Recently released WWE NXT Superstar Cezar Bononi made a surprising appearance on AEW Dynamite that relatively went under the radar.
Bononi was part of the crowd alongside Ricky Starks, and he was seen during Hikaru Shida and Penelope Ford's altercation. You can check out the clip below in which Bononi can be seen in the background dressed in a white shirt:
Cezar Bononi was one of the nineteen recruits signed by the WWE in 2015. He began training at the Performance Center that year and was offered a WWE contract while he was sitting on his couch at home.
The Brazilian wrestler trained at the PC for almost two years before making his NXT TV debut on May 10th, 2017. He faced Aleister Black in his first NXT match and lost.
He would pick up his first NXT TV victory over Andrade in May 2017. Interestingly enough, he was named the 'Future Star of NXT' during the year-end NXT awards in 2017.
Bononi's WWE career quickly fizzled out despite a promising start, and he was eventually released earlier this year in April.
Cezar Bononi to AEW?
Cezar Bononi was one of the many NXT talents who were quietly let go by the company. Deonna Purrazzo, Tino Sabbatelli, Taynara Conti and MJ Jenkins were some of the other talents from the Black and Gold brand who were released as part of WWE's cost-cutting drive.
The fact that Bononi was spotted in the crowd during the latest episode of AEW Dynamite could be a hint of a potential signing being in the works. It was also noted that he could also end up wrestling a match on AEW Dark, which has been the trend when it comes to wrestlers not officially signed by All Elite Elite Wrestling appearing in the crowd.
It will be interesting to see whether AEW does get him on board on a full-time deal. If that doesn't pan out, we might see him work a match or two on AEW Dark, which could act as a litmus test.
Bononi is currently 34 years old and only time will tell whether his cameo appearance on AEW Dynamite leads to anything substantial down the line.