Claudio Castagnoli (F.K.A. Cesaro in the WWE) made his highly-anticipated AEW debut at Forbidden Door last June 26, when he took on NJPW Star Zack Sabre Jr. in a Singles Match and walked out of the match with a huge win. Castagnoli then competed in the Blood & Guts Matchup just days later on AEW Dynamite and got the submission victory for his team, when he forced “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard to submit.
AEW President and CEO Tony Khan recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and talked about the length of Claudio Castagnoli’s contract with All Elite Wrestling. According to Khan, Castagnoli’s contract with AEW is a long-term, multi-year agreement and he is very excited about it. The AEW President also said that Castagnoli has a huge future in AEW and his arrival in AEW could not have been any better.
This is what Tony Khan said:
“This is a long-term thing.” “This is a long-term, multi-year agreement, and I’m very excited about it. I think there’s a huge future for Claudio Castagnoli here [in AEW]. I cannot wait for that, and I was just thrilled he came in. The timing of his arrival could not have been any better, with Bryan Danielson out injured ahead of Forbidden Door and Blood & Guts. I felt, and Bryan Danielson also felt, there was only one wrestler we believed that could step in and fill Bryan Danielson’s shoes, particularly in two very different matches, but both hugely important [matches].”
“Bryan Danielson was going to go one-on-one with Zack Sabre Jr., and it was Claudio that stepped up and had that match, which was a great, great match. It turned into a great debut for Claudio in AEW. And then he stepped up again, leading off the Blood & Guts two-ring cage match last week on Dynamite. Huge thanks to Claudio; he was the first person in the Blackpool Combat Club to get in that double cage. He fought the whole way through and he pulled out the win in the end. I think that’s emblematic of how hugely important Claudio’s going to be in AEW going forward.”
You can check out AEW President and CEO Tony Khan’s comments at this link. H/T to Wrestling Inc. for transcribing the quotes.
