N/A
When WWE struck gold at WrestleMania 36 with the Boneyard and Firefly Fun House matches, the risk was that the promotion would start leaning too heavily into the cinematic style.
Now, NXT could end up needlessly hurting what was otherwise shaping up to be an entertaining clash.
Velveteen Dream is challenging Adam Cole for the NXT Championship on Sunday at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. It's a rematch of their May 6 encounter, which Cole won with the help of Undisputed Era.
Last Wednesday, NXT general manager William Regal teased a different kind of approach when he told Cole he was going to find a unique location for the match.
According to Wrestling Inc's Raj Giri, Cole and Dream will face off outside of the NXT arena at Full Sail University "with cars surrounding the area and the headlights being used for lighting."
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa brawled in what was billed as the final installment of their legendary rivalry during the April 8 edition of NXT. With no fans in attendance, the production team used the opportunity to play off the cinematic style from WrestleMania.
In certain scenarios, going off the beaten path makes a lot of sense.
The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt have characters who thrive in non-wrestling settings. For a long, nuanced dynamic such as Gargano vs. Ciampa, you can treat it like a spectacle separate from everything else on the card.
All Elite Wrestling's Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing was great as well because it allowed all 10 men involved to have a moment that was unique to their on-screen character.
Giving that status to Cole vs. Dream doesn't make much sense, though.
The match is already for the NXT Championship and has a notable stipulation. If he loses, Velveteen Dream will no longer be able to wrestle for the title as long as Cole is champion.
Those two factors alone are enough to make the confrontation feel meaningful; there's no need to tack on another layer.
More than anything, this comes off as another example of WWE attempting to build something important without doing the work.
It's no different than when the promotion shoehorns generally lukewarm storylines into Hell in a Cell or Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches to coincide with the pay-per-views of the same name. Nobody was demanding to see King Corbin vs. Roman Reigns given the full TLC treatment last December.
Velveteen Dream's history with Undisputed Era spans most of 2020 and even goes back to the end of 2019. His bad blood with Cole specifically is somewhat limited, though. Prior to their title bout last month, they hadn't wrestled a singles match on NXT programming.
To bring back the comparison to Ciampa and Gargano, they had three head-to-head battles at TakeOver before using the Empty Arena stipulation. They probably could've delivered another classic in April, but changing things up was an understandable tactic to provide a fresh take.
Fans haven't really seen what Cole and Dream can do when given a true TakeOver treatment. Instead, they're apparently fighting in a parking lot, where the emphasis will likely be on set pieces rather than actual wrestling.
Should this be Dream's biggest NXT moment to date, seeing him celebrate in a parking lot lit by car headlights will make for an odd visual, too.
Looking beyond TakeOver: In Your House, one has to wonder whether this is a sign WWE will be unable to resist using cinematic matches and risk cheapening the entire concept.
The card for NXT TakeOver: In Your House on June 7 is beginning to take shape after Wednesday's episode of NXT, and it is already apparent that the pay-per-view has the potential to be one of the best wrestling shows of the year.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross and Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai are already official, but there are several other compelling rivalries in NXT that should come to a head at TakeOver: In Your House.
Here are a few matches that should be added to the card in order to make it a must-see show.
Johnny Gargano vs. Keith Lee
Johnny Gargano was once the most beloved babyface in NXT history, but it hasn't taken him long to hit his stride in his new role as a cocky and delusional heel.
Gargano beat Ciampa several weeks ago with help from his wife, Candice LeRae, in a match that effectively ended their rivalry. Fans have been awaiting a clue for whom Johnny Wrestling may feud with next since then, and they finally got their answer Wednesday.
After Gargano and LeRae took some shots at Keith Lee and Mia Yim the previous week, Johnny and Candice emerged Wednesday to taunt Yim following her match. That led to Lee showing up and chasing away Gargano.
Although it hasn't been mentioned on NXT TV yet, Lee and Yim are dating in real life, so a mixed tag team match against Gargano and LeRae would make sense. The true money match, however, is Gargano vs. Lee for Lee's North American Championship.
Gargano is a Grand Slam champion in NXT and has had some of the best matches in the history of the brand. Lee is still on the ascent, but since his performance at Survivor Series last year, his popularity has skyrocketed and is one of the faces of NXT.
Based on the arrogance of Gargano's character, he should have the desire to stop Lee in his tracks before he gets too popular and surpasses him in that regard.
