Claudio Castagnoli Hypes Kazuchika Okada Match, Teases AEW ALL IN: London Plans (Exclusive)

Castagnoli challenges Okada for the AEW Continental Championship tonight on AEW Dynamite.

By Liam Crowley

Claudio Castagnoli is seeking his first piece of championship gold in All Elite Wrestling. The Swiss Superman joined AEW in June 2022, debuting as a member of the Blackpool Combat Club and defeating Zack Sabre Jr. in the process. Weeks later, Castagnoli captured the Ring of Honor World Championship and established himself as a cornerstone of the recently relaunched brand while simultaneously competing in multi-man matches alongside his BCC stablemates on AEW TV. After losing the ROH Title to Eddie Kingston last September, Castagnoli directed all of his attention to AEW, and that has led him to a showdown with The Rainmaker.

Claudio Castagnoli Hypes Kazuchika Okada Match

Castagnoli is set to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship tonight on AEW Dynamite. This marks the third time that the two men have shared a ring together but the first time it is happening in a singles capacity.

"The question is how does Okada prepare for me? I feel I'm always preparing for the very best every day," Castagnoli told ComicBook. "I guess we'll find out tonight how that really works out because I don't really adjust my training for one single person. I push myself to be better and I like to measure myself up against the best. I hope I'm going to face The Rainmaker. We all know the real Rainmaker, not the one we've been seeing over the last couple of months."

Those last couple of months have seen Okada embrace villainy, as he has aligned himself with The Elite and has regularly taken shortcuts to retain his title.

"I've known Okada for over 15 years," Castagnoli continued. "I've known him since before he became The Rainmaker. I've known him since before I went to WWE, I think maybe even before I went to Ring of Honor. I've known him for a very long time. It was amazing to see his transformation into The Rainmaker and to see what he has achieved, and I've always tried to keep up with what's going on in the wrestling world. I was always curious to see how we would match up."

The opponent may be new to Castagnoli, but the location is all too familiar. Castagnoli vs. Okada goes down on AEW Dynamite's Welsh debut, as it is set to emanate from the Utilita Arena in Cardiff, Wales. Castagnoli last wrestled there in 2019 when he defeated Ilja Dragunov at NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff.

"It's always been amazing in Europe in general," Castagnoli reflected on competing in front of European crowds. "I have some very fond memories of live events there. I have really, really fond memories of my match with Ilja at that NXT Takeover. That match was very special to me and it was cool to get in the ring with him and see how good he is firsthand."

As of this writing, neither Castagnoli nor Okada is scheduled for AEW ALL IN: London, AEW's biggest pay-per-view event of the year, which goes down in just four days. When asked if a victory tonight would mean a defense at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Castagnoli stayed quiet, but teased that something is in the works.

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"I guess we have to wait and see," Castagnoli teased. "Right after my match, I'm going to go to Mexico City for the Grand Prix and then I'll come back for Wembley, so [I have a] full schedule. I'm super excited and I'm glad that the fans are still excited to see me wrestle. There's some good stuff in store."

Castagnoli challenges Okada for the AEW Continental Championship tonight on AEW Dynamite, which airs at 8 PM ET on TBS.

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