Former WWE star Tommaso Ciampa has explained why he decided to depart WWE after ten years to join AEW.
Just days after his WWE contract expired, Tommaso Ciampa has officially joined AEW, with his in-ring debut set for Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision. The former WWE NXT Champion made his first appearance for the company on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, revealing himself as Mark Briscoe’s next challenger for the TNT Championship and reintroducing his “Psycho Killer” persona to a new audience.
Speaking with The Takedown on Sports Illustrated, Ciampa said his decision to leave WWE and move to AEW had been building for some time.
“It’s something I’ve been leaning towards for quite some time,” Ciampa said. “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.”
Ciampa also compared AEW’s current position in the wrestling landscape to past creative hotbeds in the industry.
“If I wrestled in the 90s, I’d wanna be a part of ECW,” he said. “Early 2000s, you wanna be a part of Ring of Honor. 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.”
According to Ciampa, the move was made with the full support of his wife and daughter, and he was immediately embraced backstage after arriving in the company. He confirmed that AEW President Tony Khan and members of the creative team welcomed both him and his character concept, helping fast-track his presentation on television.
One example of that support came in the form of his new entrance music, which Ciampa revealed was completed in remarkably short order.
Music producer Mikey Rukus created and finished Ciampa’s new theme in just 36 hours, underscoring what Ciampa described as the collaborative atmosphere within AEW. Combined with the promotion’s passionate fanbase, that environment helped convince him that AEW was the right destination for the next chapter of his career.
What Titles Did Tommaso Ciampa Win In WWE?
Tommaso Ciampa won multiple championships during his time in WWE, with his most significant success coming in NXT.
Ciampa captured the NXT Championship in 2018 after defeating Aleister Black, beginning a reign defined by his bitter rivalry with former partner Johnny Gargano. He also held the NXT Tag Team Championship alongside Gargano as DIY, with the duo widely regarded as one of the brand’s standout teams during the “Black and Gold” era.
On the main roster, Ciampa and Gargano later reunited to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, adding a main-roster title to their list of achievements. While injuries interrupted parts of his career, Ciampa remained closely associated with NXT’s most critically acclaimed period and was consistently positioned as one of the brand’s top in-ring performers.
