It’s been several months since the first time Castagnoli and Albright faced off in singles competition at “Motor City Madness 2009”. That evening Brent was disqualified for not breaking his Crowbar submission hold after Claudio had made it to the ropes, and the referee gave him a five count. Controversy played a part as Claudio tapped out as the referee reached the count of 5. A month later at “Eliminating the Competition” they squared off in a rematch that ended up in a draw when Claudio rolled up Brent while in the Crowbar, and tapped again just as the referee counted three. Then at the first set of “ROH on HDNet” tapings, Claudio beat Albright and then he cost Brent the ROH World Title at “Stylin & Profilin” in a match with then-champion Nigel McGuinness.
“The belt was mine that night.” said Albright, “And Claudio had no idea what he did when he cost me the World Title! Before that it wasn’t personal for me, not really. But when you take a man’s dream away from him, well then you’ve got a lot to answer for.”
The next time these two squared off was as part of a Three-Way that also featured Jerry Lynn, and just to rub salt in the wounds, Castagnoli forced Lynn to tap out to Albright’s own Crowbar hold. Twenty-four hours later at the “7th Anniversary Show”, Albright got Claudio in the ring one-on-one in The Hammerstein Ballroom, but once again Castagnoli took the cheap way out, getting himself disqualified with an intentional low blow. And as if that wasn’t enough, Claudio attacked Albright with a steel chair, and stomped it on his skull. What had simply started as a battle of “who’s the better wrestler” had degenerated into a personal battle between two of the strongest men in ROH, and two men who could not be more different. Claudio sees Brent as a beer-drinking cowboy jock while Brent looks at Castagnoli as a rich snob looking down his nose at the rest of the world, treating it all like it’s beneath him.
Castagnoli continued to frustrate Albright with another low blow assisted victory at “Supercard of Honor IV”, but Brent managed to secure his first decisive victory at “Take No Prisoners 2009” in a Three-Way Dance that also included Blue Demon. But following that loss, Castagnoli upped the ante by allying himself with Prince Nana and his newly-reformed Embassy. Starting with “The Hunt Begins”, Albright was forced to find allies in order to fend off Castagnoli and his associates. In that case it was Colt Cabana who stepped up to the plate, but it proved to not be enough as he and Brent lost to Claudio & Jimmy Rave. They got a measure of revenge the next night when Brent beat Rave while Double C lost to Cabana, but that was far from satisfying.
From Six-man & Eight-man tags to Street Fights to Flag Matches, Claudio and Albright have battled back and forth, with neither man maintaining a foothold over the other. Finally it all came to a head this weekend in Toronto when Castagnoli and The Embassy again conspired to cost Albright the victory in Castagnoli’s European Rules contest. As seen in the recent ROH Video Wire, Albright has made a challenge. No more Embassy, no more shenanigans, just two warriors locked inside a Steel Cage until one man can no longer continue. ROH officials contacted Castagnoli, and this is what he had to say:
“A cage match? Brent Albright wants Claudio Castagnoli in a cage match? Hah, I laugh at that idea. Not because I won’t do it, but because Brent Albright probably thinks it gives him an advantage. He probably thinks that I cannot handle being inside a Steel Cage. Well don’t think Brent Albright, it is not what you do best. I will happily meet you inside a Steel Cage, and finally put an end to this…dispute. It’s time for Claudio Castagnoli to move on, and I WILL do it at your expense.”
So after some discussion, ROH officials have decided that this match must be held on ROH’s biggest stage, so August 14th in Philadelphia for “ROH on HDNet” Brent Albright will meet Claudio Castagnoli for the last time inside a Steel Cage Match! Both men have promised to bring an end to this feud inside those four walls, and Albright has promised that Castagnoli will be a bloody mess before he’s through. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to see this Steel Cage War as well as KENTA vs. Chris Hero, and much, much more on August 14th & 15th in Philadelphia!
