Claudio Castagnoli feels like he has something to prove heading into Ring of Honor Final Battle this weekend against Chris Jericho.
Blackpool Combat Club member Claudio Castagnoli recently sat down with Joey Hayden of the Dallas Morning News to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked how he’s feeling heading into Final Battle, Castagnoli admitted his body feels great, but his mind is a different story as he feels the need to prove that he can win the big one against Chris Jericho on Saturday afternoon.
“Body’s great, you know, mind is still – I feel like I still have a lot to prove,” Claudio Castagnoli admitted. “And one of those things is that I can win the big one. I’ve beaten Chris Jericho when it doesn’t count, so to speak. I mean, it always counts but never … I’ve beaten him twice since he won the title off me. So, I would like to win it back in Arlington. And I think I will. I’m pretty confident because I also do not want to join the Jericho Appreciation Society.”
When asked how it would feel to become Ring of Honor World Champion for a second time at Ring of Honor Final Battle, Castagnoli said he would love it so not only could he bring honor back to the title, but so he doesn’t have to join the Jericho Appreciation Society.
“I would be a fool to say that Chris Jericho didn’t defend the title a lot, and in some tremendous matches and brought a lot of eyes to the Ring of Honor world championship just by defending against all comers in AEW. So, I would love to win the title back – A. So I don’t have to join the Jericho Appreciation Society, and B. So I can bring honor back to the ROH championship. And then I would like to defend it in a similar way that he did, but not against former champions. I feel like I would like to defend it against young talent that has been grinding their teeth, for example, on AEW Dark, and hasn’t had that chance yet to showcase that talent on television. Give them a shot at the Ring of Honor title because I feel like that’s what it’s always been and meant was to showcase new talent and give talent the chance [who may not have] another outlet. That’s what Ring of Honor always was. It was kind of the proving ground for people to prove how good they really were before mainstream saw it.”
When asked who he would like to step into the ring with in All Elite Wrestling after Ring of Honor Final Battle, Castagnoli said it just comes down to wants to step up—but specifically named All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy, Dante Martin, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Wardlow.
“To me, it’s just who wants to step up? But that’s kind of the Blackpool Combat Club motto. … I mean, Daniel Garcia had the chance kind of to join and he decided not to, so I would have maybe picked him before. Now, not so much anymore,” Claudio Castagnoli said. “I think there’s a bunch of guys that I would love to step in there with just from a stylistic point of view. For example, Orange Cassidy. I haven’t been in the ring with him. There’s Dante Martin, for example, right? I think stylistically would be very interesting. But there’s a lot more and I don’t want to mention any more names because I’m sure I would miss a lot of talented folks out there. Hobbs, I think he’s kind of coming into his own. Wardlow. There’s just so many that I think would be fun to step in the ring with.”
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What do you make of Claudio Castagnoli’s comments? Are you looking forward to Ring of Honor Final Battle? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
