Cesaro was certainly one of the most talented WWE Superstars in the company. The Swiss Superman’s in-ring skills were second to none for many, and he was also considered very underrated. Tony Khan shed some light on Cesaro’s journey to AEW as well.

The Swiss Superman left WWE earlier this year after his contract expired and didn’t sign another contract with the company. This surprised many, as fans felt Cesaro was never utilized properly in WWE.

Cesaro would finally debut during AEW Forbidden Door, as he is now known by his real name, Claudio Castagnoli. While speaking during the Forbidden Door post-show media scrum, AEW President Tony stated that he contacted Claudio before he was certain Bryan Danielson would be on the shelf.

“I asked him about coming in before I knew for sure that Bryan was out, though I had a pretty good idea that Punk would be out. I could tell there would be a lot of changes. We already had a lot of injured people, I had no idea we would have even more on the run-up to the show. 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.

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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. It was a great moment to have at Forbidden Door. I talked to Bryan on the phone last weekend and he told me that he wasn’t feeling 100%. As soon as he said that, we’re eight days from the pay-per-view, ‘if you’re not feeling 100%, don’t even think about wrestling on the pay-per-view or Blood & Guts’ because he had been feeling well. I talked to him in St. Louis and he was feeling great and he was so optimistic and was that fired up Bryan Danielson.

He wanted to go. I didn’t want to take another chance as soon as he said (he wasn’t feeling 100%). He mentioned Claudio and I said, ‘that’s funny, I have Claudio under contract.’ I had told anybody. It worked out before for all of us.”

With Claudio being a member of the Blackpool Combat Club, we’ll have to wait and see how he will be booked in AEW. Fans are just glad to see him back in a pro wrestling ring now.

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!

Subhojeet Mukherjee

Subhojeet, a professional wrestling fan for over 20+ years, found his passion during the Monday Night Wars. With expertise honed over decades and a broad spectrum of interests including TV, movies, anime, novels, and music, he offers insightful analysis and coverage. Respected in the industry, Subhojeet keeps fans informed and engaged with his knowledge and perspective.

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