Claudio Castagnoli Originally Had A Different Opponent For ROH Death Before Dishonor

Claudio Castagnoli is scheduled to defend the ROH World Championship against PAC at ROH Death Before Dishonor on Friday. However, the original plan was for him to defend the title against his long-term rival Eddie Kingston.

On the latest edition of "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer revealed that Kingston was reportedly penciled in to face Castagnoli for the title. That said, those plans changed after Kingston got recruited by NJPW to be part of this year's G1 Climax event. Tony Khan didn't want to stand in Kingston's way, so he found a new opponent to take his place in the upcoming ROH World Championship match.

For a while, it seemed like Mark Briscoe was going to face Castagnoli at Death Before Dishonor. Briscoe called out the champ on the July 6 episode of "ROH on HonorClub," but he was working through pain at the time and those plans were subsequently scuppered. It has since been revealed that Briscoe has a knee injury that will require surgery, and it's unknown when he'll return to action.

PAC and Castagnoli set up their match on last night's episode of "AEW Dynamite." The Newcastle native walked out on Castagnoli and his teammates during the Blood & Guts match following a breakdown in communication, which resulted in PAC receiving a stiff uppercut from his upcoming opponent. Of course, it remains to be seen if Kingston will receive another title shot down the line. He challenged Castagnoli for the title at ROH Supercard of Honor 2023, but he was unsuccessful on the night.