Claudio Castagnoli made his AEW debut by being revealed as Bryan Danielson’s hand-picked replacement to wrestle Zack Sabre Jr. at last month’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event.
Claudio described his decision to join AEW as the stars aligning for a perfect moment at the post-show press conference. After years with WWE, his contract ended earlier this year when the two sides couldn’t agree on terms for a new deal.
While speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Claudio stated that he’s taking the high road regarding his time in WWE and ultimately departure because he would rather express gratitude towards the company.
“It can be hard to take the high road, but that’s the road I am going to take. All the memories, they matter. I’m grateful for everything I have accomplished and I’m grateful for all those opportunities. And they make me work so much harder to get where I want to be. Once I left, I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to go, I just didn’t know if it would happen. That was also time for me to take a break mentally, recharge, and come back better. My goal is always to be better than I was yesterday, to be better tomorrow than I am today. I want to be even better now than people remember.”
Castagnoli continued by noting that he came to AEW for new challenges and loved coming in with the Blackpool Combat Club because he has known all the members for a long time. He feels like everything is clicking for him in AEW.
