5 times WWE should have made Cesaro a star

It was announced today that long-time WWE Superstar Cesaro is no longer with the promotion. While that doesn't mean they won't come to some sort of new agreement, it does mean that he's free to go work for any promotion that wants him.

What's especially frustrating is that WWE has had multiple opportunities to turn the Swiss Superman/Cyborg into a major player. What's even more frustrating is that they seemed as if they were going to do just that — only to let things fizzle.

So, while we don't know where the man born Claudio Castagnoli will go as of now, we're going to take a look back at five opportunities WWE had to turn him into a megastar... and then didn't, for some reason.

#5. When Cesaro won his first WWE United States Championship

Cesaro first appeared on the WWE main roster in the summer of 2013, following a run in Florida Championship Wrestling. Within months of his debut, he won the WWE United States Championship from Santino Marella, was paired with a valet in Aksana, and seemed to be on his way to bigger and better things.

And then... they had him do this.

From the start, WWE clearly had big plans for him. Of course, WWE's history is littered with stars they've put the United States or Intercontinental Championships on and never followed up with. Still, titles like that are a sign of confidence from the company and, as we know, this wasn't the only gold the Swiss star held in WWE. Far from it.

By the way, that title reign lasted 239 days. It's impressive, any way you look at it.

Of course, this was early in his WWE career — obviously, things were going to pick up, right?