Gargano and Lee are two of the best in-ring workers NXT has to offer, and the unique dichotomy of a smaller heel against a much larger babyface would undoubtedly make for an intriguing matchup.
Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
After getting taken out by a mystery attacker ahead of his scheduled match against Velveteen Dream a few weeks ago, it was later revealed that Finn Balor was a victim of Damian Priest.
Priest also made his presence felt during a recent match between Balor and Cameron Grimes by hitting Balor in the leg with a baton. That was enough to throw off Balor and allow Grimes to hit him with the Cave In for a shocking victory.
The Archer of Infamy then pressed a steel chair against Balor's throat and professed his desire to make life miserable for the former NXT champion. On Wednesday's episode, Priest suggested that he wanted to face Balor at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, and one can only assume that Balor will accept the challenge based on his desire to get revenge.
While it can be argued that feuding with Priest is a step down for Balor since there is no title involved, it is an intriguing rivalry because of the fact that they have never faced each other before. In fact, their only experience with one another is tagging together a few times on NXT house shows.
Balor had been set to feud with United Kingdom champion Walter, but the coronavirus pandemic has meant the titleholder has had to stay in Europe. That rivalry is likely still in the cards, and a program with Priest is a solid consolation prize.
The match should be good because of their in-ring skills, and Priest will be elevated simply by getting in the ring with someone who boasts such an impressive resume.
Balor figures to win the match, which should give him plenty of momentum if and when the opportunity to face Walter comes to fruition.
Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream No Holds Barred
It isn't often that the NXT Championship is overshadowed, but based on the card that is likely to be put together for TakeOver: In Your House, it can be argued that champion Adam Cole and his title aren't high on the list of what fans are clamoring to see most.
Part of the reason for that is the fact that Cole and Velveteen Dream battled for the NXT Championship a couple of weeks ago in a fairly short match that Cole won after Dexter Lumis, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish all got involved.
On Wednesday's NXT, Strong beat Lumis, but chaos broke out afterward, with Cole, Fish and Dream all battling. Dream put an exclamation point on the segment when he went to the top rope and hit Cole with an elbow drop over the guardrail and on to the floor.
All signs point toward Cole and Dream going at it again, but in order to make things more interesting, the rule book should be thrown out the window in the form of a No Holds Barred match.
There is little doubt that Lumis and Undisputed Era are going to get involved regardless, but the No Holds Barred stipulation means anything can happen, and there is nothing the referee can do to stop it.
Cole and Undisputed Era tend to thrive under those conditions, and the amount of possibilities at the combatants' disposal would likely make for a heated brawl.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW):
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Moon Expresses Doubt of Future in Wrestling
Ember Moon has been out since September with a torn Achilles, and during an appearance on FS1's WWE Backstage on Tuesday, she admitted that she is unsure if she will ever be able to return to in-ring action.
Moon said the following regarding her stats (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Joshua Gagnon):
"I look back at my career in WWE—I've been here five years. I look back, and yeah, I should have been the one to defeat Asuka's streak or, 'Aw, man, me and Bayley from SummerSlam, I wish I'd done more.' The more and more I sit back and look at everything I'd re-do, I think about my injury currently. Realizing that I may have a career-ending injury. I'm coming back from the hardest injury and I might not have a chance to redeem myself of all the things I wanted to do and I wanted to do in my future. It's so hard to look back and regret, when I try to look forward."
Moon is only 31 years of age, but a torn Achilles is a significant injury with a long recovery time. Even if she does return, it is possible she will never have the same explosiveness she once did earlier in her career.
While Ember is uncertain about her future, she made it clear that her goal is still to return to WWE and be better than ever at some point:
"I keep looking forward because this is what I love. This is my passion, this is the only thing I've ever wanted for myself. And I want that opportunity to not look back, but to look forward and be better than ever before. It's so hard to look back. ... I'm going to prove to you guys that I'm worth redeeming those mistakes and those regrets. It's just going to be awhile before I do so."
Moon held the NXT Women's Championship once, but she was never able to beat Asuka. It wasn't until Asuka relinquished the title and went to the main roster that Moon finally won it.
The fact that she never beat Asuka took some of the importance away from the title reign, and she didn't have as much momentum as she probably would have liked when she got called up.
Moon struggled to gain her footing on the main roster and her biggest match to date remains last year's SummerSlam bout against Bayley. The match wasn't bad, but it lagged behind some of the others and didn't have the type of build one would hope for with a title match at one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year.
