Portrait of Claudio Castagnoli

Birthday profile

Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli, Swiss wrestler

Born
December 27, 1980
Age in 2026
46
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1980

About Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli ( Italian: [kastanˈɲoli]; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is a member of the Death Riders faction. Castagnoli is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH) through the 2000s and early 2020s, and for his tenure with WWE between 2011 and 2022, where he performed under the ring names Cesaro and Antonio Cesaro. Castagnoli began his career in the European independent wrestling circuit in 2000, and wrestled for numerous independent promotions around the world, including Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH), and Westside Xtreme Wrestling (WxW). During his time on the independent circuit, Castagnoli won numerous championships, and became an accomplished tag team wrestler, most notably forming a team with Chris Hero known as the Kings of Wrestling. The Kings of Wrestling became two-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, with their 364-day reign as champions becoming the longest in ROH history up to that point. The team also held various independent tag team titles, such as the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas, the JCW Tag Team Championship, and the CZW World Tag Team Championship, with Castagnoli also winning the PWG World Championship once. The Kings of Wrestling were voted as Tag Team of the Year by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2010. Castagnoli was signed to WWE in 2011, and given the ring name of Antonio Cesaro. He was assigned to WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), before making his debut for WWE's main roster in April 2012. Cesaro would hold the WWE United States Championship once, won the inaugural André the Giant Memorial Trophy at WrestleMania XXX, and shortended his name to simply Cesaro. In December 2014, he began a team with Tyson Kidd, with the pair later winning the WWE Tag Team Championship. After that team split, Cesaro would later form an alliance with Sheamus known as The Bar; The Bar won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship four times, and the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship once. The Bar split up in April 2019, and Cesaro joined Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura to create a stable known as The Artist Collective. Cesaro and Nakamura won the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship once in July 2020, making Cesaro a seven-time WWE tag team champion in total. He left WWE in February 2022, and made his debut for AEW in June of that year, returning to his Claudio Castagnoli name and persona. When playing a villainous character, particularly in the United States, Castagnoli has been known to emphasize his European origin as part of his gimmick, proclaiming a superior intellect and fashion sensibility while regularly using moves such as the European uppercut. He gained a reputation for impressive in-ring feats of strength, and was called one of WWE's best and most underrated performers for much of his time there. He was voted "Most Underrated Wrestler" for a record four years in a row (2013–2016), by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He is signed to American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Champion. He is also signed to Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the current CMLL World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and performs for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a two-time ROH World Champ.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Claudio Castagnoli was born

Claudio Castagnoli was born in 1980. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1980

  • #1 song"Call Me" – Blondie
  • Top movieOrdinary People
  • Top TV showDallas
  • Best-selling bookThe Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMiracle on Ice — US hockey team beats the Soviets at Lake Placid
  • Top headlineJohn Lennon assassinated outside his New York apartment
  • Technology milestoneCNN launches as first 24-hour news channel
  • Defining fadRubik's Cube
  • Notable inventionPost-it Notes (officially released)
  • World population4.44 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJimmy Carter
  • Sports championPhiladelphia Phillies (World Series)
  • Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population227.2M

1980 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Claudio Castagnoli's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19802026
Gas$1.19$3.45/gal
Average home$68,700$435,000
Average income$21,023$67,500
Minimum wage$3.10$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.15$0.73
Population227.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, CageMatch, Internet Wrestling Database. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.