It is official, Cesaro, now once again Claudio Castagnoli, is officially All Elite, making his AEW debut as Bryan Danielson’s replacement against Zack Sabre Jr.
Claudio landing in AEW has of course sprung the top dream matches to mind. Of course we want to see him against Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page, those are obvious. What about all those AEW stars you might not have thought of?
Well don’t worry, you don’t have to think, because we’ve done the thinking for you.
Here are 6 AEW stars you didn’t know you needed to see Claudio face.
6. HOOK
Well, why not?
Despite being miles from the promotion’s main event scene, HOOK is one of the most over wrestlers in all of AEW at the moment, and while still very young, it’s clear he has a very bright future in the ring.
As for facing Claudio, I wouldn’t expect HOOK to win the match, but there are few people on the planet who would be able to put him over in defeat better than Claudio.
And not just that, but the amount HOOK could likely learn from the Swiss star is pretty much limitless. A 15 minute match between the two men would be of huge benefit to everyone involved, and to our eyeballs.
5. PAC
While they crossed paths a number of times in the old black and gold version of NXT, we haven’t seen a match between Castagnoli and the newer, much more “bastard” version of PAC.
There are very few men in the business who hit harder than PAC and Claudio, and there’s no doubt the two would put on an absolute clinic of uppercuts, kicks and unbelievable athleticism.
PAC won’t be the last former WWE name on this list, and while I’m far from saying people can’t have good matches in WWE, I am saying I can probably count on one hand the amount of 20 minute singles matches Claudio has had in WWE in the past five years.
The story of all the Claudio vs. former WWE star matches on this list writes itself, and with a bit of help from AEW’s excellent writing, this match could make anyone’s match of the year list.
4. Jungle Boy
Similar to my point about HOOK, and while it’s hard to believe he’s only 24 given how accomplished he already is in the ring, Claudio could give Jungle Boy’s career a huge boost.
Not just from wrestling each other, but from the coaching Claudio could give him, or anyone in AEW. There have been some fans suggesting Claudio could shift from being an in-ring wrestler to a full-time coach, and while I think this is unlikely, you can’t say he wouldn’t have a lot to teach.
While I would hardly book Claudio to come into AEW and just lose matches, he’s exactly the sort of wrestler Jungle Boy could defeat to prove himself worthy of a shot at the AEW Championship, a title he seems destined to win one day in the future.
3. Daniel Garcia
I thought to myself, “well, everyone is going to say Bryan Danielson, so who else is a technical genius in AEW?”
Oh yeah, Daniel Garcia.
While mainly appearing on Rampage and AEW Dark, Daniel Garcia has won a lot of fans over with his intricate and brilliantly executed technical wrestling style. He has drawn comparisons with Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr. among others, and do you know who else is incredibly technically gifted?
The title of this list gave it away, didn’t it?
Claudio, while more often presented as a power wrestler in WWE, is a very gifted technical wrestler. I know I keep saying it, but Daniel Garcia, who again is just 23-years-old, could learn endless amounts from Claudio. It’s a no-brainer.
2. Jake Hager
“We the people,” was a bit weird, wasn’t it?
Oh well, at least it made this entry very easy to write.
Yes, Jake Hager, or Jack Swagger as he was in his WWE days, has never exactly been the most gifted in-ring performer, but he is a meat mountain…and do you know who likes mountains? That’s right, Swiss people.
Claudio and Hager spent a number of months as part of the Real Americans faction managed by Zeb Colter, so there’s already plenty of history between the two men.
Chris Jericho even helped build this feud when Hager first debuted in AEW. He said “we the people” sucked, and while he was right, it could help sew some seeds for a match between Claudio and Hager down the line.
Yes, Claudio would have to do a lot of the work to make this a top quality match, but I reckon Claudio could probably get a good match out of Eva Marie if he had to.
1. Wardlow
So, AEW appear to be setting up Wardlow to become one of the company’s top babyfaces, and while Claudio (in my opinion) works best as a babyface himself, a match between these two would be mouth-watering.
Let’s say Wardlow becomes the next AEW Champion, which he very well should and could because he rules. Well, he’s gonna need some stiff competition to prove he has earned the belt.
They don’t come much stiffer than Claudio. He’s also a good wrestler.
I could watch these two just run into each other for 10 minutes like two angry rhinos and I’d still enjoy myself. There’s something very satisfying about two huge men just beating each other up, and it’s even better when it’s carefully choreographed.
Let’s face it, Claudio could have a great match with anyone on the AEW roster, but these are just a few of the more tasty prospects.
Let us know who you’d like to see him face in the comments!
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