Major Update On Big AEW Star's Contract Situation After Departure Speculation (AEW News)

News on the future of this Death Riders favourite.

by Andrew Pollard
Claudio Castagnoli
AEW

Following some fan speculation over Claudio Castagnoli's AEW future, Fightful Select has moved to clarify what's going on right now with the Death Riders man.

The source of such speculation seems to come from Claudio missing a scheduled appearance at AEW Grand Slam in Mexico back in June. While some questioned whether the former ROH World Champion was injured, others realised it had been nearly three years since Castagnoli arrived in AEW. Given how some AEW contracts are three-year deals, certain fans pondered whether the Swiss Superman's existing deal had expired and he'd finished up with the company.

Of course, Claudio Castagnoli has since returned to AEW TV after Grand Slam, continuing to be a regular presence as part of the aforementioned Death Riders. And now, Fightful Select reports that, after digging into the matter, AEW sources told the outlet that Claudio still has a "substantial amount of time" left on his AEW contract. Added to that, AEW President Tony Khan has made it clear that he wants Castagnoli to remain with AEW for a long time.

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So, for those who may have feared that the 44-year-old powerhouse had been on the cusp of exiting AEW, it appears that Claudio will continue to be #AllElite for a good while longer yet.

On the other side of things, speculation continues to rumble on regarding Chris Jericho's AEW future, with the inaugural AEW World Champion's existing AEW contract expiring later this year, amidst plentiful speculation that the Learning Tree man could be eyeing a return to WWE.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.