Claudio Castagnoli: I Look Forward To Taking Eddie Kingston’s Title And Wrestling At The Tokyo Dome

Claudio Castagnoli vows to take Eddie Kingston’s title. 

At AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, Claudio Castagnoli will put his ROH World Title on the line against Eddie Kingston, who will be defending his NJPW Strong Openweight Championship. 

The rivalry between Claudio and Kingston has been going on for nearly a decade and Claudio has had Eddie’s number throughout, including at ROH Supercard of Honor in March when Claudio successfully defended his ROH World Title against Kingston. 

Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Claudio discussed the bout. 

“The chance to be a New Japan champion very much excites me,” said Castagnoli. “I wanted to go to New Japan after I left WWE, and I did–but I’d like to go again, and what better way than as Strong Openweight champion? It opens a whole new set of possibilities. And I am very proud to be the Ring of Honor champion. I learned a long time ago that you don’t need a belt to hold yourself like a champion. But when you do have one, you must hold yourself to a higher level. Tokyo Dome and Arena Mexico, those are two legendary venues that have eluded me throughout my career. I need to wrestle at both of those places, and I’d love to start with the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom. I’m looking forward to taking this title away from Eddie–and wrestling at the Tokyo Dome is something else I’m looking forward to doing.”

Kingston won the NJPW Strong Openweight Title on July 5 at NJPW Strong Independence Day by defeating KENTA. He has made one successful title defense during his reign. 

Claudio has been ROH World Champion since ROH Final Battle 2022 when he defeated Chris Jericho. 

Fightful will have coverage of AEW Dynamite Grand Slam beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.