10 WWE Superstars And The Angles That Made Them Famous
5. Cesaro & The Bruderschaft Des Kruezes
Back when he was known as Claudio Castagnoli, the Swiss Superman was a much wanted commodity throughout the professional wrestling world. His unique combination of size, speed, strength, and technical ability (basically the perfect wrestler then) meant he was able to fit into whatever role was required of him.
After winning the green card lottery, Castagnoli started making regular appearances for CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, where he would stay for eight years with a brief (very brief) break in between in WWE. The highlight of his time in CHIKARA was without doubt the formation of the Bruderschaft des Kruezes - the Brotherhood of the Cross.
CHIKARA loves itself an invading heel stable, and the BDK remains one of the most memorable in company history. In typical CHIKARA style the story took two years to come to fruition, centring around the Chikara Special submission hold and the supposed betrayal of an individual teaching it to the rudos (heels) of CHIKARA.
The BDK would experience great success in 2010, with Castagnoli being part of the team that was successful in that year's King of Trios tournament. Castagnoli would also win Campeonatos de Parejas gold that year, along with his partner Ares.
Just a year later, Castagnoli had signed a developmental deal with WWE.