Backstage News On Initial Plans For Claudio Castagnoli's AEW/ROH Debut

Claudio Castagnoli is going back to his ROH roots and that was reportedly the plan all along. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Castagnoli was initially slated to make his AEW/ROH debut by challenging Jonathan Gresham for the ROH Title. However, due to the injury suffered by Bryan Danielson before Forbidden Door, Castagnoli made his debut early against Zack Sabre Jr. as Danielson's hand-picked opponent and is now a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. Despite the detour taken with Castagnoli's debut, Meltzer is reporting that the planned title match is still on for ROH Death Before Dishonor. Gresham vs. Castagnoli is expected to headline the show.

Castagnoli was a stalwart figure in Ring Of Honor during the latter half of the 2000s. Both he and Chris Hero made their names as a top tag team for the promotion known as the Kings Of Wrestling. The two battled The Briscoe Brothers on numerous occasions and won the World Tag Team Championships on two separate occasions. The ROH World Title, however, is something that has always elluded Castagnoli. The Swiss Superman's first program in ROH saw him feuding with Nigel McGuinness over the Pure Championship.

Gresham has held both the Pure Championship and the ROH World Championship during his run with the company. This past Friday on AEW Rampage Gresham turned heel against his partner Lee Moriarty as he left the Taiga Style expert hanging against Tully Blanchard's Gates Of Agony. Castagnoli keeps his undefeated AEW momentum rolling as he just defeated former WWE tag partner Jake Hager in singles action at "Fyter Fest" this past Wednesday.

Castagnoli isn't the only ROH legacy talent to find himself back working for the former promotion as Samoa Joe is the current ROH Television Champion.