Longtime WWE crowd-pleaser Cesaro recently returned to his real name of Claudio Castagnoli for his AEW debut.
‘The Swiss Superman’ sent New Japan’s No.1 technical wizard Zack Sabre Jr. packing in an action-packed bout at Forbidden Door. AEW President Tony Khan was thrilled with Castagnoli’s arrival and performance. So much so in fact that he got visibly emotional after the show.
A teary Khan was snapped giving the former WWE US and Tag Team Champion a hug at the post-show presser. The photo is one of many in a long line of Khan embracing a diverse range of talent including Kazuchika Okada, Nyla Rose, and Sting.
Former WCW and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Booker T recently gave his thoughts on the much talked about image of Khan and Castagnoli on his ‘Hall of Fame’ podcast:
“When he was with Claudio and he was crying, it did look funny. I’m not gonna sit here and judge Tony Khan or anything, man, it’s not my job to do that. I’ll let, you know, people out there in the internet world try to score points by trying to make Tony Khan look a certain way.”
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Claudio Castagnoli made his AEW debut as the mystery replacement for Bryan Danielson against Zack Sabre Jr.
‘The American Dragon’ vs. ‘The Windy Man’ has been a dream match among technical wrestling fans for a decade and hasn’t occurred since 2008. Needless to say, both stars have grown considerably since then. Unfortunately, due to Danielson’s recent concussion, the bout had to be scrapped.
For Claudio Castagnoli, he’s already found himself slotted into one of AEW’s biggest angles at the moment: The Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Jericho Appreciation Society.
As a BCC member, Claudio Castagnoli will find himself in some very un-PG circumstances for the first time in more than 10 years when he enters the cage for Blood and Guts. The name-appropriate cage-based war has happened just once before and was as over the top as its name suggests.