Explained: The real story behind AEW changing Claudio Castagnoli's theme song

AEW has consistently booked Claudio Castagnoli as an upper-midcard talent since he joined the company. The veteran grappler had a similar presentation for much of the latter part of his career, but now he's had more than one dozen theme songs as All Elite Wrestling officials just made another change to Castagnoli's entrance.

The Swiss Sensation launched his career in 2000, but things really took off in 2004 when he moved to the United States. Castagnoli began to make his name in CHIKARA, ROH, CZW, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and PWG, among other promotions. After spending almost eleven years with WWE, he then debuted for AEW in June 2022, shortly before returning to ROH, which was now owned by Tony Khan.

All Elite Wrestling's inaugural Collision: Grand Slam special saw the World Trios Champions Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta defeat Komander and Private Party. This was to be an open challenge, but the opponents were named days earlier on Dynamite: Grand Slam. The reigning champions entered to Claudio's new 'Uppercut Moonlight' theme. AEW music's Mikey Rukus has disclosed details.

Rukus noted that Castagnoli's new theme samples Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' and '1812 Overture' by Tchaikovsky. Claudio's original AEW theme was 'Uppercut Swingphony,' which also featured the Russian composer's most popular piece that told the story of how his country repelled Napoleon's invasion 212 years ago.

The main connection is that Castagnoli used various themes early in his career, including Tchaikovsky's full 1812 Overture for six years, mainly in ROH. Rukus took to X (fka Twitter) to discuss the uniqueness of the new song, and how it happened.

"I’m so thankful that Claudio suggested Moonlight Sonata. It was shortly after mapping out what I wanted to do that I got hit with the idea to merge 1812 along with it. Giving it the long term story telling it deserves. Its heartfelt, dark, and tragic. I’m not sure a wrestling theme has ever been done with a fusion of 2 classical songs as one (if so please tag in the comments). You take risks without fear- for the art and arc of the story. And from Uppercut Swingphony, to Uppercut Overture, to now Uppercut Moonlight. This is a true honor. 🙏," Mikey Rukus wrote.

Officials are moving forward with the tension between Yuta and his Blackpool Combat Club stablemates, which began when the rest of them turned on Bryan Danielson.

It's interesting that Saturday's Collision match was announced and billed as a title defense, but the official company website stated that this was a Title Eliminator.

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AEW Dynamite 5th Anniversary show updated lineup

All Elite Wrestling will present its 5th Anniversary edition of Dynamite on Wednesday. The episode will air live from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Hangman Page could be headed for a huge push, and now he's booked for his first-ever singles match with Juice Robinson. Below is the updated Dynamite lineup:

1. Hangman Page vs. Juice Robinson
2. Britt Baker returns in her hometown vs. Serena Deeb
3. International Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Ricochet

AEW will also tape the October 4 edition of Rampage on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. This will be the 165th edition of the Friday night show, but no matches have been announced as of this writing.