This past Sunday at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event, Claudio Castagnoli made his AEW arrival as he defeated Zack Sabre Jr. Following this, the Blackpool Combat Club’s newest member then scored the win on this Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite as he competed in Blood and Guts.
According to a new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter however, the arrival of the man formerly known in WWE as Cesaro came as a surprise to multiple talents, with WWE reportedly offering him a substantial contract financially that AEW were not believed to have matched.
“A lot of talent in WWE was shocked that Castagnoli signed with AEW, based on the size of the offer WWE gave him. It was noted that this wasn’t a big deal with fans, but was a very big deal with a lot of the talent. The feeling is AEW must have matched or topped it and in WWE, the feeling was that AEW was no longer doing that and that Castagnoli could have made a very substantial amount of money in WWE even though there was little chance of a push.”
– Dave Meltzer
Following Castagnoli’s team’s victory at Blood and Guts, the Swiss Superman once again engaged in a dispute with Eddie Kingston, with the pair sharing a history that dates back to Castagnoli’s original stint on the independent scene.
We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Castagnoli in AEW, with the Blackpool Combat Club undoubtably growing in strength since his arrival.
