"He was always my guy" – Former World Champion opens up about Claudio Castagnoli's underwhelming WWE run

Claudio Castagnoli made his AEW debut at Forbidden Door!

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently shared his thoughts about Claudio Castagnoli's (fka Cesaro) WWE run.

The Swiss Cyborg was a part of WWE for 11 years. He won many accolades, including the United States Championship and the Tag Team Championship. However, despite being a fan favorite, he never received a big push for the World Championship.

Speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T spoke about Castagnoli's WWE run while discussing his AEW debut. The Hall of Famer said he saw a bit of himself in the former Cesaro. Booker added that Claudio had a similar career path as him, except he was given his big opportunity, which the Swiss superstar never got:

"He was always my guy. Cesaro's always my guy. I always felt we had a whole lot in common. Being around for a long time, working your a** off and waiting on someone to pull your name and say, 'This is the guy,' and it happened for me. That moment for Claudio it never really happened in WWE." (from 40:00 to 40:38)

You can check out the entire podcast here:

Booker T feels Claudio Castagnoli never got the proper freedom to cut promos in WWE

The Hall of Famer shed more light on Claudio Castagnoli's WWE run during the same podcast episode.

Booker T spoke about Castagnoli not getting the opportunity to cut a promo the way he wanted while in WWE. He added that now that he's joined AEW, he might finally get that freedom:

"I don't think Cesaro really had a chance to go out and cut a lot of promos, especially perhaps not the way he wanted to cut the promos. WWE has a structure, it's a lot different than AEW. Guys can go over there [AEW] and have a little bit more freedom. I think with Cesaro, I think we're going to see a whole lot more, perhaps what Cesaro wanted to do in WWE."

#ZSJ's opponent is none other than Claudio Castagnoli @ClaudioCSRO, the newest member of the #BlackpoolCombatClub, here at #ForbiddenDoor! Order the PPV right now! #AEWxNJPW https://t.co/uZdC9x5eFG

Claudio Castagnoli will make his AEW Dynamite debut this Wednesday at Blood and Guts as he joins Jon Moxley, Santana, Wheeler Yuta, Ortiz & Eddie Kingston to face Jericho Appreciation Society.