Claudio Castagnoli and the debuting Josh Barnett will go head-to-head at AEW WrestleDream.
On the latest edition of Collision, a video aired of Castagnoli addressing his absence from the show. The former ROH Champion laid down an open challenge to anyone who was “man enough” to take him on, and it was former UFC star Barnett who answered the call.
WrestleDream is being held in honour of the late, great Antonio Inoki. This means that Barnett is a fitting addition as he was part of NJPW under Inoki in the early 2000s and followed him to the Inoki Genome Foundation in 2007.
More recently, Barnett has been running his own Bloodsport events under the GCW banner as well as making appearances on NJPW STRONG.
Castagnoli won’t be the first member of the Blackpool Combat Club Barnett has faced as he took on and defeated Jon Moxley by referee decision in a brutal encounter at the 2021 edition of Bloodsport.
Antonio Inoki’s prized pupil Josh Barnett, The Warmaster, challenges former #ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli TOMORROW NIGHT at #AEWWrestleDream Zero Hour at 7pm ET/4pm PT!
Watch #AEWCollision Live on TNT!@JoshLBarnett | @ClaudioCSROpic.twitter.com/ld9hqdXLQU
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 1, 2023
During the same episode of Collision, a 14th match was added to AEW WrestleDream which will be a mixed Eight-Person Tag Team bout that promises to be “chaotic and eclectic” according to the commentary team.
AEW WrestleDream Updated Card
ZERO HOUR:
- The Acclaimed (c) vs. TMDK (Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Bad Dude Tito) – AEW World Trios Titles
- Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett
- Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus
- Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Mercedes Martinez & Diamante vs. Satoshi Kojima, Keith Lee, Athena & Billie Starkz
MAIN CARD:
- Christian Cage (c) vs. Darby Allin (2 out of 3 Falls Match) – TNT Title
- Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- FTR (c) vs. Aussie Open – AEW World Tag Team Titles
- MJF (c) vs. The Righteous – ROH World Tag Team Titles
- Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland
- Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara & Will Ospreay
- Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata – ROH World Title & NJPW STRONG Openweight Title
- Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart – TBS Title
- The Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. Lucha Bros vs. Hook & Orange Cassidy – Number one contender AEW World Tag Team Titles
- Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta