AEW's Claudio Castagnoli On World Title Chase: 'Not Everybody Is The Main Character'

Before he signed with AEW in 2022, Claudio Castagnoli had been the world champion in various promotions around the world such as PWG, wXw, and CHIKARA, but he had never held a world title in a major promotion. He would have two reigns with the ROH World Championship in 2022 and 2023 respectively, but many fans have seen Castagnoli as someone who can, and probably should have had at least one reign with a world championship in either WWE or AEW.

However, Castagnoli seems at peace with the idea of never being the top guy in a major company, explaining in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he is fine having a supporting role rather than a main role. "Everybody should aspire to be the World Heavyweight Champion," Castagnoli said, "I think I may have realized as I'm getting older, that that single-minded focus can actually be a big detriment to me. Not everybody is the main character. Not everybody can be the hero of the story. So to me, it is how can I make the most impact?"

As for what his focus is, Castagnoli explained that even without current world title opportunities, he still looks to go out every night and remind people why he is one of the best wrestlers of his generation. "John Cena said it once to me, 'You're only as good as your last match,' and I very much believe that. That's very much how I approach every single match. Every single match I wanna be proud of and I feel I owe that to the people who follow my career, and I owe that to every single person tuning in for the first time or for the 100th time. When I'm in the ring, they just know they're getting the best consistently."