Match #1: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Nigel McGuinness (Fate of an Angel – 7/16/05)
This is Claudio’s debut in Ring of Honor. They trade control of a wristlock. Nigel slingshots off the ropes and connects with a back elbow. Claudio responds with a european uppercut. Another one sends Nigel to the outside. Claudio follows out with a dive. In the ring, Nigel beings targeting the left arm. They exchange pin attempts to no avail and find themselves at a stalemate. Nigel snaps off some lucha armdrag and connects with a jawbreaker lariat. Claudio blocks a tornado DDT and elevates him into a european uppercut. Nigel crotches Claudio on the top rope and hits the Tower of London for the win at 8:07. This was a good introduction for Claudio because fans unfamiliar with him found out that he could hang with Nigel. These type of matches are a good reason why Nigel became so popular in ROH. **¾
Match #2: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana (Joe vs. Kobashi – 10/1/05)
Cabana snaps off a few armdrags and hangs onto an armbar. He monkey flips Claudio across the ring. Claudio stops the multiple armdrags with a european uppercut. Cabana reverses a delayed vertical suplex into a small package for a two count. Claudio hits an inverted suplex but gets sent to the floor. He prevents an asai moonsault but Cabana connects with a missile dropkick. Cabana lands a lionsault. Claudio hits a rolling neckbreaker and the Ricola Bomb after a distraction by one of Homicide’s thugs for the victory at 7:50. A fine way to give Claudio a win while advancing Cabana’s issue with the Rottweilers. Still, I think this could have been much better given more time. **¼
Match #3: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Alex Shelley (This Means War – 10/29/05)
Nigel McGuinness is watching from ringside. They trade control of a wristlock, which has been a running theme on this compilation thus far. Claudio keeps escaping side headlocks and frustrates Shelley with his mat game. Shelley snaps off a few armdrags and attempts an early Border City Stretch. Claudio quickly reaches the bottom rope. They have a counter wrestling sequence and the crowd seems to love this match. Claudio connects with a springboard back elbow and takes control. Shelley catapults him to the floor and follows out with a tornado DDT. In the ring, he lands a flying crossbody followed by a lionsault. Claudio fights out of the Shellshock and lays in a european uppercut. He connects with a slingshot elbow drop. Shelley hits a wheelbarrow bulldog and connects with a basement dropkick. Both men are down. Claudio hits a spinning sit-out slam and a delayed vertical suplex. Shelley hits a Torbellino and applies the Border City Stretch. Claudio counters into the Neutralizer. Shelley reaches the bottom rope. Claudio attempts the Ricola Bomb but the time limit expires before he can hit it. The match is ruled a draw at 20:00. Claudio became known for working well with smaller opponents and no one doubts Shelley’s ability in the ring. This was as good as expected and the twenty minutes flew by, making the eventual draw not feel inevitable. ***½
Match #4: ROH Pure Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Claudio Castagnoli (Best in the World – 3/25/06)
Claudio attacks before the opening bell with a series of strikes. He teases a dive and poses in the ring. Nigel throws him into the barricade. In the ring, Claudio stretches Nigel, but Nigel refrains from using a rope break and escapes the hold. Nigel must use a rope break to break free from the Neutralizer. Nigel connects with his kick-lariat combination in the corner and takes control. Claudio comes back with a spinning sit-out slam. He connects with a springboard back elbow and lands a corkscrew plancha to the floor. In the ring, Nigel misses a flying double stomp but charges with an uppercut. He hits the Tower of London for a nearfall. Claudio avoids a second Tower of London and hits the Alpamare Waterslide for a two count. They trade uppercuts and Claudio hits a second Alpamare Waterslide. Nigel kicks out once again. Nigel hits another Tower of London but Claudio uses a rope break during the pin attempt. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 12:57. The pure rules were pretty much a non-factor because they wanted to prove to each other who was the better man. People have made the case that Claudio should have won the title here, and based on what I’ve seen on this compilation thus far, it seemed as though he was ready. However, Nigel would go on to do some pretty awesome things with the Pure Title (particularly the Unified match against Bryan Danielson). ***
