Claudio Castagnoli Comments On His NJPW Debut at Dominion

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Claudio Castagnoli spoke about making his NJPW debut at Dominion this past Sunday, which he called ‘a moment to remember’. He teamed with Jon Moxley and Shota Umino to unsuccessfully challenge Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the NEVER Openweight six-man tag team titles. Here are highlights:

On his NJPW debut: “I was very focused, and because of that, I was very much in the moment. I always want to be in the moment from the second I step out into the arena in order to be the best I can be. Standing in the ring with Tanahashi to start my first match in NJPW is definitely a moment to remember for me.”

On swinging Okada: “Swinging Okada, somebody I’ve known for a long time, in Japan, in my first match in NJPW, that is definitely a top swing. Mox said it yesterday—we have our visas and we’ll be back.”

On enjoying his run in AEW: “Joining AEW just felt right, and being in the BCC just feels right. Yesterday, when I stepped in a NJPW ring, it just felt right. We in the BCC are having fun and that authenticity translates. You can’t fake passion, and I feel it’s the thing that the BCC is built on.”