It might not happen particularly soon, but Claudio Castagnoli has future AEW World Champion written all over him. Not every wrestler who has joined the company out of WWE carries that kind of star power. It's tough to imagine Christian Cage, Bobby Fish or Shawn Spears ever holding the top prize in the company. That's not a knock on them, and anything can happen in professional wrestling. Yet there are tiers when it comes to star level, and the former Cesaro is over like rover with AEW's audience.
Like Blackpool Combat Club stablemates Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson, Castagnoli carries a unique mix of credibility due to his time on the independent scene, but is also well-known due to spending more than a decade wrestling for WWE. He never made it to the top of their mountain as a world champion—Vince McMahon was never going to put Cesaro over on the likes of Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns—but that simply won't be the case in AEW.
The immediate future of the interim AEW World Championship, held by Jon Moxley, is clear. The July 1 episode of Friday Night Rampage will feature a 20-man battle royal to determine who will face The Death Rider next. That feud will probably carry Moxley all the way to CM Punk's return, and who knows how that unification bout will end up. AEW has been shy about propelling ex-WWE guys directly into the title picture anyway. It took several months of Punk working on Dynamite and Rampage before he earned an opportunity to fight Hangman Adam Page at Double Or Nothing.
The momentum behind Castagnoli is significant enough at this point that AEW might be wise to insert him into some sort of championship program over the next several weeks, even if the World Championship bout is likely half a year or more away for him. He's 41 now and is no spring chicken, but he's notorious for his strength and conditioning. If Sting can still jump off of high things at the age of 62, then Castagnoli hopefully has several fruitful years ahead of him in the ring. After everything he went through with WWE, and the lack of singles championships that he won there, lifting the AEW World Championship would create a very special moment in AEW history.
Putting the belts on talents like him boosts their prestige and credibility as well. Aubrey Edwards spoke about the importance of championship title pedigree with Tony Schiavone recently, and the points she made about AEW building up their belts are valid. Castagnoli would be an excellent first feud for the All-Atlantic Championship that PAC won at Forbidden Door. AEW might be hesitant to take the belt off of him too quickly, however, so perhaps a spot with the TNT Championship would be a smoother transition for Castagnoli. Wardlow is set to fight Scorpio Sky for that title on the June 6 edition of Wednesday Night Dynamite in an important match for the War Dog. Maybe someone like Castagnoli would be a great challenge for him as a new champion. Regardless of how the next several months shake out, the Swiss Superman will be listed as a former AEW World Champion before his days with the company are through.