Claudio Castagnoli breaks silence with an ominous message after disappointing Jon Moxley

Claudio Castagnoli has disappointed Jon Moxley, and now the veteran grappler is not happy with himself. Castagnoli suffered a significant loss at today's Wrestle Dynasty event, which was co-promoted by NJPW, AEW, ROH, CMLL, and Stardom. Claudio is now speaking out after coming up short against an opponent very familiar to Jon Moxley, The Death Riders, and The Blackpool Combat Club.

The King of Swing made his debut inside the legendary Tokyo Dome in Japan today at the inaugural Wrestle Dynasty event. Despite back-and-forth action, the former Cesaro of WWE came up short against Shota Umino in just under 15 minutes. The current AEW World Champion sent Castagnoli as his emissary to face Umino at Wrestle Dynasty, which didn't go over well as the 27-year-old NJPW star was looking forward to wrestling his longtime ally.

The Roughneck and The Purveyor of Violence have a respectful relationship that goes back a few years as the original Death Riders, and Shota has teamed with The Blackpool Combat Club as well. Castagnoli was sent on a mission by Jon Moxley, but he failed, and now he is looking to bounce back. The official AEW account on X shared the following post-match video of Claudio in Tokyo.

"This is the third time in a row that I'm standing in front of a camera trying to find the right words... honestly, I cant. I'm pissed off and I'm definitely not happy with how tonight went, but you know what? I'm not new to losing. I've lost so many times that I can't keep count, the difference between me and everybody else is that I am still here, that I'm not playing this finite game of how many in a row can I win, and I wanna win this, and I wanna win that... no, I am playing the game that is way ahead of every single person," Castagnoli said.

Claudio Castagnoli continued:

"That's why I'm still here, that's why I'm still going at the rate that I'm going, and that's why everybody is trying to play catch-up, and if Shota... OK, I admit it... 'better man' tonight. Know what that proves? That proves to me that maybe, just maybe, Mox was right about you, but it also proves to me that maybe, just maybe, you pissed me off even more than I was at you before. This was not the last time, Shota. See you again soon," Claudio Castagnoli said.

The AEW Japan account on X also shared a backstage clip of the former WWE Superstar. This time, Claudio kept it short.

"Shota... this is far from over because now I'm pissed off!" Claudio Castagnoli said.

Shota Umino and Claudio Castagnoli do have a recent history. NJPW Dominion in June 2023 saw Umino, Castagnoli, and Jon Moxley lose to Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi, just weeks before Forbidden Door, where Ishii, Eddie Kingston, The Young Bucks, and Adam Page defeated Umino, Castagnoli, Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Konosuke Takeshita. Then on Dynamite this past May, Castagnoli and Umino competed in the nine-man Casino Gauntlet won by Will Ospreay.

Jon Moxley to defend World Championship in hometown

All Elite Wrestling is headed to Jon Moxley's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the inaugural Maximum Carnage editions of Dynamite and Collision. Both episodes will take place at the Brady Music Center.

This week's Dynamite will feature a Casino Gauntlet, with the winner advancing to the January 15 Maximum Carnage Dynamite to challenge the AEW World Champion in his hometown. Jon Moxley last retained at Worlds End. Hook vs. Christian Cage has also been confirmed for the Dynamite special.

AEW will return to the Brady Music Center the next night, January 16, to tape the Maximum Carnage Collision. The episode will air in the usual Saturday timeslot on TNT, but no matches have been announced as of this writing.