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When CM Punk made his trumphant return to professional wrestling a few months removed from being fired from AEW, it got fans excited.
Sure, WWE fans were more pumped up than the AEW faithful, as their preferred company landed a shiny new toy, but even fans who poke fun at the “Best in the World” for his recent string of promos are still engaging with his return in a real tangible way, which is good because it keeps fans eager to see what comes next.
One performer who agrees with that sentiment is Claudio Castagnoli, who explained to TalkSPORT that the movement of performers from one promotion to another is in the best interests of fans, as it has created an incredibly exciting time to be a wrestling fan.
“I'm on no text chains. I'm on no text chains about any of that sorry to disappoint. It happens, right?” Claudio Castagnoli told TalkSPORT. “People switch, and it's exciting for the fans, and I've talked about that before with Forbidden Door [annual co-PPV between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling]. Before it was like, man what if this guy would wrestle this guy from that company, and then Forbidden Door happened. Now it's just there's two companies and there will be switches. I think it's a very exciting time for the wrestling fans.”
You know, it's hard to argue with Castagnoli's assertion because he did generate a whole lot of buzz by leaving WWE behind to debut both in AEW and as a member of the Blackpool Combat Club at Forbidden Door I. Asked if CM Punk's decision to sign with WWE has forced the rest of the AEW roster to step up their game, Castagnoli wasn't sure, noting that he always tries to do the best he can with whatever he's given no matter what the circumstances.
“I can just speak personally. I just try to do the best I can with what I'm given,” Castagnoli said. “If you start looking around, you'll just drive yourself crazy because there's so many things out of your control that it'll cloud your mind and cloud your judgment, so to me, I try not to worry about that. I try to put on the best thing that I can no matter what.”
You know, you really have to give it to Castagnoli, he does make the most of his circumstances in AEW, whatever that may be, from working hard-hitting matches in the C2 against the likes of Eddie Kingston and Brody King or preparing for a Fight Without Honor at Ring of Honor Final Battle with Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson against Mark Briscoe and FTR. Whether this is able to overshadow Punk on RAW, however, remains to be seen, as WWE appears committed to making that work, even if his new angle with Seth Rollins is very reminiscent of Punker's schtick with “Hangman” Adam Page.
Chris Hero wants to make the most of his free agent addition to AEW.
Speaking of big-name performers jumping from one company to the other, Chris Hero, who lit up the proverbial marquee for two separate runs in NXT as Kassius Ohno, has officially become a member of the AEW Universe as a backstage producer for the company.
Sitting down for an interview on the AEW Unrestricted, Hero explained why he signed with AEW after a few years on the free agent market following his firing from WWE and how his relationship with Sonjay Dutt helped to influence the move to a backstage role.
“I have known Sonjay Dutt for a very long time, and Sonjay was kind of the go-between for a couple of offers that were made for me in the ring in the past year or two. I've stayed in touch with Sonjay, I think I first met Sonjay in 02′ or 03′, and we've just been buddies off and on for years,” Chris Hero said via Fightful. “I had expressed to him, I had just kind of been telling him what I'd been doing and where I came in and helped out with ROH in the last six months of the Sinclair era. Then I hopped over to IWC in Pittsburgh to help produce and format those shows. Then, this whole thing that I've done this year with West Coast Pro. I was giving him tidbits here and there on what I was doing, Collision comes up, they're gonna need some more people. We have a ton of coaches, but it's still just a lot. For instance, at the last pay-per-view, I had two segments, and then there were two of us that were working to get the segments down, get the times down. It's just very helpful to have as many people as possible.”
Asked about his desire to wrestle in AEW, Hero explained why he decided to book himself a few matches on the indies in order to really get back into the swing of things, as if he was going to return to national television, he wanted it to be something special, not just a one-off with no meaning behind it.
“The thing is, it's never that I didn't want to wrestle for AEW, it's just I realized how complex and vast the company is. I wouldn't be satisfied with just doing a one-off thing, whoop, I'm here, I'm there. I would prefer to do something with some thought put into it, and that builds for the future,” Hero said. “Also, I've been out of the ring for three and a half years, I gotta get my head right, I gotta get my body right. Those were my conditions, and [they said], yeah, no problem, we need the help, and we'd like your help specifically, so let's work on a deal, and we'll get you on every Collision except for when you have West Coast, and then maybe you make it up on a Dynamite or an extra pay-per-view or something. So far, so good. It's been a lot, I haven't been on the road this much since maybe even before I went back to NXT. It's been a challenge to hit the road hard again, but it's been great, everybody's been wonderful and appreciative but also understanding. I got to Full Gear late because of travel. That sucked, I didn't like that, but it still worked.”
Will the day eventually come when the “Knockout Artist” makes his in-ring return to AEW? Maybe yes, maybe no, but if it happens, you'd best believe it's going to mean something, as Hero isn't looking to just wrestle for a one-off paycheck.