Match #5: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Christopher Daniels (The 100th Show – 4/22/06)
We are deep into the ROH/CZW feud at this point. They trade control on the mat. They exchange armdrags and find themselves at a stalemate. Daniels escapes an early Neutralizer attempt and regroups with Allison Danger. Claudio hits a delayed vertical suplex. Daniels dropkicks his leg out and starts going to work on the left leg. Claudio creates an opening by coming off the middle rope with a european uppercut. Both men are down. Claudio hits a spinning sit-out slam but falls victim to a death valley driver. Daniels lands the BME. Claudio traps him in the Neutralizer but Daniels reaches the bottom rope once again. Daniels sneaks in a rollup out of nowhere for the win at 15:53. This did just enough as an opener and successfully highlighted one of the cornerstones of Ring of Honor on a milestone show. A trend I’m finding is that Claudio is so good at working with others that his opponents often feel comfortable trying certain moves that they wouldn’t otherwise. The finish was bit abrupt, but this was an enjoyable match regardless. ***
Match #6: Anything Goes: Claudio Castagnoli, Super Dragon, Necro Butcher, and Nate Webb vs. Adam Pearce, Ace Steel, Colt Cabana, and BJ Whitmer (Weekend of Champions Night 1 – 4/28/06)
Claudio had officially joined the CZW crew by this point. Whitmer doesn’t start the match with everyone else, but runs out in a neckbrace and saves his team with chair shots. Claudio immediately targets his injured neck. Pearce runs out as well, having been previously injured by CZW as well. The sides are now even. Webb is back dropped to the floor onto the rest of his team. Everyone brawls throughout the crowd. Cabana has a fan throwing chairs at Team CZW in a hilarious moment. Pearce piledrives Webb onto the entrance ramp. Steel comes off the apron with a flying elbow drop on Super Dragon. Claudio lands a dive to the floor onto Whitmer. Necro attacks Steel with a chair and hits a chair slam. Cabana and Steel back suplex Necro onto a propped chair. Whitmer and Super Dragon square off, as Super Dragon was responsible for the injured neck. Whitmer hits an exploder but Super Dragon answers with a senton from the top rope. Cabana saves Whitmer from another Psycho Driver through a table. Claudio uppercuts Cabana off the apron and through the table. Super Dragon hits Whitmer in the head with an unprotected chair shot. Steel suplexes Necro off the bleachers. Super Dragon double stomps Whitmer’s head into a chair. Claudio hits the Muscle Buster on Whitmer for the victory at 19:37. This was an effective brawl in the sense that something was always happening. Yet it wasn’t overkill, as the crowd was with them for the entire twenty minutes due to this feud being so awesome. Whitmer’s injured neck provided some great drama, and the finish couldn’t have been better at putting heat on the CZW crew. Great stuff all around. ***½
Match #7: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (International Challenge – 12/22/06)
Hero catches Jay with a dropkick and struts around the ring. Jay immediately responds with a spin kick and snaps off a hurricanrana. Mark hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Hero but falls victim to a back suplex. The Briscoes biel Claudio across the ring and take over with some double team offense. Hero snaps Mark’s neck across the top rope and Claudio hits a spinning sit-out slam. The Kings of Wrestling isolate Mark until he hits a flapjack on Claudio and makes the tag. Jay cleans house with a series of strikes. He hits a fisherman suplex on Hero. Mark connects with a double springboard dropkick and the Kings retreat to the floor. The Briscoes follow out with stereo dives. In the ring, Claudio headscissors Jay off the top rope. Hero follows with a rolling neckbreaker and a cravate neckbreaker. Mark lands a springboard splash onto Hero and connects with a springboard dropkick on Claudio. The Briscoes catch Hero with stereo shoulder tackles. Larry Sweeney runs out and punches Jay. Hero rolls up Jay and the Kings retain their titles at 15:09. I love that ROH took advantage of the Kings’ relationship with Sweeney from CHIKARA. This match packed a lot of action into fifteen minutes and while the finish wasn’t spectacular, I don’t think anyone was upset with Sweeney in ROH and it nicely continued the feud. ***¼
