Claudio Castagnoli is All Elite.
Formerly known as Cesaro, Claudio Castagnoli made his All Elite Wrestling debut on Sunday night, appearing as the mystery opponent of Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door.
Check out a recap of the match from our live coverage page below:
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson’s Hand-Picked Replacement
Danielson’s replacement will be the newest member of Blackpool Combat Club, and it turns out to be Claudio Castagnoli, the former Cesaro.
Claudio takes the fight to ZSJ and gets an immediate two count with a Neutralizer. He drills Sabre Jr. with some uppercuts at ringside. Sabre Jr. snaps his arm over the ropes, but Castagnoli rocks him with a boot. ZSJ stretches Claudio’s leg in the ropes and bends it over the apron. Sabre Jr. stomps Castagnoli’s arm and mocks his taunt.
He keeps attacking Castaganoli’s arm. Claudio rallies and hits two back-breakers. He drills ZSJ with an uppercut. Claudio tries to powerbomb his way out of an arm-bar, but both men go over the ropes while the hold is still locked in. Claudio walks up the steps while lifting Sabre Jr. with one arm. Sabre Jr. reverses the Swing and locks in an Octopus hold. Claudio hits a gutwrench slam off the middle rope. ZSJ avoids the Swing again.
Claudio nails Sabre Jr. with a European uppercut. He does the Swing, but his hurt arm shortens the duration. Sabre Jr. locks in a heel hook, but Claudio powers out and locks in a Sharpshooter. He stomps Sabre Jr. for a two count. ZSJ locks in a sleeper hold and transitions to an arm-bar. Sabre Jr. kicks Claudio, but the newcomer floors him with a lariat. Claudio hits an uppercut, a clothesline and a powerbomb for the win.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
This is Claudio’s first match since he (as Cesaro) lost to Happy Corbin on the February 11 episode of SmackDown. His WWE departure was reported on February 24, as he was unable to come to terms with WWE on a new contract.
Read More: AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Results (6/26/22): Moxley vs. Tanahashi, IWGP Title Match, More
.@ClaudioCSRO not wasting a single second in his first moments here at #AEW! Order #ForbiddenDoor right now! #AEWxNJPW pic.twitter.com/5FSq07xM4k
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 27, 2022
Read More: Eddie Kingston Would Love To See Cesaro In AEW So They Could ‘End The Beef We’ve Had’