Ember's WWE run has been far from perfect but she has a ton of potential and WWE fans would undoubtedly love to see her get another shot at showing what she can do on SmackDown or Raw.
Slater Talks Dislike for Wrestling Without Fans
Recently released former WWE Superstar Heath Slater is one of many professional wrestlers who don't enjoy wrestling without fans in attendance.
During an appearance on The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast, Slater expressed his belief that the lack of fan interaction hurts the product overall:
"I hate it. Everyone hates it because the people is what makes it. My goodness! When I was a heel, the best thing was when I would have a dude in a hold and I would hear something. Someone would say, 'Oh, you suck' and I'd be like, 'Oh, you shut your mouth!' I'd just go off on them and that's the best feeling in the world.
"But if there's no one there and I'm going, 'Shut your mouth' then they're gonna be like what's he talking about? Is he okay?"
Both WWE and AEW have been running weekly shows throughout the coronavirus pandemic, but fans have been unable to attend the events due to the guidelines in place.
While a lack of fans has arguably led to improvements in some areas—such as better promos and more outside-the-box ideas like the Boneyard Match, Firefly Fun House Match and Money in the Bank ladder matches at WWE headquarters—the fans are undoubtedly missed.
Slater was one of several Superstars who were released by WWE last month as a cost-cutting measure to offset some of the revenue that has been lost due to COVID-19.
The 36-year-old Slater debuted on WWE's main roster in 2010 as part of the Nexus stable and spent the next 10 years with the company, winning the WWE and SmackDown Tag Team Championships, as well as the 24/7 title.
Slater is currently out of work as a wrestler, but he seems excited to get back to his craft once fans are allowed to begin attending shows again.
Rush Talks Issues with Triple H
Lio Rush found new life on NXT after his run on the WWE main roster was cut short, but Rush divulged that he wasn't always on the same page with NXT founder Triple H.
In an interview with Gary Cassidy of Sportskeeda, Rush said that he and Triple H butted heads at times:
"Triple H ... I don't know if it ended on good terms or not because I feel like me and Hunter, we clashed heads a lot. We were always in disagreement as far as what the plan was for me and how he saw me as a character or how he saw me as an asset to the brand.
"I feel like we were just always disagreeing all the time and it sucked because obviously I looked up to Triple H when I was a kid and stuff like that, so it was weird trying to break that separation from being an admirer of his but now, at the same time, I'm an employee of his and he is my boss, so it was hard for me to separate the two and it was kind of disappointing every time I had a conversation with him—but the lack of communication leading up to the initial release was with Hunter."
Rush spent some time on the main roster as Bobby Lashley's manager and actually generated a lot of heel heat, but he was taken off television and sat at home for months amid rumors that he had backstage heat.
He was finally called back in September 2019 and won the NXT Cruiserweight Championship shortly thereafter. Rush dropped it to Angel Garza about two months later, though, and never regained the momentum he had previously.
Rush was among those released by WWE last month due to budget cuts and he is currently biding his time while the coronavirus situation plays out.
At just 25 years of age, Rush could have many good years ahead of him in pro wrestling, especially so because of his combination of athleticism and charisma.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry threatened recently released WWE Superstar Lio Rush with a lawsuit Saturday amid their ongoing war of words on Twitter.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Henry said he was considering a lawsuit due to "slanderous" remarks made by Rush:
The issues between Henry and Rush date back to last year when Rush spoke to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp about issues he was having in WWE, including not having enough money to pay for his rental cars and hotel rooms.
Henry addressed the situation on Busted Open Radio and claimed that Rush "lied to [his] face" when he pulled him aside and asked him if there were any issues. Henry also expressed his belief that Rush wasn't being financially responsible:
Just one year after that issue occurred, Rush brought it up in a tweet on Thursday. Rush also accused Henry of tearing down African American wrestlers:
Rush also posted several other tweets regarding his issues with Henry, while The World's Strongest Man offered a simple response:
During the interview with TMZ Sports on Saturday, Henry expressed his belief that Rush went after him on Twitter as a means of drumming up interest in his album: "He knew that I get a lot of attention. I have a lot of followers and he released the album, or song, or something, and he wanted to use that to get some attention. Get some buzz."
Henry said that if Rush simply would have reached out to him he would have worked an angle with him and helped generate buzz that way rather than getting personal.
