William Regal Praises New AEW Signing As 'A Pro Through And Through'

The Blackpool Combat Club continues to grow in AEW, with William Regal as the coach of the intense group.

While on his Gentleman Villian podcast, former NXT General Manager William Regal praised AEW's newest signee, former multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion, and former United States Champion, Claudio Castagnoli, and how it felt for him to see his old rival in AEW.

"Absolutely wonderful," Regal said. "Incredible to have him, not only a part of AEW, but he's one of my favorite people. I think he's one of the great professionals of the world ... We could do a whole podcast on my admiration for Claudio, and he's a pro through and through, he's incredible. Everything about him, the way he carries himself, what he's gone through, how he's got to this point in his life just getting to America ... I really do think he's quite possibly, when I say the best professional, professional around today, and maybe as much as anybody, ever."

Castagnoli, known as Cesaro during his time in WWE, was with that company from 2011 until his departure in 2022. Castagnoli's last WWE match came on the February 11th episode of "WWE SmackDown," where he lost to Happy Corbin in under four minutes. His AEW debut came four months later at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event, in which Castagnoli took an injured Bryan Danielson's place in a match against NJPW's Zack Sabre Jr., ultimately pinning him for the win. In replacing Danielson, Castagonoli also officially joined Danielson's stable, the Blackpool Combat Club, which is led by Regal.

Castagnoli's week would go up from there, as the following Wednesday on "AEW Dynamite," he teamed with fellow BCC members Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta, along with Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz, to take on the Jericho Appreciation Society in a Blood and Guts match — AEW's version of the traditional "WarGames" match. Castagnoli's team walked away with the win when he forcing JAS member Matt Menard to tap out while atop the steel cage, even as Kingston was attempting to tap out long-time rival Jericho atop the cage at the same time.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Gentleman Villian" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.