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AEW President Tony Khan recently revealed that Claudio Castagnoli capturing the ROH World Championship was part of his original plans.
The former WWE Superstar defeated Jonathan Gresham on the Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view to win his first ROH World Title. For those who are unaware, the 41-year-old was signed to ROH from 2005 to 2011 but did not win the world title during his initial run.
In a recent interview with Wrestling Inside The Ropes, Khan said that he was also aware of the possibility of Castagnoli joining the Blackpool Combat Club faction in AEW.
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"That was part of my original plan, yes [for Claudio Castagnoli to be the face of ROH/ROH World Champion] and I knew there was a chance that he would also be stepping into the Blackpool Combat Club with Bryan Danielson injured," Khan said.
The 39-year-old believes that with Castagnoli's recruitment and Bryan Danielson's return to action, BCC could become unstoppable.
"Now Bryan Danielson’s back and the Blackpool Combat Club is truly stronger than it’s ever been, literally with Claudio in the group, one of the strongest men in wrestling and with Bryan Danielson, one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time coming back." [H/T POST Wrestling]
AEW star Claudio Castagnoli's reaction to winning the ROH World Championship
After pinning Jonathan Gresham at the pay-per-view, the former WWE United States Champion had a look of disbelief on his face.
In the post-event media scrum, he explained that he was delighted with the reaction from the fans.
"You know to me wrestling is about the fans, the interactiveness, it's about the feeding off the energy and thats what was so much fun. And to hear the crowd to see it and I just wanted to take it all and soak it in. Because no need to rush, just sit there and enjoy. I waited for a long time, and so just enjoy and it was amazing."
Claudio Castagnoli promised that his run as world champion would be a "lot of fun." It remains to be seen who he will face next to defend his newly-won title.
Who do you think Castagnoli should face next? Sound off in the comments section below.
