A major title just changed hands in Mexico.
And it involves one of AEW’s top international workhorses.
CMLL officially has a new World Heavyweight Champion following Friday night’s show at Arena Mexico, as AEW star Claudio Castagnoli dethroned Gran Guerrero to capture the promotion’s top singles prize.
The title change ends Guerrero’s lengthy run with the championship, a reign that stretched more than three years and became one of the most dominant stints with the belt in recent history.
Castagnoli sealed the victory with the Neutralizer, securing the pinfall in what was only his fourth career match for CMLL in Mexico, and his first CMLL appearance since last December.
For added context, Castagnoli has also been part of CMLL’s partnership with AEW and NJPW, competing earlier this year on the CMLL/AEW/NJPW Wrestle Dynasty supershow inside the Tokyo Dome in January 2025.
This marks the third major World championship win of Castagnoli’s career, following two previous ROH World title reigns in 2022 and 2023.
It’s been a strong week for the new champ as well.
Castagnoli kicked off his AEW Continental Classic campaign with a win over Orange Cassidy this past Wednesday on Dynamite, giving him early momentum in the tournament standings.
Next up: a highly anticipated all-Death Riders showdown.
Castagnoli is set to meet teammate Jon Moxley in a C2 Block bout on the December 3 edition of Dynamite in Fishers, Indiana, a match that already has fans buzzing given their shared history and the faction dynamic at play.
On the same CMLL card in Mexico City, fellow Death Riders members Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta weren’t as fortunate. The duo challenged Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship but came up short in their bid for the gold.
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