Tommaso Ciampa Opens Up On Why He Left WWE

AEW TNT Champion Tommaso Ciampa has explained his reasoning behind leaving WWE to join AEW.

Tommaso Ciampa says financial stability played a key role in his decision to leave WWE and sign with AEW earlier this year. Speaking on Close Up with Renee Paquette, Ciampa explained that the move came after long discussions about his future and whether he was in the right position personally and financially to take the risk.

“Every performer, specifically people who’ve come up through the independent scene, you love the business,” Ciampa said. “And the thing you really genuinely want is for it to love you back… I’m an optimist, so I think it’s not going to love you back 100% of the time. But those moments when it does, we strive for that.”

Ciampa admitted the decision to leave WWE was not made overnight. He and his family discussed the move for months, even years, as he evaluated his financial situation and the impact it would have on his home life.

“Honestly, it was less about just looking forward to, ‘Oh, we’re doing this AEW thing,’ because it was a ton of uncertainty,” he said. “Our decision to move on… we talked about that for months. I might even say a couple of years.”

He noted that when he previously moved from NXT to WWE’s main roster, he did not feel financially prepared to take major risks. Now, with more stability, he felt comfortable betting on himself and making the jump.

“To be honest, that’s the biggest thing,” Ciampa said. “You start to go, we are getting a definitive income, it’s a salary… and you think about the impact on my wife, the impact on Willow, and just the life we live. The biggest decision was, are we finally ready to do it?”

When Did Tommaso Ciampa Debut In AEW?

After his WWE contract expired, Tommaso Ciampa trademarked the “Psycho Killer” name before debuting in AEW on the January 28 episode of Dynamite. He quickly made an impact, defeating Mark Briscoe to capture the TNT Championship on the January 31 episode of Collision.

His last match took place on the February 7 episode of Collision, where he defended his TNT title in a Three-Way Match against Claudio Castagnoli and Roderick Strong. Ciampa will compete tonight on Dynamite to once again defend his TNT Title against former champion Kyle Fletcher.