The 48-year-old veteran especially took issue with Rush's claims that he holds down black wrestlers. Henry pointed to the fact that he is responsible for getting many people of color hired by WWE: "If you go down to the performance center at NXT, probably 25 I think, people of color in the facility, probably about 80-plus percent of them I helped get them there. I mean, it's completely opposite."
Henry added: "And, you can't question my blackness. Like nobody can question my blackness, pull my black card. No, not allowed. Nobody."
Rush also took another shot at Henry on Sunday:
While Henry acknowledged that he doesn't necessarily want to sue Rush, he said Rush has to apologize to him in order to stop him from taking legal action.
The 25-year-old Rush is currently in limbo as far as his wrestling career is concerned, as the former NXT cruiserweight champion was released from his WWE contract last month as part of wide-ranging budget cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Keith Lee has been among the most dominant Superstars in NXT over the past several months, and he continued to roll on Wednesday's episode of NXT by beating Damian Priest to retain the North American Championship.
Priest, Dominik Dijakovic, Cameron Grimes and many others have stepped up to Lee in recent months ever since he won the North American title from Roderick Strong, but nobody has been able to pry the belt away from him.
The win over Priest leaves Lee without an obvious rival and opponent, but with so much talent in NXT from top to bottom, it shouldn't be difficult to find someone in the near future.
Here are a few NXT Superstars who stand out as potential options to challenge Lee for the North American Championship in the coming weeks.
Johnny Gargano is still fairly new as a heel after screwing over Tommaso Ciampa a few months ago and then beating Ciampa recently on NXT thanks to some help from Candice LeRae.
Even so, it hasn't taken Johnny Wrestling long to become one of the best and most despised heels in all of WWE. Gargano was focused on seconding Candice this week, but when the time comes for him to jump into a new rivalry, Lee makes plenty of sense.
For starters, WWE seems to be setting the stage for a match between Gargano and Dijakovic, as the big man cut a promo about Gargano on Wednesday's NXT. Provided Gargano wins that match as expected, facing Lee would be a natural progression.
Lee vs. Dijakovic has been one of the best rivalries in NXT in recent memory, and they have a great deal of respect for one another. With that in mind, perhaps Johnny will attack Dijakovic after their match, leading to Lee making the save.
Gargano is a former North American champion himself, and of all the top heels in NXT currently, he is the main one with a clean slate and a path to Lee.
While Lee and Gargano have never faced off in a televised match, it is easy to envision them having great in-ring chemistry. Lee is a big, powerful guy who can do things athletically that many who are half his size can't, while Gargano could well be the best technical wrestler in the world.
It can be a challenge booking an angle when the babyface is far bigger and stronger than the heel, but Gargano has already proved himself to be such a good villain that they should be able to make it work without much of an issue.
Dexter Lumis
NXT is all about making new stars, and it seems clear that Triple H is dedicating plenty of television time and resources into making Dexter Lumis precisely that.
After weeks of lurking in the shadows, Lumis stepped up last week to replace the injured Lee as Velveteen Dream's tag team partner in a match against Undisputed Era's Adam Cole and Roderick Strong. Lumis even scored the pinfall victory for his team.
Lumis continued to build momentum this week with a singles win over Shane Thorne, which suggests he could be placed in a big spot soon.
Lee had originally been scheduled to team with Dream against Undisputed Era, but he was attacked by Priest before the match. Priest jabbed Lee in the throat with a baton, which led to Lee being removed from the match and not returning for the rest of the night.
While Lee bounced back to beat Priest this week, the fact that Lumis replaced him and took advantage of the opportunity could be a good way to get the ball rolling on their feud.
Lumis technically isn't a full-fledged heel or face, although he has been going up against heels recently. Even so, his character is so dark and strange that it would be easy for him to transition into the heel role against Lee.
There is an element of danger and viciousness to Lumis that could make him a real threat to Lee, which is needed since the limitless one has been so dominant as champion thus far.
Killian Dain
It has been a few weeks since Killian Dain won a squash match on NXT, but the destructive Northern Irishman stands out as an ideal opponent for Lee.
There are few in NXT who can match Lee in terms of size and strength, but Dain comes close. Given a few weeks of buildup with Dain winning some enhancement matches, it would be easy to sell him as a threat to Lee's title reign.
Lee and Dain have never faced each other in a televised match, either, which means a clash between them would feel fresh and compelling to NXT's viewers.
It is tough to envision Dain beating Lee for the title since he hasn't been positioned that way lately, but if the goal is for Lee to have a long and fruitful run with the title, then he needs to go through believable challengers like Dain.
