Claudio Castagnoli has accomplished a lot throughout his pro wrestling career.
On Wednesday night, the ROH World Champion will look to capture a NJPW title when he faces NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston in a champion versus champion showdown at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, the Blackpool Combat Club member spoke about this, as well as his goal of working the Tokyo Dome and Arena Mexico before he retires.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics with his thoughts.
On why winning a title for NJPW means a lot to him: “The chance to be a New Japan champion very much excites me. I wanted to go to New Japan after I left WWE, and I did–but I’d like to go again, and what better way than as Strong Openweight champion? It opens a whole new set of possibilities. And I am very proud to be the Ring of Honor champion. I learned a long time ago that you don’t need a belt to hold yourself like a champion. But when you do have one, you must hold yourself to a higher level.”
On two of his biggest goals being to wrestle at the Tokyo Dome and Arena Mexico: “Tokyo Dome and Arena Mexico, those are two legendary venues that have eluded me throughout my career. I need to wrestle at both of those places, and I’d love to start with the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom. I’m looking forward to taking this title away from Eddie–and wrestling at the Tokyo Dome is something else I’m looking forward to doing.”
Check out the complete interview at SI.com.
