Claudio Castagnoli Names The Three Years He Had The Most Fun In WWE

While current ROH Champion and Blackpool Combat Club member Claudio Castagnoli is more than content under the AEW umbrella, his time in WWE as Cesaro wasn't exactly fruitless. During his decade-long run, the Swiss superstar was a multi-time tag-team champion, United States Champion, and held his own in a main-event-level feud with Roman Reigns in 2021. He'll also forever be associated with his former partner Sheamus for their lengthy alliance as The Bar. The duo was born out of begrudging respect following their epic 2016 rivalry, and they would subsequently capture the "Raw" and "SmackDown" tag belts a collective five times. And as Castagnoli recently reflected on AEW's "Unrestricted" podcast, that stretch alongside the Irish backbreaker was the most fun he'd had in WWE — bar none.

"We became best friends over those years," said Castagnoli. "We had a great time, especially internationally and going to football stadiums and stuff like that."  

He acknowledged that he and Sheamus would bicker lovingly like brothers, which he feels only added to the connection they forged with each other and audiences. "If something is authentic, it will connect with the fans," he explained. "That's the stuff you cannot fabricate. That's the magic." Summing it up in a lament familiar to any dedicated wrestling fan, Castagnoli continued, "How do you explain that to someone who doesn't like or watch wrestling? You can't." 

Worry not for Claudio, however. He has fit in just fine with AEW. As he told Bleacher Report back in August of the Blackpool Combat Club, "I've only known Wheeler Yuta for about a month, but it feels way longer. Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley and William Regal, His Lordship, I've known for such a long time, and it fits like a glove. It's really awesome. It's really fun. It just worked." Having that a world title around his waist probably doesn't hurt.