WWE debut in April 2012, you have become a performer who is loved by fans for your in-ring prowess, regardless of whether you have been playing a babyface or a heel. You seem to be somebody who takes pride in putting on top-class matches.

"Yes, to me with the WWE there are guys who have big matches, the big music, they are top stars, they come to the ring and it's all a big spectacle, and then the bell rings... once the bell rings they suck. With me it's quite the opposite, I come to the ring and it's very simple. I'm proud of the fact that I consider myself a throwback to the good old days, because wrestling itself can be very entertaining and there's nobody that does it better than I do. I think that's fresh and there is a fresh breeze that's going on in the WWE right now."

(Image: WWE)

It's certainly a time when the likes of yourself, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, the new wave of guys coming through, are proving that you are performers who can 'go' in the ring, just as much as you can talk on the mic.

"Exactly. It is a new era of guys, it's a new generation, and it's a lot of fun to watch that because there are fresh match-ups. I mean I'm sick of seeing John Cena against Randy Orton for the 500th time. It's great that we have some new, young guys that can come out and provide absolutely great match-ups and for the fans there are fresh, exciting matches and things to watch."

Does your popularity, especially with the hardcore WWE fanbase - if we can call them that - does that make it harder to get a negative reaction, when you're trying to get the crowd on your back and you're looking to be booed? Do you have to adapt your style?

"Yeah you know I always adapt my style, I think that's what makes me so good. I can adapt my style to pretty much anything, any opponent, any crowd, and that's what makes me so unique and makes me the most interesting character to watch."

You slowly started to make the transition from being a despised villain to a fan favourite when you were part of The Real Americans with Jack Swagger. When did you notice the crowd was starting to cheer for you? Was it intentional?

"Well you know, when the fans realise that somebody is extremely good, they kind of develop a respect for you and that's just something that stays. Because I'm good that's something that happened naturally, especially with the hardcore fans that have followed my career and appreciate what I do."

Having a catchy theme song, Patriot, that fans loved to sing a long too also helped.

"Ha ha, that's true. But that's changed!"

At the turn of the year you added the giant swing to your moveset - a move that displayed your exceptional strength - and along with feats like your pop-up European uppercut, helped you to become increasingly popular with fans. Two sterling TV matches with Randy Orton and John Cena, when you pinned the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Orton on SmackDown in a non-title match and then narrowly lost to Cena on Raw, seemed to open people's eyes to the fact that you were a performer who could compete at a main event level.

"Yes, the way I see it, it's just something that takes time. It takes a while. I've had to prove myself over and over and over, but I've always been confident of my talent."

(Image: WWE)

After an impressive showing at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, you went on to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30. Earlier in the evening on the pre-show you split with Jack Swagger when you lost a fatal-four-way elimination match for the WWE Tag Team Championships. What was that like?

"That was definitely the highlight of my career so far. WrestleMania 30 was arguably the biggest WrestleMania to date, a huge anniversary for WWE and for wrestling in general. It was my first WrestleMania and there is no better way to make a first impression than making a giant first impression."

In doing so you followed in the footsteps of arguably the greatest, certainly the most iconic European wrestler, Andre the Giant, from France. You even recreated the WrestleMania 3 moment of Hulk Hogan bodyslamming Andre, when you eliminated the Big Show.

"That was another thing that meant a lot to me. A lot of people don't realise that Andre was from Europe and like you say, arguably one of the greatest of all time. The Eighth Wonder of the World. To step into his boots was quite a large feat, but I think I filled it."

Post-WrestleMania you teamed up with Paul Heyman, in what was one of the most memorable moments of the following night on Raw. You announced you were now 'a Paul Heyman Guy' and the fans went wild. What did you think of your partnership overall and how it panned out?

"You know, I learned a lot from Paul Heyman and I thought we had a great time. I've now gone out on my own but he is somebody whose advice I trust. We still talk, we're still friends."

What are your goals going forward in WWE? At Hell in a Cell you will face Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, which a lot of fans will be excited about - the prospect of two top workers who could have a great feud if it's given the time to develop.

"Short term right now I just have the goal of becoming the Intercontinental Champion. It should be a great match as you say, and if Europe gets a new Intercontinental Champion on top of it, it will just be great for everyone."

You can buy tickets to watch SmackDown live at the ECHO Arena on Tuesday, November 11 by calling 0844 8000 400 or by visiting www.bookingsdirect.com , where tickets to all other #WWEUKTour shows are also available.