"He's looking for the next top, top guy" - WWE Legend on why Vince McMahon didn't push current AEW star (Exclusive)
Road Dogg believes Vince McMahon didn't push AEW star Claudio Castagnoli (fka Cesaro) in WWE due to the latter's lack of mic skills.
Despite winning titles such as WWE United States, RAW, and SmackDown Tag Team Titles, Castagnoli never reached the brass ring as a world champion. His last title opportunity was at WrestleMania Backlash 2021, where he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship.
In the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Road Dogg claimed that McMahon wanted Claudio to be a sports entertainer, similar to Hulk Hogan. The former DX member noted that while Castagnoli was bilingual, he wasn't an excellent promo cutter:
"See, Vince didn't see... he saw a great pro wrestler and what he wanted to see was a great sports entertainer. Somebody that make him crossover in... into Hulk Hogan or... he's looking for the next top, top guy. Look, I don't know if Claudio could be a top guy in WWE because it relies a lot on your promo skils and a lot of that.... and while he speaks several languages, English is a good language for him but he's not a great promo and that's just a fact of the matter," Road Dogg stated. (from 5:50 - 6:23)
You can watch the clips from this episode here:
To cover up the lack of his promo skills, WWE put Paul Heyman and Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantell) as Cesaro's mouthpiece, but to no avail.
Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell stated Claudio Castagnoli wasn't good with promos
As mentioned earlier, Dutch Mantell (fka Zeb Colter) once worked with Claudio Castagnoli (fka Cesaro) in The Real Americans faction, alongside Jake Hager (fka Jack Swagger).
However, on Smack Talk, the veteran manager bluntly said Castagnoli's promo cutting skills were lackluster and that the creative team should've helped him in that aspect.
"Well he's not very good in promos. They [creative team] could have worked with him. That's what actors do. They work with him in doing promos," Mantell said.
RT for The #RealAmericans, Antonio Cesaro, Jack Swagger, and Zeb Colter. #WeThePeople #RAW http://t.co/rlWIdpOsyx
Castagnoli currently has two wins in AEW - one at Forbidden Door and the other on Dynamite: Blood and Guts. While he's being projected as a top star right now, it will be interesting to see if Claudio has improved his mic skills.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video if you use Road Dogg's quotes from this article.