Claudio Castagnoli (formerly Cesaro in WWE) was always touted as one of the best wrestlers in the world and one of the most underutilized performers in WWE.
Many of his peers, including John Cena and Bryan Danielson, praised Claudio and thought of him as the next great WWE superstar. In 2014, Vince McMahon famously said Claudio wasn't connecting with the fans and that he needed to "grab the brass ring."
Claudi would win multiple tag team championships in WWE and have high-profile matches in his final year with the company before ultimately leaving in February 2022.
Speaking to Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, Claudio was asked what he thought was necessary to "level up" in WWE.
"If I would know the answer, we probably wouldn't have that discussion, right? [laughs]. It's just one of those things where, I do not have the answer. There is obviously a lot of speculation going on, but if I would have known, I would have obviously done it. There was a lot of 'one step forward, two steps back.' I feel that's how life is for many people. You just have to keep going and learn from those experiences and make decisions based on that. That's why I'm where I'm at now and I'm very happy. I'm also very grateful for John Cena, sharing the ring with him. The experiences, the amount I learned, and the respect I have for him and I would like to think he has for me. That's something I built over the past ten years. The same with the fans. I am here and they accepted me. I'm not the guy that is the 'former WWE guy.' They know I've been with Ring of Honor, I've been on the Indies. They also know every single time I step in the ring, I always give it 100%, no matter if the match is two minutes or 35 minutes, I want to make it the best match possible. It's very important to me that it's authentic. I don't have an answer to that question, I don't know if anybody does, but if that journey brought me to where I am today, I am very happy and extremely grateful to have been on that journey and to be here today," he said.
Claudio stated again that he's thankful for all the fans who supported him along the way.
Claudio made his AEW debut at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, replacing Bryan Danielson against Zack Sabre Jr. He most recently defeated Jake Hager at AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest.
Fans can find results from AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest week one by clicking here.
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