During the post-media scrum for Forbidden Door, AEW President Tony Khan noted that when Bryan Danielson suggested Claudio Castagnoli as a potential replacement for him against Zack Sabre Jr., Khan's reaction was, "That's funny as I have Claudio under contract" and that Bryan was the first person he told that to.
So, Castagnoli was already signed to the promotion when the decision was made to debut him at last night's PPV. There is no word yet on what the length of AEW's deal with the Swiss-born star is as of this writing.
Khan issued the following after the PPV went off the air:
Welcome to the team, @ClaudioCSRO!
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) June 27, 2022
Claudio Castagnoli is ALL ELITE!
See you this Wednesday Night for #AEWDynamite #BloodAndGuts!
Thank you to everyone all around the world who watched #ForbiddenDoor tonight! pic.twitter.com/dlzNwOwdoH
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!