Tony Khan Reveals Original Plan For Claudio Castagnoli's AEW Debut
Facing Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door was not AEW's original plan for Claudio Castagnoli.
Claudio Castagnoli was AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door's chief headline-maker, as his surprise debut saw him face Zack Sabre Jr. one on one, join the Blackpool Combat Club, and position him as a promotional centrepiece ahead of Wednesday's Blood and Guts match with the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Fightful Select reported after the appearance that this was not AEW's original plan for the former Cesaro's arrival. Indeed, the former WWE star was a mystery opponent for Sabre Jr., taking Bryan Danielson's place after last week's Dynamite brought news that the 'American Dragon' was injured and unable to compete.
AEW president and founder Tony Khan elaborated on what he originally had in mind for Castagnoli's debut during the post-Forbidden Door media scrum. As transcribed by Fightful, after learning Claudio was interested in becoming All Elite on 2 June, Khan felt that if Danielson was cleared to compete at Forbidden Door, his new stablemate would likely come in for ROH Death Before Dishonor on 23 July:-
"It was the day after the Forum, so June 2, I called and had interest, there was definitely mutual interest. At that point, I felt there was a good chance. I wasn’t sure if it would be here or another thing or Death Before Dishonor, July 23, on pay-per-view in Lowell, Massachusetts. Ring of Honor’s return event. I figured there was a chance that if Bryan made it back, there was a good chance that he would have started at Death Before Dishonor and it would have been a great moment there. As long as Bryan is okay, that’s the most important thing."
The Zack Sabre Jr. clash was Claudio's first match since February, when he surprisingly left WWE following his contract's expiration.
This week's Dynamite sees Castagnoli link up with Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz to face the entire Jericho Appreciation Society in Blood and Guts.