"We were always friends" - AEW's Claudio Castagnoli discloses how he formed alliance with retired WWE Superstar
Former WWE and current AEW star Claudio Castagnoli recently described how his tag team with Tyson Kidd (real-life TJ Wilson) started in his former promotion.
Castagnoli and Tyson Kidd captured the WWE tag team titles in 2015. However, their time together was cut short when Kidd suffered a neck injury during a dark match against Samoa Joe. He later retired due to the injury, with Castagnoli going on to have six more tag team title reigns. He had five reigns alongside Sheamus and one with Shinsuke Nakamura for the remainder of his time with WWE.
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet at Starrcast V, the AEW star reminisced about his tag team with Tyson Kidd. He explained the origins of their tandem and stated that the pair found out they would be teaming together via Twitter and "instantly clicked" during their first match.
“We [Castagnoli and Tyson Kidd] found out on Twitter that we would be teaming up on Raw that night in a tag team gauntlet. That is legit how we found out. We get to the arena and it’s like I guess we are teaming together tonight. We were always friends, but then the first time we teamed was that night and it instantly clicked.” [H/T Inside the Ropes]
🏻
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd were a really good tag team 👏🏻 https://t.co/Zylpqwwivi
After his retirement from in-ring action, Tyson Kidd joined WWE as a producer in 2017. Meanwhile, Castagnoli left the promotion earlier this year, making his debut for AEW at Forbidden Door.
The new AEW signee discussed the influence behind decision to leave WWE recently
Claudio Castagnoli also went into detail over his thought process behind leaving the promotion, speaking during the same interview with Chris Van Vliet at Starrcast V.
He stated that former WWE star Johnny Gargano's promo about betting on oneself may have been the catalyst behind his decision to leave.
"One of the things was Johnny Gargano's last promo in NXT where he said 'always bet on yourself.' That was like maybe the last straw." [H/T Fightful]
I’m the one who knocks🚪 https://t.co/p0nGSUgSW0
Johnny Gargano left WWE at the end of 2021. Although fans tipped the former NXT Champion for an All-Elite switch, he is yet to make his return to wrestling.
Castagnoli debuted in AEW on June 26 and has since added a world title to his resume. He recently defeated Jonathan Gresham for the ROH World Championship at Death Before Dishonor.
What did you think of Claudio Castagnoli's AEW run so far? Let us know in the comments below.