Bryan Danielson had to spend a few months sitting on the sidelines after he suffered an injury during the Double or Nothing pay-per-view back in May, and he had to be replaced at Forbidden Door. Bryan was replaced by Claudio Castagnoli, and it sounds like Claudio’s debut came together in an interesting way.
While speaking with Renee Paquette during The Sessions at Starrcast, Bryan talked about Claudio’s debut, and he noted that he pitched the idea of Claudio being his replacement before he even knew he was signed with AEW.
“So when it was clear that I wasn’t going to be on Forbidden Door, I called Tony [Khan] and I was like ‘Hey, I got a great idea. Put Claudio in my place.’ I didn’t say that we should sign Claudio, I didn’t know that Claudio was signed. But I did say ‘I’m sure that Claudio would just come in to do a spot.’
“He [Khan] goes ‘I talked to his agent and I don’t think he is just going to come in to do a spot.’ I was like oh, ok. But then he said ‘Just so you know, don’t tell anybody but I have already signed him.’ So yeah, he was already there.”
Since joining All Elite Wrestling Claudio Castagnoli has been on a roll picking up wins at Forbidden Door, Blood & Guts and he also defeated Jonathan Gresham to become the new Ring of Honor World Champion last month.