Match #8: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuinness vs. Mike Quackenbush (A Fight at the Roxbury – 6/8/07)
I completely forgot about this match but it sounds awesome. Nigel and Quackenbush have a nice exchange until Hero blind tags into the match. Quackenbush armdrags Hero about five times, so Hero tags in Claudio. Of course, Quackenbush and Claudio have an insane sequence, ending with Claudio hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Hero and Claudio utilize some of their old teamwork to work over Quackenbush. Nigel eventually tags in and catches the Kings of Wrestling with lariats. Hero comes off the middle rope with a flying stomp on Nigel. Quackenbush hits the BTS on Hero for a nearfall. Hero lays out Quackenbush with a back suplex and hits an inverted cutter. Claudio follows with a running Ricola Bomb for a two count. He adds a straight-jacket german suplex for another nearfall. The Kings’ tandem offense proves to be too much for Quackenbush, despite some comeback attempts. Some miscommunication allows Nigel to tag in. Nigel hits the Tower of London on Claudio for a nearfall. Claudio answers with the Alpamare Waterslide. Quackenbush launches Claudio to the floor with a monkey flip and follows out with a moonsault. At ringside, Nigel lays out Hero with a rebound lariat. Sweet N’ Sour Inc. take care of Nigel on the floor. Claudio bicycle kicks Hero out of the ring. Claudio european uppercuts Quackenbush for the win at 18:43. I’m hard-pressed to think of a better four corner survival in ROH. This was constant action, with Quackenbush playing the perfect babyface fighting from behind. There was also the unique story of the Kings of Wrestling reuniting on the next show, so they received a chance here to try to get along, which worked to varying degrees throughout the match. If you’ve never seen this match or haven’t watched it in awhile, it’s seriously worth revisiting. ***¾
Match #9: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Matt Sydal (Driven – 6/23/07)
They trade armdrags. Claudio blocks a charge and tosses Sydal across the ring. Claudio hits a delayed vertical suplex. He follows with the giant swing and a gutwrench suplex. Sydal sends him to the floor and follows out with a dive. In the ring, Sydal connects with a spin kick but falls victim to a spinning sit-out slam. Claudio hits a spinning Alpamare Waterslide. Sydal catches him with a quick hurricanrana for a nearfall and lands a standing moonsault. Sydal hits an implant DDT for a two count. Claudio enzuigiris him off the top rope and connects with a brutal bicycle kick for a nearfall. A charging european uppercut won’t keep Sydal down. Sydal headscissors Claudio out of nearly an impossible position. He blocks a powerbomb with a hurricanrana after jumping onto Claudio’s shoulders. Claudio rolls through a hurricanrana for the victory at 8:20. This is what people mean when they say Claudio is at his best working with smaller opponents. Once again, I’d be hard-pressed to find a better eight-minute match. After falling prey to Sydal’s athleticism, Claudio finally found an opening to take advantage of it and won the match. ***¼
Match #10: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hallowicked (Race to the Top Tournament Night 1 – 7/27/07)
This is a first round match in the Race to the Top Tournament. Hallowicked rolls into an impressive armdrag and lands on his feet after Claudio tries a monkey flip. Claudio comes off the middle rope with a european uppercut and takes control. Hallowicked comes back with an iconoclasm and snaps off a hurricanrana. He boots Claudio in the face. Claudio responds with a spinning sit-out slam and the Alpamare Waterslide for a nearfall. Hallowicked avoids a bicycle kick and hits a rydeen bomb. Claudio rolls through a sunset flip and hits the Ricola Bomb for the win at 7:02. This was a fun match between two wrestlers who were very familiar with each other. Hallowicked received a chance to impress, but the result was never in doubt. **½
Match #11: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush (Race to the Top Tournament Night 2 – 7/28/07)
