Claudio Castagnoli (fka Cesaro) completes historic achievement outside AEW

Former WWE star Claudio Castagnoli has been a dominant force in Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling since he joined the promotion two years ago. He recently added a big accolade to his pro wrestling resume when he completed a historic achievement outside AEW.

CMLL held its Viernes Espectacular event where the 2024 edition of the International Showcase Elimination tag match, the Grand Prix took place. Team Mexico suffered a loss against Team World.

Claudio Castganoli was the one who came out victorious after pinning Volador Jr. courtesy of an uppercut followed by a Swiss Death and a piledriver. With this victory, he became the first-ever Swiss wrestler to win the Grand Prix. Not only that, he also set a record as the sixth non-Mexican wrestler to win the match.

The Switzerland native began his pro wrestling career in the early 2000s. He wrestled in the independent circuits for a decade before finding fame in WWE. He was with the Stamford-based promotion from 2011 to 2022. He joined Tony Khan's roster following his departure from WWE.

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Claudio Castagnoli failed to dethrone top AEW champion on Dynamite

This week on AEW Dynamite which emanated from Cardiff, Wales, Claudio Castagnoli had the chance to defeat a top star and become champion in the Jacksonville-based company. But unfortunately, he came up short. His opponent was the AEW Continental Champion Kazuchiak Okada.

Claudio and Okada had a brutal bout which lasted for 20 minutes and The Rainmaker picked up the win after the match ended in a time-limit draw. The challenger was upset with his loss but was satisfied with his match as he brought out the best version of Okada.

He added that the match was challenging which is exactly what he wanted. He was not disappointed with the loss but looks forward to having a rematch sometime in the future.