Dain is similar to Dijakovic and Priest in that they are all big, physical Superstars able to take the fight to Lee and make viewers feel sympathy for him.
If Triple H prefers to hold off on Gargano or Lumis as opponents for Lee and save them for bigger spots down the road, Dain makes plenty of sense as someone who can fill that role temporarily.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
In what Triple H demanded to be the conclusion of their legendary feud, Johnny Gargano defeated Tommaso Ciampa on Wednesday night's episode of WWE NXT on USA Network.
The two battled in an extended fight that got personal with trash talk and featured brutal hits inside and outside the ring:
The match finally turned with the help of Candice LeRae, who appeared to betray Gargano before getting a kick on Ciampa that eventually led to the win.
Two weeks ago, the NXT founder called for the two men to put an end to their rivalry, and he vowed to find an empty building in which they could quash their issues once and for all.
Gargano vs. Ciampa had been set for NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay the night before WrestleMania 36, but with the coronavirus pandemic forcing WWE to move The Show of Shows to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and cancel TakeOver, some compromises were made.
While Gargano and Ciampa broke into NXT as a highly successful tag team, they have been at odds for more than two years. Their trilogy of matches at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, NXT TakeOver: Chicago II and NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 was arguably among the best in wrestling history.
They had been scheduled to have a blow-off match at NXT TakeOver: New York last year, but Ciampa had to relinquish the NXT Championship because of a neck injury, which put things on hold.
The pair seemed to put their issues behind them when The Blackheart returned, but Gargano shockingly turned on his former DIY tag team partner at NXT TakeOver: Portland when he cost him during his NXT Championship match against Adam Cole.
Ciampa had been obsessed with getting revenge on Johnny Wrestling ever since, and it led to a wild brawl on NXT TV on March 11. They battled throughout the Performance Center, damaging equipment and creating complete and utter chaos.
The two men ascended to the top of a platform, and Gargano punched a referee who tried to stop him. Just when it seemed like Johnny Wrestling was about to put Ciampa through the announce table, The Blackheart reversed and hit Gargano with an Air Raid Crash through it instead.
It became clear at that point that Gargano and Ciampa were on a collision course. While it would have been ideal for them to do battle in front of 20,000 fans, extenuating circumstances forced WWE to get creative.
Given the history between the two, they were able to make it work, and they put on an amazing show for those watching at home.
With Gargano scoring the victory and getting the last laugh in his rivalry with Ciampa, he may be in line to move back up the card and pursue the NXT Championship that means so much to him.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
The ballad of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, one of the greatest rivalries in contemporary wrestling history, comes to an end Wednesday night on NXT.
The former tag team partners, best friends turned bitter rivals, have spent nearly three years battling back and forth trying to prove something—to themselves, each other and the world.
On orders from WWE executive Triple H, they will determine once and for all who is the better man in an Empty Arena brawl on the USA Network.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden sat down with Ciampa to talk about the feud that will likely define not only his own career, but also the early history of NXT.
Jonathan Snowden: Johnny recently compared this rivalry to a movie. And it certainly does have its emotional ups and downs. Do you picture it in cinematic terms like that?
Tomasso Ciampa: Yeah. A lot of that comes from the fact that for years we were best friends and lived together. I think we view wrestling in a very similar way, through the same lens.
We have a similar idea of what we want wrestling to be, as far as integrating an immense amount of story into the performance. Whether the saga is a movie or each bit is a movie, and it ends up being a trilogy, or in this case, I guess we're at five chapters now.
JS: Based on what Triple H said, if this is a movie, it's the final scene.
Ciampa: This is it, man.
JS: How do you make it special? Will the fact that it's going to be held in front of no one help make it memorable and different? Maybe that's the right tone for what this has become. What do you think?
Ciampa: Yeah, I 100 percent agree with that. As far as what's going on in the world right now, and the situation that we've been put in as far as how it affects our industry. That brawl we had around the Performance Center had really good reviews from everybody. Everyone was very excited after that.
It's crazy to think that that was the last wrestling to happen in front of a live audience. That was it. From that point forward, there's been no crowds anywhere in the world.
To go from the high that we had on that night where we were saying, 'Oh man, TakeOver Tampa feels as special as TakeOver New Orleans did a couple of years back.' Man, you can't predict anything that's happened since then. What a whirlwind. Only in our story could this happen.