This is a quarterfinal round match in the Race to the Top Tournament. They exchange control on the mat and Quackenbush snaps off a quick armdrag. Quackenbush sticks to the armdrag gameplan, snapping them off from ridiculous positions. They battle on the apron and Quackenbush monkey flips Claudio over the ringpost. Quackenbush follows out with a corkscrew plancha. In the ring, Claudio takes control with an inverted DDT. Quackenbush comes back with, well, an armdrag. He hurricanranas Claudio off the top rope and hits the BTS. Claudio connects with a bicycle kick and hits a straight jacket german suplex. Quackenbush comes off the top rope with a jackknife cradle for a nearfall. Claudio headscissors him off the middle rope and connects with a european uppercut for the victory at 12:27. I’m sure these two have never had a bad match together. This was the usual entertaining affair with an unfamiliar crowd who had a great vocal reaction to all of the exchanges. I wish Quackenbush had spent more time in ROH. ***¼
Match #12: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jack Evans (Race to the Top Tournament Night 2 – 7/28/07)
This is a semifinal round match in the Race to the Top Tournament. They trade control out of a knucklelock. Evans takes Claudio over with a headscissors and connects with a pele kick. Claudio low-bridges him to the floor and dumps him across the apron. Back in, Claudio takes over until Evans fights back with a spin kick. He completely whiffs on a dive attempt. Evans connects with a tiger feint kick and lands a 450 splash off the apron. Claudio connects with a european uppercut in the ring and hits the Alpamare Waterslide for a nearfall. Evans snaps off a headscissors and lands a standing corkscrew press. He connects with double knees from the top rope. Claudio blocks a headscissors and hits the Ricola Bomb for the win at 9:09. This lacked the fluidity and crowd energy of the Sydal and Quackenbush matches. I think Claudio and Evans would be capable of having a strong match, but this just wasn’t it. **¼
Match #13: Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico (Race to the Top Tournament Night 2 – 7/28/07)
This is the finals of the Race to the Top Tournament. They exchange control on the mat and Generico avoids an early uppercut attempt. Claudio hits a fisherman suplex and a backbreaker. He follows with a giant swing and uppercuts Generico in the back of the head. They battle up top. Generico fights off a superplex and lands a flying crossbody. Claudio hits a spinning sit-out slam and takes control. Generico lures him to the floor and follows out with a springboard moonsault. Generico jumps through the bottom and middle rope and hits a tornado DDT onto the floor. Back in, Claudio blocks a yakuza kick and connects with a bicycle kick. Generico reverses the Ricola Bomb into a code red for a nearfall. Claudio counters a tornado DDT into a pop-up european uppercut. He hits the Alpamare Waterslide for a two count. Generico dodges a top-rope Alpamare Waterslide and connects with a coast-to-coast dropkick. He hits a brainbuster for a nearfall. Claudio reverses a top-rope brainbuster attempt into a top-rope Alpamare Waterslide for a two count. Generico hurricanranas out of another Ricola Bomb. Claudio blocks a sunset flip and finally hits the Ricola Bomb for a nearfall. They exchange strikes and Claudio comes off the middle rope with a european uppercut. Claudio hits an elevated Ricola Bomb to win the Race to the Top Tournament at 18:47. I wouldn’t be hesitant to call this one of the more important matches in both men’s career at the time. The Race to the Top Tournament was okay, but a strong final round solidified the tournament as an annual event if ROH wanted it to be. The last five minutes was a wild ride, culminating in the super Ricola Bomb, which I haven’t seen since. ****
Match #14: ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima © vs. Claudio Castagnoli (Death Before Dishonor V, Night 1 – 8/10/07)
They battle over a suplex and Morishima shows that he has the power advantage here. He hits a cartwheel splash in the corner. Claudio escapes an early back drop driver attempt and connects with a bicycle kick. The action goes to the floor, where Morishima gets sent into the barricade. Claudio lays in an uppercut and even pulls off a mini giant swing. Morishima gains control with a side slam. Claudio dropkicks him to the floor and follows out with a dive. In the ring, Claudio improvises and turns a Ricola Bomb attempt into a rollup for a nearfall. He hits the Alpamare Waterslide and the crowd is hot for this match. Morishima connects with a corner yakuza kick and starts punching away. He follows with a missile dropkick. Morishima sits down on a Ricola Bomb attempt. Claudio dazes him on the top rope, hits a superplex, and comes off the middle rope with a european uppercut. He hits the Ricola Bomb for a nearfall. Morishima charges with a yakuza kick but falls victim to a german suplex. He connects with a lariat. Morishima hits a back drop driver to retain his title at 15:32. The best aspect of Morishima’s title reign was that each challenger from the ROH roster brought a different gameplan. There were numerous smart moments throughout the match where Claudio put aside his power offense to think of more agile ways to defeat the champion. Combined with a vocal crowd, this was a very good world title match on one of the bigger shows of the year. ***¾
