Real reason behind Death Riders member's absence from AEW revealed

AEW star Claudio Castagnoli has been off television for the past week, leading to speculations about the former WWE United States Champion. The erstwhile Cesaro made headlines last week following John Cena's 'pipebomb' promo on SmackDown.

The current Undisputed WWE champion mentioned Claudio Castagnoli by name in his promo, leading fans to speculate if he was withdrawn from TV for that reason. However, a report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter has clarified that this isn't the case.

The report claims that the 44-year-old wrestler was simply given time off, and there's nothing negative regarding his absence from television. While it's not clear when the Swiss Superman is scheduled to return, fans would be delighted to know that he isn't injured.

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Will a lack of championships lead to the Death Riders' breakup in AEW?

Ever since debuting for the promotion back in 2022, the former ROH World Champion has aligned himself with Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta. The trio was initially part of the Blackpool Combat Club alongside another former WWE legend, Bryan Danielson.

However, the trio turned on Bryan at All Out 2024, rebranding themselves as the 'Death Riders' and adding Pac and Marina Shafir to the group. However, things haven't been going smoothly for the group in recent days. While Moxley is still the AEW World Champion, none of the other members hold any gold.

Castagnoli, Yuta, and Pac held the AEW World Trios Championship for a long time but lost it to Powerhouse Hobbs and The Opps at Dynamite: Spring BreakThru. Claudio has since failed to capture either the TNT Championship or the International Championship. Fans are speculating that the lack of titles could eventually lead to the faction's breakup after being together since 2022.

About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Kebin Edwin Antony

Real reason behind Death Riders member's absence from AEW revealed - Reports

Will a lack of championships lead to the Death Riders' breakup in AEW?