"One of the most amazing talents" - 4-time WWE World Champion ready to wrestle Claudio Castagnoli in AEW, recalls teaming up with former battle royal winner (Exclusive)
WWE legend Paul Wight expressed his desire to face and team up with recently-debuted AEW star Claudio Castagnoli while recalling their history.
Wight and Castagnoli's signature moment was from Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WWE WrestleMania 30. Castagnoli (then known as Cesaro) re-enacted the legendary Hulk Hogan WrestleMania 3 spot by bodyslamming Wight out of the ring to become the inaugural battle royal winner.
Years later, the two crossed paths once again, this time as allies. Wight sided with The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) on SmackDown's 1000th episode by helping them beat The New Day and win the blue brand's tag team titles.
In an exclusive interview with Riju Dasgupta from Sportskeeda Wrestling, Wight revealed that he had a great time working with Castagnoli in WWE. The former stated that their last altercation was when he betrayed Castagnoli on November 27, 2018, SmackDown by delivering his KO punch.
"I had a great run with Claudio [Castagnoli]. I mean, we have that amazing, memorable experience at the WrestleMania where Claudio won the Andre battle royal. And also, we had a brief little run with Claudio and Sheamus and myself in The Bar so I was in there for a little week until I... the last time we talked, I had turned on poor Claudio," Wight said. [8:24 - 8:44]
The former WWE Champion then disclosed that he would love to rekindle his program with the AEW star, whether as teammates or foes.
"I haven't had a chance to see Claudio so we'll see how our plans were lying down but I would be honored to partner with Claudio. I'd be honored to compete against Claudio. I think he is one of the most amazing talents ever in the wrestling industry. There's really nothing that Claudio can't do and I mean that sincerely from the bottom of my heart, he's amazing." [8:46 - 9:07]
You can check out Wight's interview below:
Former WWE stars Claudio Castagnoli and Jake Hager will collide in AEW for the first time
On Wednesday at Dynamite: Fyter Fest Night 1, two old teammates will clash as Blackpool Combat Club's Claudio Castagnoli will be up against Jericho Appreciation Society's Jake Hager.
For those unaware, the two were known as The Real Americans in WWE from 2013 to 2014, with Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantell) as their manager.
2 matches announced for #AEWDynamite Fyter Fest Night 1 so far:
-- Claudio Castagnoli vs Jake Hager
-- Young Bucks vs Hobbs/Starks vs Swerve/Lee for AEW World Tag Team Championship https://t.co/Wo3448e6je
Fans will have to watch Fyter Fest Night 1 to see if Castagnoli can make it three wins in a row in his AEW career. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how Hager approaches his match against his former teammate.
Fyter Fest Night 1 will be live on Eurosport, and Eurosport HD from 5:30 am onwards on July 14, 2022, Thursday.
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