He’s known to swing his opponents with the greatest of ease, but geez, where did Claudio Castagnoli disappear to, and does anyone have the answers, please. For those wondering where the Death Rider went, Dave Meltzer’s got the scoop.

While many are wondering if Castagnoli’s recent absence on all televised AEW programming has anything to do with an injury, or if he’s facing repercussions after having his name fly out of the current Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena’s mouth last Friday, rest assured neither seem to be the case, according to this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. As Meltzer reported, the former AEW World Trios Champion has been given time off, but it’s not for any negative reasoning.

Entangled in the ultimate good versus evil rivalry in AEW history, Castagnoli and the rest of the Death Riders, alongside the Young Bucks, couldn’t garner a victory in AEW’s most popularized stipulation match, Anarchy in the Arena, at Double or Nothing in early May. Bouncing back from that vicious defeat, Castagnoli booked his ticket as one of four entrants to capture a shot at the AEW International Championship, but came up short against Brody King, Mascara Dorada, and the retaining champion, Kenny Omega, at Fyter Fest three weeks ago. That title match was his most recent appearance before taking time off.

Known as the backbone to Jon Moxley’s deviant group, Castagnoli has picked up several title reigns since joining AEW in June of 2022 and returning to AEW’s now sister promotion ROH. He is a former one-time World Trios Champion with PAC and Wheeler Yuta, and a two-time ROH World Champion, with a combined reign of 344 days.