Death Riders Not Looking To Recruit More Young AEW Stars Says Claudio Castagnoli: ‘I Kind Of Still Look At Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia As Our Projects We Bring Up’

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AEW’s Claudio Castagnoli says the Death Riders are not currently on the look out for more young talent to join their ranks, with the Swiss star stating that he still views Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia as the group’s “projects.’

It has now been nine months since the Death Riders last recruited a new name to their ranks, with Daniel Garcia turning heel and joining the group back in September 2025.

While Will Ospreay has recently been training with the group, and Gabe Kidd recently suggested he was now an official member with his comments at NJPW Dominion, as of now, neither are listed as Death Riders members on AEW’s roster page.

During an interview with 107.7 The Bone, Claudio Castagnoli was asked whether there are any AEW or Ring of Honor talents that he feels could potentially fit into the Death Riders, to which he responded:

“I kind of still look at (Wheeler) Yuta and (Daniel) Garcia as our projects that we bring up. And I’m extremely proud of both of them. They’re both amazing talents and they both keep me on my toes.

“I don’t look for new talent like that, or I don’t look at anybody, even when Garcia joined us, we didn’t necessarily go out and scout or whatever you would do.

“If somebody needs to find their way to us, they’ll find their way to us.”

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As well as Claudio, Yuta and Garcia, Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir and PAC make up the rest of the Death Riders’ official line-up, with the group forming in 2024 as a rebranded version of the Blackpool Combat Club, replacing Bryan Danielson with PAC and Shafir.

Plenty Of Potential Death Riders Recruits On The Table If Their Stance Changes?

While they may not be currently on the lookout for new young recruits, AEW and ROH is chock full of talent with high ceilings, all of which could benefit from being taken under Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli’s wings.

Lee Moriarty is someone who Bryan Danielson mentioned as a potential Blackpool Combat Club member back in 2022, and since then his career has failed to truly get off the ground.

Moriarty has been aligned with Shane Taylor Promotions in ROH since 2023, and while he has held the ROH Pure Championship for almost 700 days, it seems like high time AEW moved him into a more featured spot on Dynamite and Collision.

With Gabe Kidd practically a full-fledged member of the Death Riders, the group may be as well absorbing The Dogs, which consists of Kidd, Clark Connors and David Finlay.

The trio are more established than Moriarty, arriving on the AEW roster with a substantial reputation in Japan, however, an alliance with the Death Riders could benefit both parties and give Kidd one faction to call home, rather than being in the awkward position in-between the two.

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• Daniel Garcia
• Claudio Castagnoli
• Death Riders
• AEW
• Wheeler Yuta

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