Claudio Castagnoli’s Return Gives Me Hope

I’ve been a pro wrestling fan my entire life. It’s something that I’ve watched, studied, and have even part of it by helping out my local wrestling promotion. There have been a lot of wrestlers I’ve seen since the late 1980’s, but there are very few that have connected with me. Some of those have been Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels, Ted Dibiase, CM Punk, and Lance Archer. There are even a few guys on the independent scene in my home state of Michigan that have connected with as wrestlers and as friends. However, over the last ten years there has been one professional wrestler that I have felt connected with the most and his name is Claudio Castagnoli. I knew of Castagnoli before he became Antonio Cesaro in WWE. I had seen some of his matches in Ring of Honor in singles competition and in his tag team with Chris Hero. He had unique moves like the the Big Swing, UFO, and the Very European Uppercut. When I finally saw him make his debut for WWE, I instantly knew I was going to see some incredible matches.

Claudio played a very important role in my life in 2014. As I was preparing for my third open heart surgery in 2014, I needed something uplifting to happen because I was dealing with depression before the surgery and a hard recover after surgery. While I was in the hospital, Cesaro defeated Randy Orton on Smackdown in the buildup to Elimination Chamber. Three days later on Raw, he was in a match against John Cena. For weeks leading up to this match, Cesaro attempted to do the big swing to Cena but it kept getting blocked. On this particular night, Cesaro finally got to swing John Cena and it uplifted me in such a way that I cannot describe. The irony of it all is that I was released from the hospital the next morning. ‘

While I was at home recovering, the first NXT event aired on the WWE Network and the very first match of the event was Cesaro versus Sami Zayn. It was an instant classic that really set the down for the event and future NXT shows that would come after. Towards the end of my recovery was around the time that WrestleMania 30 took place. There were a lot of memorable moments, but the highlight for me was watching Cesaro win the first ever Andre the Giant Battle Royal. It was finally the moment that he worked so hard for. I knew after that win that his presence on TV was one of things that helped me get through one of the toughest periods of my life. One year later, when WWE as in my hometown of Grand Rapids, I was able to meet Cesaro for a few seconds and get a picture with him. It was one of the highlights of my life as a pro wrestling fan, but I was still hoping one day that I could share my story and what he meant to me.

Fast forward to 2021. I’ve always voiced my opinions about pro wrestling on Facebook and Twitter whether it’s good or bad. I praise what I think is great and I criticize what I think could be better. On one given night, I had commented on something that I watched on WWE programming. That led to me getting connected to someone within WWE and I had told them what Cesaro had meant to me and my recovery that took place seven years earlier. A few days later, I received an amazing video message from Cesaro that was heartfelt, genuine, and sincere. It gave me hope that he finally knew mt story and that one day I would be able to meet him and thank him for everything he’s done for me.

There are a lot of people who were critical about how Cesaro was used. I’ll be the first to admit that I was one of them. I never stopped cheering and hoping the best for him. He was in some amazing tag teams with Tyson Kidd, Sheamus, and Shinsuke Nakamura. I don’t think he ever had a bad match in the 10 years he was in WWE. Cesaro departed WWE earlier this year after letting his contract expire and the uncertainty of whether or not that he was coming back left me with a lot less passion about pro wrestling. After 30 plus years of being a pro wrestling fan, I was burnt out because I felt like the one guy, I had the most respect and admiration for wasn’t going to come back.

At AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door, Claudio Castagnoli made his return to the pro wrestling ring as the mystery opponent for Zack Sabre Jr. I can tell you that is the happiest I’ve been since the man known as Cesaro faced Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 37. Claudio returning gives me hope because he’s going to be able to fully showcase what he’s capable of and won’t be held back. It gives me hope not to give up on myself or the people I support. If reading this teaches you one thing, it should teach you not give up on your heroes, the people who inspire you, or the people who motivate you. Make no mistake, Claudio Castagnoli is someone that inspires and motivates me and someone I’m proud to call a hero of mine in professional wrestling.