Tommaso Ciampa Reveals He Was Leaning Toward Exiting WWE ‘For Quite Some Time,’ Explains Wanting To Join AEW

Newly signed AEW star Tommaso Ciampa recently spoke to Sports Illustrated to discuss his recent WWE exit and joining AEW. Ciampa made his AEW debut on last night’s Dynamite. Below are some highlights from SI.com:

Tommaso Ciampa on His Decision To Leave WWE

“It’s something I’ve been leaning towards for quite some time. 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.”

On Wanting To Be a Part of AEW

“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. 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.”

On Bringing His Psycho Killer Persona to AEW

”There were a lot of times I tried… and for one reason or another [over the years in WWE], it just wasn’t something that I could do. But for Tony [Khan] and the whole crew to just collaborate the way they did and have open arms, and see the vision and just allow it to breathe and have a chance, I’m already thinking six months, 12 months ahead on the evolution of the Psycho Killer.”

On Being Better Now Than He Was in 2018

“For a long time, I had to listen to people tell me, not so much directly to my face but more so online, that 2018 was prime Ciampa. I’m a hundred times better now than I was then. That was nothing. That was absolutely nothing. I’m physically better. I’m mentally sharper. My storytelling, my psychology is on a whole different level than it was back then… what people are about to see is going to blow their minds. It’s gonna shock the world, because I finally have a shot to find out if I’m as good as I think I am.”

Tommaso Ciampa on Facing Mark Briscoe for the TNT Title

“I love the Briscoes so much. I always have. I have so much respect for them. Mark has always been, to me, the ultimate babyface. He’s impossible to dislike. His fire, his charisma. The fact that we haven’t stepped foot in a ring for 13 to 15 years together, the second I saw him and locked eyes, it was just perfect. And Saturday night, man, we’re just gonna tear the house down.”

Tommaso Ciampa makes his AEW in-ring debut on Saturday, January 31. He will face Mark Briscoe for the AEW TNT Championship on AEW Collision. The show will air live on TNT starting at 8:00 pm ET.