Claudio Castagnoli is in the midst of a career renaissance. Since debuting in AEW at Forbidden Door, he's become a member of Blackpool Combat Club, won AEW's second Blood and Guts match, and became ROH World Champion.
Claudio's victory over Johnathan Gresham at Death Before Dishonor marked his first world title victory in his two-decade-long career. It was a long overdue moment.
A Different Form of Charisma
In 2014, Vince McMahon appeared a guest on Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions podcast. During the episode, McMahon discussed certain talents and what he felt they were lacking. When Claudio's name came up, McMahon said that while he was physically talented he lacked verbal skills and charisma.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet at Starrcast V, Claudio was asked about McMahon's comments. The following transcription of Claudio's response has been provided by Fightful:
I thought he was wrong. I feel charisma comes in different forms, shapes, sizes. Not everybody has that over the top Ultimate Warrior, shaking the ropes, crazy yelling, screaming type of charisma. Not that I'm sitting here telling you how awesome my charisma, but I felt I had a connection with the fans in the United States and all over the world. While other people are known for long promos that are translated in many languages and doesn't always come across, my stuff was about the in-ring work and people can connect with that. It may take a bit longer, but I did connect with a lot of fans and they were behind me. I don't know if it's not what he was looking for, but in the end, it brought me here and you guys are here to see me.
When you hear the applause that Claudio receives whenever he enters the ring, it's hard not to argue that Vince McMahon was wrong about him. Claudio clearly has a strong connection with the fans which has helped him achieve the success he's had in the last month.
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