Claudio Castagnoli admits he's a fan of current AEW Champion - "He’s just a modern version of a classic good guy"

Former ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will always have Jon Moxley's back, thanks to being a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. However, the Swiss has admitted to being a fan of one of Moxley's most formidable rivals.

The rival in question is current AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, who Moxley dethroned at All Out 2023 for his crown. However, he would later regain it from Rey Fenix after filling in on short notice for Jon on Dynamite's "Title Tuesday" edition.

During a recent interview with Sporf, Claudio admitted that he has become a fan of Orange Cassidy's work in recent months. He even admitted that the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club watched the AEW International Championship match at All Out and collectively lost their minds:

“I think he’s come a really long way and I think people kind of see it for what he is now. He’s just a modern version of a classic good guy, you know? And he is, obviously really, really good at what he does. And to see that match with him and Jon after, you know, he defended that International Title for so long and put it onto a level that the fans would accept it to main event the pay-per-view, no questions asked. Then of course, you know, Jon was Jon. He’s just awesome. And it was a really fun match to watch. I watched it together with Brian and Yuta. So we were all just yelling and screaming. It was great.” (H/T Sporf)

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Jon Moxley was supposed to win back his AEW International Championship

There seems to be a curse of the AEW International Championship as everyone who has won the belt has either sustained a nasty injury or has accumulated multiple injuries throughout their reign.

Orange Cassidy was barely able to stand by the time he dropped the belt to Jon Moxley, who proceeded to suffer a concussion against Rey Fenix, leading to him dropping the belt, only for Fenix to lose the belt back to Cassidy after being unable to deal with a shoulder injury of his own.

The most recent title change (Cassidy beating Fenix) was reportedly planned to be Jon Moxley winning his belt back. According to Fightful Select, whoever faced Fenix on Dynamite's "Title Tuesday" edition would have won the AEW International Champion. Since Mox was the original opponent, it meant that he would have been the one to win the title.

However, due to not being medically cleared to compete, Cassidy took his place and won the belt instead. Given that Fenix wasn't meant to win the belt in the first place, it was only a matter of time before someone dethroned him for his title.

Do you think Jon Moxley will ever reclaim the AEW International Championship? Let us know in the comments section below!