42-year-old star looks back on "intertwined" history with Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, Seth Rollins; reacts to being called "extra member" of The Shield
A top champion reflected on his history with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Jon Moxley. The star in question is Claudio Castagnoli.
The Swiss Superman had been part of WWE along with the Tribal Chief, The Visionary, and the three-time AEW World Champion. All four stars have worked together in NXT and on the main roster. It is to be noted that before leaving the Stamford-based promotion, Castagnoli competed against Roman Reigns for the Universal Title.
Currently, the ROH World Champion is part of the Blackpool Combat Club alongside Wheeler Yuta, Bryan Danielson, and former Shield member Jon Moxley.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, the former WWE United States Champion opened up about his history with the Shield brothers.
“For Jon to say we were like extra members is very kind. I was riding with Jon before he got called up with The Shield but was on the road for almost a year. Then we were all riding together when they became The Shield. So our ways have been intertwined for a long time. I learned a lot from Jon, and we have a lot of memories from the road."
He was glad to be named the 'extra member' of the iconic faction:
"We were joking yesterday before the show about the two of us walking around Tokyo looking for a wrestling store on our first WWE tour in Japan. And now we’re here doing what we do best in NJPW,” Claudio Castagnoli said. [H/T Sports Illustrated]
The Blackpool Combat Club paid homage to Roman Reigns and his former faction at NJPW Dominion
This past Saturday evening, Claudio Castagnoli made his NJPW debut in a multi-men match for the Never Openweight six-man Tag Team Titles.
Castagnoli and Jon Moxley partnered with Shota Umino to take on the champions Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii) and Hiroshi Tanahashi. During the match, The challengers paid homage to Roman Reigns and The Shield by hitting their signature Triple-Powerbomb. The former AEW World Champion also hit a Curb Stomp as well.
TRIPLE POWERBOMB AND A CURB STOMP, MOXLEY CHANNELLING THE SHIELD #NJPW #Dominion
Despite all their efforts, The Blackpool Combat Club could not capture the titles. After the match, Bryan Danielson showed up on the titantron and challenged Okada to a one-on-one match. The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion also accepted the challenge.
Do you think the ROH World Champion would have been a good fit as the fourth member of the Shield? Let us know in the comments section below.