AEW's Claudio Castagnoli Talks ROH World Title, Full Gear, WWE, More in B/R AMA

Under the name Cesaro, Claudio Castagnoli solidified himself as one of the best tag team wrestlers in the world in WWE, but now he is out for individual success in AEW.

Claudio became a major world champion for the first time in his lengthy career shortly after his AEW debut by winning the Ring of Honor World Championship, and he will look to regain that title Saturday at Full Gear.

The Swiss Cyborg will have some tough competition, though, as he must lock horns with Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson and Sammy Guevara in a four-way match.

Claudio joined Bleacher Report on Tuesday for an AMA session that addressed several topics, including his pursuit of the ROH world title, his match at Full Gear, his time in WWE and his plans for the future in AEW.

The following is most of the transcript from the AMA session.

@DulskiDaMan: Who wins the ROH Fatal 4-Way and why will it be you?

Whoever asked that questions answered it himself...and why, it's because honor needs to be restored to the Ring of Honor World Championship and I'm going to be the one who does it.

@Jey0462: Who was your biggest inspiration growing up?

Everybody that works hard consistently and has integrity that goes with that. Arnold Schwarzenegger was an idol when I was growing up and a Swiss kickboxer called Andy was inspirational to me as well because he had a similar path. There are plenty more.

@AcesAnd8s: Which past wrestlers most influenced your style?

Scott Steiner, Bret Hart, Owen Hart.

@Trevor10: What's the biggest difference between WWE and AEW for you?

AEW is something new and fresh that I needed in my career at the point I was at. AEW is 3 or 4 years old almost while WWE is well over 50. That's just two different companies at two different stages. I wanted to be part of AEW's creative process to help where I can. There's a lot of freedom and moving parts that still need to be discovered and that's very fun.

@HSho07: Was there a certain tipping point that inspired you to join AEW?

There were a few points that influenced that. I wanted to challenge myself and change is scary in any part of life. I'm not at the beginning of my career. I don't know what part I'm in, but to grow as a human and a performer, you have to take a leap of faith.

@Trevor10: Do you have a dream match for AEW?

If you ask me, I would say a dream match happens at the right time between the right two people. To me, it's very circumstantial. There are many people I want to face one day. Off the top of my head, Sting is a guy I haven't faced, but there are plenty of people who are dream matches.

@CanRichardFunk: What are your best memories of Brodie Lee out of the ring?

Too many to name. He stayed back in my apartment back in Philadelphia before WWE when we were still trying to make it. One of my favorite memories, any time I told a joke, he would yell the F word extremely loud and just leave the room. I always knew the joke was good and worth it, I would get that reaction.

@TankWolf: Do you have any pre-match rituals?

Yes and no. I have a warm-up ritual, but it's kind of getting in the right mindset, which is more of an old-age thing.

@Trevercelli: Favorite career moment so far?

I had too many to name. I've been very fortunate in my career so far to create a bunch of cool and fun memories for both myself and the fans. From the top of my head, I always think about the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, but also my WrestleMania match with Seth Rollins. There are many things people don't even remember or have seen. There are many live event moments to me that are special. It's the whole career that I want people to remember and the more special moments I can sprinkle in, the more people will remember.

@V1P3R: Why was your old tag team named "The Bar"?

We didn't want to do thumbs up because we thought that was kind of lame so we did thumbs to the side. We realized we're above the bar. We don't just set the bar, we are above the bar. We were competing with each other in trying to just be the best we can be. It kind of became our standard.

@JTomlinson5: Favorite hobbies outside of wrestling?

Weightlifting...obviously kind of has to be. I like coffee a lot and video games.

@LGamer3412: How much can you bench?

I don't care about bench. I benched 405 once in my life and then called it a day. I never enjoyed bench. I have very long arms which is more of an excuse. To me, I just never saw the real benefit of it. I like to save my shoulders and stuff for wrestling.

@_Parzival_: Does pineapple belong on pizza?

Absolutely not.

@Shimonoah: Who is on your Mt. Rushmore of women's wrestling?

I'm going to go with one that probably not a lot of people have: Manami Toyota, Sensational Sherri, Lioness Asuka and Bull Nakano.