6-time WWE Tag Team Champion's pairing with Paul Heyman "hurt" him, veteran says
Industry legend Paul Heyman has worked with several wrestlers in WWE. Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell recently claimed that AEW star Claudio Castagnoli's momentum was hurt when he joined hands with The Wiseman.
During his run in WWE, Castagnoli (formerly known as Cesaro) gained a lot of attention from fans when he teamed up with Jack Swagger (aka Jake Hager) as part of The Real Americans. The faction was managed by Dutch Mantell.
After almost a year with the faction, the decision was made for the Swiss Cyborg to part ways with them in an attempt to focus on his singles career. He became a Paul Heyman guy, but that was dropped in a matter of four months.
During the most recent episode of Storytime with Dutch Mantell, the wrestling veteran shared his thoughts on the decision to split up The Real Americans. He felt that it was a bad choice, and that killed all the momentum that Claudio Castagnoli gained in WWE while he was with the faction.
"They told me they wanted to put him with Heyman to get some heat on him, and four weeks later, they dropped it. I think putting him with Heyman hurt him," Dutch Mantell said. [H/T Wrestling News.co]
Jake Hager on fans still reminiscing upon his WWE faction
Jake Hager was the special guest on the latest episode of Storytime with Dutch Mantell. The wrestling veteran asked the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion about wrestling with Claudio in AEW.
Hager replied by stating that the Swiss Cyborg is doing well, and he reminisced upon the fact that the fans are still referring to them with their Real Americans catchphrase, "we the people."
“He’s [Claudio Castagnoli] doing great and that first night that we came together, we did a cage match. And the first time we locked eyes and went face-to-face, everybody in the building, ten years later, nine years later, still started chanting ‘we the people,’" Jake Hager said. [00:21 - 00:39]
Jake Hager also stated that he regretted the decision to break up the faction.
Would you like to see the return of The Real Americans in AEW? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please credit Storytime with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda when you use any quotes from this article.