Without a shadow of a doubt, Claudio Castagnoli is one of the best wrestlers on the planet, and he has been rightly hailed so for years. His decade-plus run with WWE may at best be described as lukewarm, but there is no doubt that Vince McMahon and Co. somehow bungled it with the Swiss Superman.
However, after joining AEW and winning the ROH World Championship recently, it finally seems that fans will see the supremely-talented veteran get his due. Seeing as his recent match at AEW Blood And Guts fetched Castagnoli his highest ever Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) rating, here are his ten best-rated matches courtesy of everyone's favorite wrestling statistician, Dave Meltzer.
10 W/ Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, Ortiz, Santana, and Wheeler Yuta Vs The Jericho Appreciation Society - AEW Blood And Guts 2022 (4.75 Stars)
A blood feud between two factions that started after Chris Jericho betrayed his former Inner Circle brethren in Ortiz and Santana saw the perfect storm come AEW Blood And Guts 2022. The addition of the recently minted Claudio Castagnoli as a late replacement for the injured Daniel Bryan only added to the hype.
And boy did these dozen performers deliver a hellacious showcase for fans. Such was the quality of the bout that it earned the former Cesaro his highest ever match rating from Dave Meltzer.
9 Vs Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & The Miz - WWE Extreme Rules 2016 (4.5 Stars)
Expectedly, this list will be dominated by Claudio Castagnoli's matches in WWE, for he has the longest time at one place under Vince McMahon's watch. The match in question was bound to do well with the level of talent involved, and perhaps The Miz surprised the most by showing once again that he belongs at the highest stage.
The Awesome One, as the reigning Intercontinental Title, put in a hell of a shift at WWE Extreme Rules 2016 to retain his coveted belt and walk away unscathed. All four received high praise from Dave Meltzer as well, with many fans calling this bout the best multi-man showcase ever in WWE.
8 Vs Zack Sabre Jr. - AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2022 (4.5 Stars)
A dream match between two generational technical masters for many fans, this bout delivered in spades. It also served as a refresher, if anyone needed reminding, of Claudio Castagnoli's talents.
Zack Sabre Jr.'s 10 Best Matches, According To Dave Meltzer
Not to forget Zack Sabre Jr. showing he remains a special mat wrestler and one of the best to ever lace a pair of boots. It was impressive enough to get four and a half stars from Dave Meltzer.
7 W/ Matt Sydal Vs The Briscoe Brothers - ROH Respect Is Earned 2007 (4.25 Stars)
The first of a few ROH matches on this list for fans of the darling indie promotion, this bout pitted two future WWE guys against two who remain indie attractions to this day. The foursome ensured to leave their marks with 20 minutes of hard-hitting wrestling.
The Briscoe Brothers, also the reigning ROH World Tag Team champs, may have walked away as winners, but the losers became bigger stars in defeat. For those of a certain age, this card also contained the likes of Rocky Romero, Roderick Strong, Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, and Kenta.
6 W/ Chris Hero Vs Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin - ROH Glory By Honor IX 2010 (4.25 Stars)
Four absolute tag team legends were bound to produce magic, and they did so, once again under the ROH banner. It may have been a non-title bout, but it was 20 minutes of pure wrestling wizardry as these four put on a barnburner.
The Kings Of Wrestling, one of the most popular tag teams of their time, were able to put away Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team when the dust had settled, but truth be told, there were no losers on this night.
5 W/ Chris Hero Vs Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin Vs The Briscoe Brothers Vs Kenny King and Rhett Titus - ROH Best In The World 2011 (4.25 Stars)
This Four Way Elimination tag match pitted four of the strongest teams at that point against each other, and the result was absolute chaos. This bout went a whopping 40 minutes, but the four teams managed to squeeze in lots of action into that time.
It once again came down to the Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team and The Kings Of Wrestling as the final two, but this time, the roles were reversed. The former Team Angle members were able to come out on top and retain their ROH World Tag Team Titles.
4 Vs Kofi Kingston - WWE Main Event May 1, 2013 (4.25 Stars)
These two have chemistry to spare, and considering they faced each other so many times, the bare minimum to expect was a decent outing. In fact, Claudio Castagnoli and Kofi Kingston could have a serviceable match in their sleep at this point.
While it might seem galling that this highly-rated bout came on a nondescript episode of WWE Main Event, it shows how mishandled both have been in WWE over the years. At least Dave Meltzer saw their efforts and rewarded them thus.
3
Vs John Cena - WWE Monday Night RAW February 17, 2014 (4.25 Stars)
John Cena may have faced accusations of not giving enough of a rub to WWE younger stars, but that was not the case here. He and the-then Cesaro tore the house down in this near 20-minute TV classic.
Claudio Castagnoli was in his "We the People - The Real Americans" shtick with Zeb Colter and Zack Swagger at this point, but his wrestling was still leaving fans wanting so much more. If only those running the show backstage would have been as open-minded about this gifted muscleman from Europe.
2 Vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT ArRIVAL February 27, 2014 (4.25 Stars)
Just ten days after that John Cena epic, Claudio Castagnoli was at it again, this time against fellow indie darling Sami Zayn. It seemed the former Cesaro was on a mission, although all the Dave Meltzer stars seemingly could not help improve his standing with Vince McMahon & Co.
The two showed that NXT was truly on the way to becoming WWE's third brand. At the very least, jaded fans could now tune into Triple H's baby knowing they could expect the absolute best in-ring action every week.
1 Vs John Cena - WWE Monday Night RAW June 29, 2015 (4.25 Stars)
The last entry on this list again contains a name Claudio Castagnoli clashed with often. Surprisingly, they almost always put in a great match, be it on free TV or PPV, in singles or tag team encounters.
This match came in the midst of Unites States Champion John Cena's mythical Open Challenge run, and on this episode of RAW, it was the-then Cesaro's turn. They two again put on an excellent match that had fans on the edge of their seats, with Cena finally quelling his valiant foe's challenge after 20 absorbing minutes.