Claudio Castagnoli reflects on his NJPW debut.
The AEW star and current reigning ROH World Champion wrestled at yesterday’s Dominion pay-per-view, where he teamed with his Blackpool Combat Club brothers (Jon Moxley & Shota Umino) to take on Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi for the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles. Unfortunately, Claudio’s first NJPW matchup would be a loss.
However, that didn’t stop the Swiss-Superman from enjoying his experience in NJPW. He recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about the match and getting to work with three of Japan’s top wrestlers.
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.
At one point in the match Claudio delivered his signature swing to Okada, a man he’s known for quite a while and a swing he believes he’ll never forget.
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.
Claudio was massively complimentary of his opponents, adding that they work incredibly well as a unit.
They work surprisingly well together as a unit. Individually, I was impressed most by Okada’s resilience, Tanahashi’s longevity and Ishii’s fighting spirit.
While Okada and company were victorious yesterday, the Rainmaker was challenged by another Blackpool Combat member for Forbidden Door 2. You can read about that here.