Claudio Castagnoli is very proud of losing the tag titles to some kid at WrestleMania

With Braun Strowman’s recent return to WWE, we’ve been reminded how he and some kid (who turned out to be Nicholas, son of referee John Cone) won the Raw Tag titles from The Bar at WrestleMania 34.

It was an angle that some folks had fun with, while others were upset that it hurt Sheamus & Cesaro (now AEW’s Claudio Castagnoli), Strowman, and the belts. In retrospect, Braun was probably hurt the most. But even that is relative, as WWE can quickly reestablish some of his Monster Among Men credibility by having him do Monster Among Men things.

The Tag titles are the tag titles, and both members of The Bar are currently doing alright for themselves. Claudio may have had to leave the company to get into a World title scene, but even in WWE he wasn’t “ruined” by the Nicholas loss.

And guess what? Castagnoli is a big fan of that story. That’s what he told Chris Van Vliet on the Insight podcast:

“I thought it was really cool. [It’s] what I love about wrestling, right? All the kinds of different matches. The roller coaster ride it takes you on. That WrestleMania needed a match like that where it’s just fun. Every show needs fun matches. WrestleMania, everybody is nervous, everybody’s hyped. It’s WrestleMania...

“Once everything was figured out, that match was so much fun. We were just able to go out there and enjoy it. We had the float, it’s called the thing, right [The Bar entered on a Mardi Gras-style parade float, as WrestleMania 34 was in New Orleans]? With all the guys with the big head coming out with us. So it was a crazy, awesome entrance. The match was just fun. Like I said earlier, it’s all about moments. If you’re a kid, and you’re watching WrestleMania, that could be you, right?

“So that was very cool to be in that match for that matter and the fact that people still talk about it to that day. Because there was some bangers on that card. A lot of people always ask like, ‘So Nicholas?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know right?’ So I’m very proud to be part of that match.”

Like I said, while there was some significant upset at the time, in the long run no one seems irreparably harmed by the booking of WrestleMania 34. Does that make you agree with Castagnoli this was just a fun change of pace? Or do you still think it was too cute and damaged all involved?