Match #15: ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima © vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright (Caged Rage – 8/24/07)
Morishima connects with a double clothesline and splashes both of his opponents in the corner. Claudio and Albright work together to suplex the champion. Claudio lands a dive to the floor onto Morishima. Albright follows out with a senton from the apron. In the ring, Albright slams Morishima onto Claudio. Morishima back drops out of a Ricola Bomb and sits down on Albright. Claudio giant swings Morishima and Albright adds a dead-lift german suplex. Everyone connects with a lariat and all three men are down. Albright hits an array of suplexes on both opponents. Morishima connects with a missile dropkick on Claudio but falls victim to the Alpamare Waterslide. Albright dead-lift german suplexes Claudio and hits a samoan drop on Morishima. He follows with a powerslam on Morishima. Claudio uppercuts the champion into a half nelson suplex. Albright traps Claudio in the Crowbar, but Claudio rolls him up to eliminate him. Claudio repeatedly uppercuts Morishima and hits the Ricola Bomb for a nearfall. Morishima sits down on a german suplex attempt and connects with a double stomp. Claudio hits a saito suplex but gets caught by a side slam. Morishima connects with a double stomp from the middle rope and hits a back drop driver to retain his title at 15:25. Surprisingly, this was just as good as Claudio’s singles match against Morishima. Honestly, despite being eliminated first, I thought Albright stood out the most out of everyone. Claudio also received a chance to look strong, as Morishima had to use new offense (double stomps) to put him away. This is one of those hidden gems that I think a lot of people have forgotten about over the years. ***¾
Match #16: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Glory By Honor VI Night 2 – 11/3/07)
Marufuji powers out of a full nelson and Claudio is shocked. Claudio asks to try to escape one of Marufuji’s full nelsons and is unsurprisingly successful. There’s a point where Marufuji applies a claw hold while standing on the top rope. Claudio applies a claw as well and they find themselves at a stalemate. Marufuji hits a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes and takes control. Claudio creates an opening with a dead-lift gutwrench suplex. He hits a fisherman suplex and turns the tide of the match in his favor. Marufuji fights back with a series of clotheslines. Claudio quickly shows him down with a german suplex and connects with a running bicycle kick. Marufuji hits a superplex and connects with a superkick. Claudio dumps him to the floor. Back in, Claudio comes off the top rope with a european uppercut. He giant swings Marufuji and lays in another european uppercut for a nearfall. Marufuji connects with a superkick and hits the shiranui for a two count. Claudio counters a second shiranui into a bridging pin for the victory at 18:45. This kept my interest for nineteen minutes if nothing else. To prevent Marufuji from doing severe damage to his leg, Claudio resorted to using offense that only slightly damaged his leg. If you can get behind that story, you’ll probably enjoy this match. The crowd seemed solidly behind Claudio, which hurt the action down the stretch. ***¼
Match #17: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Austin Aries (Transform – 1/12/08)
They give each other clean breaks. Claudio dodges a punt, tries a pin attempt to no avail, and we’re at a stalemate. Aries begins getting frustrated with Claudio’s constant “hey” chants. Aries connects with a dropkick and goes to work in the corner. Claudio catches him in mid-air and hits a backbreaker. Aries avoids a middle-rope elbow drop and hits a neckbreaker. Claudio connects with a european uppercut and slingshots Aries into the turnbuckles. Aries shoves Claudio to the floor and lands the heat-seeking missile. In the ring, Aries connects with the IED and applies the Last Chancery. Claudio gets his foot across the bottom rope. He counters a brainbuster into the giant swing. Aries hits a crucifix bomb followed by a brainbuster for a nearfall. Aries counters the Ricola Bomb into a DDT and locks in the Last Chancery. Claudio uses his strength to hit two consecutive Ricola Bombs for the win at 14:40. It took awhile for this match to get going, as much of the first half was spent developing Aries’ new character. However, once the action picked up, this turned into an energetic contest with an awesome finishing sequence. ***¼
