Tommaso Ciampa had an explosive arrival in All Elite Wrestling.
In his surprise debut, the former WWE Superstar, fresh off of his departure from the company, confronted then-TNT Champion Mark Briscoe and made his intentions of coming for his title very clear.
And come for it, he did.
Ciampa, in his very first match in AEW, defeated Briscoe to capture the TNT Championship on AEW Collision.
This week, however, Ciampa’s brief introductory title run came to a sudden halt.
During the February 11 episode of AEW Dynamite, Ciampa was defeated by Kyle Fletcher for the TNT title in an early match of the year candidate (see video highlights below). Fletcher would go on to set up his first defense against Mark Briscoe in a Ladder Match at the upcoming AEW Grand Slam: Australia show this weekend.
Ciampa spoke with VICE prior to the TNT title defense against Fletcher on 2/11, and spoke about having a NXT TakeOver mindset heading into the match.
“Kyle is one I’m extremely keen on,” Ciampa said. “I think he’s just an incredible worker, athlete, promo, and presentation. I’m excited to see what I do with a young guy who came from a whole different era than me. That feels like a TakeOver mentality I have going into that one.”
He continued, “It’s hard for me to pick a TNT champion who made the title and the title made him more so than Kyle Fletcher. I feel like that’s a guy who really resonates with it. He’s a big boy, he’s young, he’s athletic. He wants the title. Just [standing] face-to-face with him in the ring on Collision on Saturday, I saw it in his eyes… there’s no hesitation. He’s not nervous. He’s ready for the spotlight.”
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