On the January 28 episode of AEW Dynamite, Mark Briscoe encouraged all comers to challenge him for the TNT Championship following a victory over the Don Callis Family’s El Clon. Briscoe stressed that whoever his next challenger would be, it would not be a member of the Don Callis Family, as he has grown tired of them. Mid-sentence, the arena darkened and the graphic “Psycho Killer” flashed on the screen, followed by a skull. Former WWE Tag Team Champion and DIY member Tommaso Ciampa debuted to rapturous applause from the Texas crowd.
Ciampa spent over a decade in WWE in a tag team and rivalry with DIY partner Johnny Gargano. He would also feud with Karrion Kross, Aleister Black, and Adam Cole. DIY’s NXT tenure saw them winning the Tag Team Championship.
Ciampa later won the NXT Championship from Black. When he and Gargano moved to the main roster, they feuded with the likes of Street Profits, Pretty Deadly, Andrade el Idolo & Rey Fenix, and the Motor City Machine Guns.
Upon his contract expiration, Ciampa teased a run on the independent scene and a stint in New Japan Pro Wrestling. A contract with All Elite Wrestling would allow that, as the company enjoys relationships with NJPW, CMLL, Stardom, TJPW, and RevPro. Furthermore, Ciampa would expand his horizons beyond the wrestling style of WWE to match the more varied format of Tony Khan’s wrestling company while remaining on national television.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on Tommaso Ciampa and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8 pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content is available on their YouTube channel.