Match #18: Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico (Without Remorse – 1/26/08)
Claudio wins a test of strength and Generico attempts to ground him with a side headlock. They avoid each other’s kicks and find themselves at a stalemate. Generico lands a split-legged moonsault but Claudio blocks a springboard maneuver by yanking him down to the canvas. Claudio works over the left leg. Generico comes back with a leg lariat using his good leg. Claudio connects with a basement dropkick to the bad leg, slowing his momentum. Claudio connects with a bicycle kick. Generico comes off the top with a hurricanrana. He sends Claudio to the floor and follows out with a top-rope dive. In the ring, Generico lands a flying crossbody. Claudio dodges an enzuigiri and hits a dead-lift german suplex. He applies the Neutralizer. Generico escapes and counters the Ricola Bomb into a code red for a nearfall. They exchange strikes and Generico hits a tornado DDT. Claudio giant swings him by the bad leg and reapplies the Neutralizer. Generico reaches the bottom rope. Generico hurricanranas out of a middle-rope Ricola Bomb and connects with a corner yakuza kick for a nearfall. Claudio counters a brainbuster into the Neutralizer. The time limit expires while Generico is in the hold at 20:00. The match is ruled a draw. They were on their way to matching their effort last year before the time limit draw. This match was wrestled at a more cerebral pace, with Claudio working over the leg and using the Neutralizer multiple times to slow Generico down. They played off their previous encounter by coming up with unique counters to signature moves and hopefully the draw setup some sort of rematch. ***½
Match #19: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kota Ibushi (Injustice – 4/12/08)
Claudio attempts to ground Ibushi to start the match. He’s successful until Ibushi starts laying in kicks. Claudio catches him with a backbreaker and connects with an uppercut. He hits a neckbreaker and takes over. Ibushi fights back with a handspring kick. More kicks follow. He lands a standing moonsault. Claudio hits a spinning sit-out slam and charges with a european uppercut. Ibushi sweeps him through the ropes and lands a moonsault to the floor. He springboards off the guardrail with a dive. In the ring, Claudio finds an opening to unleash the giant swing. He hits the Alpamare Waterslide for a nearfall. Ibushi lands his double moonsault and hits a german suplex. Claudio connects with a nasty bicycle kick and hits the Ricola Bomb for the victory at 14:57. Ibushi’s stint in 2008 ROH was entertaining because each crowd reacted to his offense as though they’d never seen it before. I had detracted from this match the first time I watched it because it was basically Ibushi running through the same offense he had used against Davey Richards at Bedlam in Beantown. I’m going to stick to that rating, but this was a fine indication of what Ibushi can do in the ring. ***¼
Match #20: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson (Vendetta II – 6/28/08)
They tie up with a knucklelock and Danielson monkey flips Claudio across the ring. They have some fun with dueling “hey!” chants. Claudio airplane spins Danielson, so Danielson tries to copy the giant swing to no avail. Danielson eventually returns the favor with an airplane spin. Claudio responds with a giant swing and both men are down as the crowd applauds. Neither man can kip up. The crowd convinces Danielson to airplane spin Todd Sinclair. Claudio follows with a giant swing. This is madness. Paul Turner comes out to check on Sinclair. Danielson stretches Claudio on the mat with various submissions. Claudio creates some space with european uppercuts and hits a spinning sit-out slam. Danielson lands a dive to the floor and connects with a missile dropkick back in the ring. He locks in Cattle Mutilation but Claudio powers out. Danielson escapes an Alpamare Waterslide but Claudio is able to hit the move on his second try. Danielson answers with a german suplex and locks in a triangle choke. Claudio roars back with a bicycle kick and both men are down. They exchange uppercuts. Danielson small packages Claudio to counter the Ricola Bomb for a nearfall. Claudio connects with a pop-up european uppercut for the win at 24:02. This match featured an entertaining mix of personalities and everything involving Sinclair was absolute gold. You just don’t see this kind of fun atmosphere much with the current ROH product. It was evident that they were saving some steam for future rematches, but this contest easily kept my interest for twenty-four minutes. ***½
