Just days after his WWE contract expired, Tommaso Ciampa is now a member of All Elite Wrestling, with his in-ring debut set for Saturday’s edition of “AEW Collision.” According to the former WWE NXT Champion, his arrival to AEW was a long-time coming, especially with the excitement and creative backing currently surrounding the company.
“[Leaving WWE] is something I’ve been leaning towards for quite some time,” Ciampa told The Takedown on SI. “I don’t know that I can say there’s one sole factor that led to it or caused it. I think it’s one of those things when your contract is coming to an end, you naturally have discussions.”
“… If I wrestled in the 90s, I’d wanna be a part of ECW… Early 2000s, you wanna be a part of Ring of Honor,” he continued. “I was lucky I got to do that a little bit. 2010s, I think for me at least, I wanted to be part of NXT Black and Gold. And when I looked at the landscape of professional wrestling in the 2020s… the answer was AEW, man. That’s what I want to be a part of.”
With the support from his wife and daughter, Ciampa officially made the leap to AEW on Wednesday’s edition of “AEW Dynamite” by revealing himself as Mark Briscoe’s next TNT Championship challenger. There, Ciampa also brought his “Psycho Killer” moniker to life.
As confirmed by Ciampa, AEW CEO Tony Khan and crew members warmly welcomed him and his persona, so much so that music producer Mikey Rukus created and finished his new theme music in a mere 36 hours. That collaborative nature, combined with the passionate fanbase of AEW, then made AEW seem even more like the perfect fit for his next landing spot.
