Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler best known for his work on the independent circuit and WWE as Cesaro. He is the former United States and WWE Tag Team Champion. He currently performs on AEW under his real name, and is a member of The Blackpool Combat Club.
In 2000, Castagnoli made his professional wrestling debut on the European circuit. Castagnoli spent the decade making a tremendous splash on the independent circuit. He has wrestled for several top independent promotions, such as ROH, Chikara, PWG, and NOAH. Castagnoli has been part of several tag teams and stables during his wrestling career.
In 2011, Castagnoli signed with WWE and began working for FCW. He spent the year working for FCW and NXT before moving to the main roster. In 2012, he made his debut as Antonio Cesaro and won the United States Championship at SummerSlam. After 239 days, he lost the title to Kofi Kingston on RAW. In 2013, he began working for NXT and on the main roster simultaneously.
During his time on NXT, he put in several classic matches with Sami Zayn. On the main roster, he formed a tag team with Jack Swagger as The Real Americans. In early 2014, Cesaro rose to prominence when he defeated Randy Orton on SmackDown. At Elimination Chamber, John Cena eliminated him. At WrestleMania XXX, he won the inaugural André the Giant Battle Royal.
After Mania, Cesaro left the team and was managed by Paul Heyman. The partnership didn't last long, as Cesaro went on his own after a few months. By the end of the year, he formed a tag team with Tyson Kidd. In 2015, he won the WWE Tag Team Championship with Tyson Kidd. Later, the duo lost the titles to The New Day. In May, Cesaro suffered an injury that kept him out of action for a year.
After returning from an injury, Cesaro rose to prominence and was involved in various championship matches. In 2016, he began his feud with Sheamus, which led to a Best of 7 series. In the end, the contest ended in a draw, and Cesaro formed a tag team with Sheamus. They dubbed the duo as The Bar and stayed as a team for three years. The team won four RAW Tag Team Championship and one SmackDown Tag Team Championship during their run as a team.
In 2019, Cesaro spent his time on RAW facing Aleister Black and Ricochet. During the draft, they moved him to SmackDown. At Crown Jewel, he lost to Mansoor. Later, he aligned himself with Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura. At Elimination Chamber, he helped Zayn win the Intercontinental Championship. During the pandemic, he formed a tag team with Shinsuke Nakamura as The Artist Collective and won the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
In 2021, he began feuding with Seth Rollins. The feud escalated over the coming months and the two were set to face each other. At WrestleMania 37, Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins. At WrestleMania Backlash, Cesaro challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship and lost. At Hell in a Cell, Rollins defeated Cesaro.
Cesaro spent the next few months feuding with Sheamus and Ridge Holland. At Day 1, Cesaro and Ricochet lost to Sheamus and Ridge Holland. Cesaro was last seen on SmackDown, losing to Happy Corbin. In February, Cesaro left the company.
He made a surprise appearance on AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door as the replacement for Bryan Danielson. He defeated Zack Sabre Jr. at the event.
He scored the fall at AEW Blood and Guts against Jericho Appreciation Society. At the 2022 Death before Dishonor, Castagnoli defeated Jonathan Greesham to become the ROH World Champion. He would go on to drop the title to Chris Jericho at AEW Grand Slam.
