As noted before, Claudio Castagnoli was pulled from the June 18th AEW Grand Slam Mexico show in Mexico City, Mexico for reasons unknown at the time. Besides AEW’s Grand Slam Mexico show, Castagnoli has also been absent from AEW’s recent Dynamite and Collision shows this past week.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources stated that the reason for Castagnoli’s current abscense in AEW is not due to any injury-related issue nor his name being recently brought up by John Cena during his “pipebomb” promo in WWE nor any other business-related issues.
Meltzer reported that those spoken to stated that Castagnoli was simply recently granted some time off in AEW.
Fightful Select reported that their sources confirmed that Castagnoli was recently granted some time off as a break for personal reasons. Those spoken to close to the situation reportedly stated that they believe Castagnoli will return in time for AEW’s All In: Texas event this July.
AEW Collision Notes: JetSpeed Reveals Their Trios Name with Hangman Page, The Rascalz AEW In-Ring Debut, “Timeless” Toni Storm Challenges Death Riders to Hair vs. Hair Match at Grand Slam Australia 2026 Show, Tommaso Ciampa Wins TNT Title, 2/7 Show Card, 2/4 Dynamite Show Card
Various: Braun Strowman Provides Update on His Hospitalization for Knee Infection , CMLL Announces Several Upcoming Events Including Women’s Day Show on March 6th, Current Card for 1/29 TNA Impact! Show, Indies/Misc.
WWE: Triple H Says “A Lot Of Surprises In Store” for Royal Rumble 2026, Talent Spotted on Flight to Saudi Arabia for Royal Rumble, The Undertaker on “WWE Has Gotten ‘Too Comfortable’ Pulling Back The Curtain”
