Claudio Castagnoli Feels AEW Is On A ‘Huge Upswing’ Right Now: ‘I’m Confident We Can Hold That Momentum And Make It A Permanent Climb’

AEW

Claudio Castagnoli thinks AEW can turn its current “upswing” into a “permanent climb” following a strong year of pay-per-view events and programming.

Following what many fans have hailed as one of it’s all-time best pay-per-views last month with AEW Double or Nothing 2026, the company is seeking to keep their positive momentum going with the fifth annual Forbidden Door event on Sunday, June 28.

While not currently advertised for the Forbidden Door card, Claudio Castagnoli discussed the event with Baby Huey from 107.7 The Bone, as well as the company’s recent trajectory.

Attributing their momentum to the variety AEW offers with its programming, it’s stellar pay-per-view events and the internal competition between the wrestlers on the roster, Castagnoli said:

“AEW has been on a huge upswing and I’m confident we can hold that momentum and just make it a permanent climb.

“I feel AEW is just playing to our strengths, and there’s a lot of patience in what we do. There’s the things that take a while to develop. But while something develops, something else is hot or paying off.

“There’s always such variety of different styles and characters, or whatever you want in AEW, that there’s always something you can find that corresponds with whatever your preference in wrestling or in life is. And as you see there’s certain characters that might not be on TV every week, but you get so excited when they’re back and AEW wouldn’t be the same without them. I feel like that’s what makes it special.

“And then you get a pay-per-view, and again, I feel since I started in AEW and before, AEW pay-per-views they just hit on a different level, and you have to step up your game and you have to be at your best, and everybody’s doing that. So, that’s why there’s such a competition inside as well to just prove how good we are to each other and I feel that fuels us, and that’s fun to watch for the fans.”

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After 107.7 The Bone host Baby Huey praised AEW for rewarding fans that tune into their programming every week through it’s storyline development, Castagnoli discussed how the fans who aren’t into stories can still tune into to AEW and enjoy the in-ring action:

“And even if you’re not into the storylines and you just want to watch some wrestling, you get plenty of good wrestling that goes with it.

“Like every week on AEW there’s a match where I’m like ‘Oh my God, this is quite the thing. I need to go back to the drawing board, train harder, just to keep up with everybody.’ And that’s why I appreciate the Death Riders so much, they keep me on my toes, they make me work harder, they make me a better performer.”

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While it remains to be seen whether Claudio Castagnoli will make it onto the AEW Forbidden Door card, his Death Riders stablemate Jon Moxley is set to be in action, as he defends the AEW Continental Championship against Bandido.

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• AEW
• Claudio Castagnoli

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