When it comes to the tag team history of Claudio Castagnoli – he’s been one of the best to ever lace up a pair of boots alongside a variety of partners. From his time with Chris Hero as The Kings of Wrestling to The Bar alongside Sheamus – Castagnoli has collected many tag team championships. However one often overlooked team came alongside Jake Hager, as they teamed from 2013 to 2014 as The Real Americans.
Jake Hager Thought The Real Americans Were Becoming A Hot Team
While speaking with former manager and professional wrestling legend Dutch Mantel, Hager would have the following to say about The Real Americans run in WWE.
“At that time, Claudio, Antonio, whatever his name is, he was on fire. He was super hot. But also, ‘We the People’ were really coming together. I think they put us together in the summer of 2013. This was the day after Mania in New Orleans in 2014. I would say this was my biggest regret, is that at this moment, we were all ringside. We were there with Triple H. He was explaining to us what was happening. I didn’t say anything and I wish I would have. I knew that once you change one dynamic of the group that it was all going to change. But it’s what they wanted.”
Being Put With Paul Heyman Was The Wrong Move For Claudio Castagnoli
Hager would go on to say that putting Claudio with Paul Heyman ended up killing his hype.
“They wanted Antonio to be a big star for them even though Vince constantly put his thumb on Claudio by doing stupid stuff. They literally told him not to do the giant swing. This was their way of shooting him to the moon, putting him with Paul Heyman and taking him away from us. It could have been good, I guess, but it was just so overnight and forced that it was going to take time, and they weren’t going to give it any time. It’s just one of those things where, once again, they didn’t know how big We the People were, or how big it was, and they wanted to take it away or they wanted to stop it because we were getting too popular, which they didn’t want. They wanted to go with him. He was having five star matches with all the company guys. He was having amazing matches with you can’t can’t see me. It was good. He was hot, but it just wasn’t the right move.”
Right now, Hager & Castagnoli are both under contract with AEW – having clashed during the feud between the Jericho Appreciation Society & Blackpool Combat Club. Do you think The Real Americans should have become WWE Tag Team Champions? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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