CMLL reveals Claudio Castagnoli World title challenger
Claudio Castagnoli is heading down to Mexico City for a title defense this Friday — and we now know who his challenger will be.
Last night, CMLL shared a promo with Castagnoli issuing an open challenge for his CMLL World Heavyweight Championship. He wanted “a young luchador who thinks they have what it takes” to step up and answer the call. The 21-year-old Xelhua has now responded and will be facing off against Castagnoli at Arena Mexico on Friday (January 30).
⌛🌎🇨🇭 🇲🇽
— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) January 26, 2026
🔥 ¡Ya hay retador!
El Gigante Cholulteca, Xelhua, levanta la mano y responde al reto abierto de Claudio Castagnoli para enfrentarse en un duelo por el Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL, este viernes 30 de enero en la Arena México.#CMLL #AEW pic.twitter.com/FTPnGzYWXg
Castagnoli was crowned the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Gran Guerrero for the belt on November 28. His two title defenses since then have been split across Mexico and the United States, defeating Ultimo Guerrero and Roderick Strong. The latter of those headlined this past Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision.
Xelhua, an up-and-coming technical star, also recently got an ROH Pure Championship shot but came up short against Lee Moriarty when they faced off in Mexico.
CMLL streams its Friday night shows on YouTube for subscribers at the two highest subscription levels.
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