Match #21: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson (Northern Navigation – 7/25/08)
They trade control on the mat and find themselves at a stalemate. After an extended exchange out of a knucklelock, we’re at another stalemate. They exchange hip toss attempts until they get tangled in the ropes. Danielson applies an early cross armbreaker. Claudio eventually powers out, but not without sustaining some damage first. He takes control until Danielson comes back with a flying kick. Danielson connects with a dropkick in the corner and synchs in a surfboard. He knocks Claudio to the floor and sends him into the front row with a dive. In the ring, Claudio side-steps a missile dropkick and pulls off the giant swing. Claudio connects with a european uppercut. Danielson goes back to the cross armbreaker and transitions into Cattle Mutilation. He lays in MMA elbows. Claudio connects with a bicycle kick. Danielson counters a Ricola Bomb into a sunset flip for a nearfall. Both men are down. They trade uppercuts. Danielson counters a pop-up european uppercut into a backslide for the victory at 17:34. While substantially shorter than their previous match, I liked this one a bit better. You could tell that the intensity was increasing and there was less of a feeling-out process this time around. Also, I think the finish was objectively fantastic, as Danielson countered the exact move that cost him the last match. ***¾
Match #22: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Claudio Castagnoli (New Horizons – 7/26/08)
Claudio connects with a bicycle kick at the opening bell. Nigel reverses the Ricola Bomb into a short-arm lariat. Claudio fires back with a lariat of his own and hits the Ricola Bomb. Nigel retreats to the floor. They brawl around ringside and Claudio connects with a series of uppercuts. Nigel finds an opening after a rebound back elbow and crotches Claudio onto the barricade. Nigel hits a barricade-assisted Tower of London and takes over. Claudio comes back with a spinning sit-out slam and lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, he fights off a Tower of London but misses a flying crossbody. Nigel divorce courts his shoulder and connects with his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Nigel hits the Tower of London for a nearfall. Claudio blocks a jawbreaker lariat and hits the giant swing. He follows with a superplex and a dead-lift german suplex. Nigel falls victim to the Alpamare Waterslide and a dead-lift german suplex but won’t stay down. Claudio hits the Ricola Bomb for a nearfall. Nigel gets trapped by a backslide but barely kicks out. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 19:21. They significantly improved upon their match at A New Level but this wasn’t as good as I was expecting. I couldn’t find any semblance of a story early on and it never looked like Claudio had a chance until his flurry in the final minute of the match. Even then, Nigel surviving all of Claudio’s offense only to win with a single jawbreaker lariat wasn’t totally believable to me. However, it’s very evident from this compilation that ROH crowds wanted Claudio to win the ROH World Title badly. ***½
Overall: Claudio Castagnoli is capable of some amazing things in a professional wrestling ring and very rarely are his matches ever unenjoyable. While the first disc of this compilation contains some fluff, appearances by Chris Hero and Mike Quackenbush bring the quality up. However, the second disc contains singles match after singles match of Claudio wrestling a wide variety of opponents in great matches and puts this compilation over the top. New fans of Ring of Honor might not have seen Claudio in a singles role and he’s truly had some forgotten gems in ROH. Claudio Castagnoli: The Swiss Sensation earns a recommendation.
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