Claudio Castagnoli Warns Bryan Danielson Fans Ahead Of AEW Dynamite [Exclusive]

It's Title Tuesday for AEW and Claudio Castagnoli has made a bold statement when it comes to the American Dragon Bryan Danielson.

Claudio Castagnoli challenging for the AEW Continental Championship / Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

“If you're a fan of Bryan Danielson you definitely want to tune in because it, let's be honest, will most likely be his last match on national TV.”

Claudio Castagnoli is not mincing any words when discussing his match on tonight's (10/8) special Title Tuesday episode of AEW Dynamite on TBS.

The battle lines continue to be drawn within the Blackpool Combat Club as not everyone is onboard with the actions of Claudio and Jon Moxley at All Out in Chicago. Wheeler Yuta has seemingly decided to side with Bryan Danielson and will team with the American Dragon to take on his fellow AEW Trio Champions in Castagnoli and PAC.

This 'Match of Champions' comes just days ahead of Saturday's WrestleDream PPV where Danielson will defend his AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley. A loss for Danielson would signal the end of his full-time in-ring career.

Claudio Castagnoli spoke to The Takedown on SI about Title Tuesday, which very well could be the final time that the Swiss Superman ever gets the chance to wrestle a man he first locked up with nearly 20 years ago.

“It's gonna be very emotional,” Castagnoli admitted. “I was in Bryan's last match before, when he was forced to retire. It was a tag match as well, and I was in it. It was in London, England. This, I think, will be on a little bit different terms. I mean, obviously like I said, it's gonna be very emotional if that's the last time I'm going to be standing across the ring from Bryan. It's gonna be special.”

Will Wheeler Yuta remain loyal to Bryan Danielson? / All Elite Wrestling

It was the spring of 2015 when Claudio teamed up with Tyson Kidd in a losing effort against Danielson and John Cena on, what was then known as, WWE Thursday Night SmackDown. Weeks later Bryan would be forced to relinquish his Intercontinental Championship and ultimately retire from professional wrestling due to health concerns.

It was a false finish to the Dragon's career as he was able to finally get clearance to return to competition ahead of WrestleMania 34. This time around, with neck surgery on the horizon and a family ready for him to be home on a regular basis, Danielson is truly facing his final countdown.

While it's unclear when his last match will be, the AEW World Champion is dead set on giving the fans everything he has until the clock strikes zero.

“Bryan is always trying to compete at the top of his abilities. And he's never gonna hold back. He's always gonna leave every single thing that he has in the ring, no matter if that's good or bad for his personal future.”

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On-screen conflicts aside, Castagnoli says watching Danielson finish up his career on his own terms has been inspiring to witness, "But it's also been kind of bittersweet to see what he went through and has to go through on a daily basis just to get there.”

It was Castagnoli who fired the first shot against Danielson at All Out. Delivering one of his patented uppercuts to the jaw of the AEW World Champion mere minutes after he successfully defended his title against Jack Perry.

The betrayal was not entirely unexpected. The tension in the Chicago air that night was palpable. Fans packed into the Now Arena could tell something bad was about to happen, but all eyes were on Jon Moxley being the one to do the dirty work.

For the one true King pic.twitter.com/8qVCNpOO0s

— Swiss (@ClaudioCSRO) September 12, 2024

It was only after Danielson was on the ground that Moxley sprung into action, slipping a plastic bag over Bryan's head. Never evening hinting at an expression of emotion while he suffocated a man he considers to be one of his closest friends.

The motives for the attack are not entirely certain, but Jon Moxley has been motivated and focused since returning from his months long hiatus from AEW. He's in the midst of executing a plan that he believes Danielson does not have the stomach to see through to the end.

This cold and calculated, border line psychotic, side of Jon Moxley is one Castagnoli feels the former AEW World Champion has not properly showcased in quite some time.

“I feel he needed that time off to kind of reconnect with himself and find his purpose, so to speak, or regain his purpose,” Castagnoli said. “I can't speak for Jon, but I felt like the last couple months before he came back, you know we always have the ‘Be Real’ on our shirts, I didn't really feel real. It felt like, okay, we're just kind of going through the motions.” 

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Castagnoli doesn't mean the Blackpool Combat Club was intentionally phoning it in or anything like that but upon some retrospective reflection, “Something was missing. And with Jon, I can definitely tell that since he came back, he found that fire again.”

The Blackpool Combat Club was founded with the goal of assembling the best professional wrestlers on the planet, devoted to doling out extreme violence in the pursuit of excellence.

When Claudio Castagnoli left WWE in the spring of 2022, he was a natural pick up for the BCC and he would very quickly capture the ROH World Heavyweight Championship upon making his debut in AEW. It was his first heavyweight title victory in well over a decade, and first ever for a major promotion.

Speaking to the Takedown on SI back earlier this year, prior to winning the gold himself, Bryan Danielson expressed his desire to see Castagnoli capture the AEW World Championship one day.

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently shared similar sentiments, wondering out loud on a recent podcast with fellow Hall of Famer Rikishi, how Claudio never won the WWE Championship during his lengthy tenure with the company.

At this stage in his career, however, Castagnoli is at peace if he never gets his time atop the mountain in AEW.

“Everybody should aspire to be the World Heavyweight Champion," Castagnoli said, "I think I may have realized as I'm getting older, that that single-minded focus can actually be a big detriment to me. Not everybody is the main character. Not everybody can be the hero of the story. So to me, it is how can I make the most impact?”

Claudio Castagnoli does not allow Championship victories, or a lack there of, to define who he is as a performer. At 43-years old, he still finds himself as motivated as ever to stay in the best shape and produce the best quality matches of his entire career.

While he's more than grateful to have the blessing of Bryan Danielson and Mick Foley to be the guy, he very much feels that he doesn't need a belt, to be a champion.

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“John Cena said it once to me, ‘You're only as good as your last match.’ And I very much believe that. That's very much how I approach every single match. Every single match I wanna be proud of and I feel I owe that to the people who follow my career, and I owe that to every single person tuning in for the first time or for the 100th time. When I'm in the ring, they just know they're getting the best consistently.”

Castagnoli says when the day comes that he no longer feels he's producing his best work, that will be the day he considers leaving his boots in the ring. Thankfully, based off what we've been seeing recently, he's not ready to slow down any time soon.

Make sure to check out our full conversation with Claudio Castagnoli in the video above and don't forget to subscribe to the Takedown on SI YouTube Channel!

You can follow Rick Ucchino on X and on Instagram: @RickUcchino