When I found out we're going forth with the match, my initial thought was like, 'All right, cool. Let's hit a home run here.' I don't know. We're both that type of performer, too. We really like the pressure. We really like to have the odds stacked against us.
JS: Most people would be uncomfortable with that feeling. Have the odds always felt stacked against you for whatever reason? It's an interesting mentality.
Ciampa: I remember doing DIY and just badly wanting to steal the show at TakeOvers and badly wanting it to be our turn. We want to be the main event. Guys would get taken over to Raw or SmackDown. You're like, 'Man, we're close.'
TakeOver New Orleans was the first time we main-evented, and the mentality every TakeOver was to hit a freaking home run.
Now this is a whole different set of circumstances. It's a whole different situation. I know, for me, when I'm told, 'all right, we're going to be doing these shows with no crowds,' I'm very competitive. Because I hear that, and I'm like, 'we're going to have the best freaking no-crowd match that anyone has ever seen in their lives.' That's what I want for all of them. You know what I mean? Like the Performance Center brawl, I want this to be remembered with all the best brawls of all time.
I know that there's got to be people out there worried or thinking 'is it the right call or not?' When people watch the final product, they're going to be 'damn it, they pulled it off.'
The room was empty aside from a couple of cameramen, myself and Johnny. But the passion's going to freaking come through on camera because we just gave it everything. We gave it our bodies, we gave it heart, soul, the whole thing and it's five years.
This is a proper payoff. I'll stand by it forever. This is a proper payoff for five years, crowd, no crowd. The people who watch this at home, they're going to be captivated. They're going to be sucked in, and I think they'll feel like they were part of something special.
JS: You talked about the wrestling philosophy you share with Johnny. It does feel like you guys are delivering a different kind of wrestling, one with all the action of independent wrestling and also the big storytelling moments that come with sports entertainment. Do you feel like the two of you guys are pushing the boundaries of what wrestling can be?
Ciampa: Yeah, and it's the team. That goes all the way to the top with Hunter (Triple H) and Shawn (Michaels), to the producers and the agents. It's everybody.
It is a different vibe in NXT. There's an us-against-the-world thing, and it's such an interesting dynamic because we're owned by WWE, Vince McMahon, the whole thing. But you lose sight of that once you're in the locker room.
It genuinely feels like this independent group who's out to prove something constantly. We're not developmental anymore, we are their third brand. Being on USA Network, we could be seen in the same amount of homes as Raw and SmackDown. We've just got to be patient and do our due diligence and tell our stories. We could, at some point, be the No. 1 show in ratings. I see what Raw does, I see what SmackDown does. I see us there, too.
And I'm sure that people could easily laugh at that. But for me it's like, well, five years ago, we were on the WWE Network and TakeOvers were hard to come by. Five years later, we're on USA and TakeOvers happen four, five, six times a year. Sometimes you just have to be patient and see the big picture.
We have a lot of that in our locker room, myself and Johnny and guys like Adam Cole and Roderick Strong. There's a lot of big-picture guys who are in this for the long haul, and we all grew up on the same wrestling product too, that late-80s/early-90s, where there were only four or five pay-per-views a year.
JS: How does that inform what you do in the ring?
Ciampa: Stories were really drawn out and people could get invested and captivated. And now we're being allowed to do that, what we grew up on, but also take in all the stuff we learned over the last 10 years for in-ring action.
It's a quicker pace. It's harder hitting. It's more crazy things, jumping off cages. But if we can mix that with the storytelling, I just think it's special, and I just feel like we've only been on TV now for what, six months? Just let this thing breathe. Let's just give it time.
I'm not a huge reader, but every book I ever read, I hardly ever get sucked in on the first chapter or two. It was usually midway through where I was like, 'oh damn, this book's good.' All of a sudden I'm reading 30 pages instead of 10 at a time. It's the same concept. It's like you have to give the viewer at home time to get sucked into the characters and the storylines. But I think if we just keep doing what we're doing hopefully, separately, Johnny and I get to continue to be a part of that.
Man, it's something special. There was something special about ECW when they were doing what they were doing. There's something special about NXT doing what we're doing.
JS: That's an awesome comparison. You talked about how new all of this is and the fact it will take some time to introduce the characters and storylines to a new audience. But one of the names you mentioned needs no introduction: Shawn Michaels. How is he helping you guys behind the scenes to put together these fantastic matches?
Ciampa: Luckily for us, the guy running the show is best friends with Shawn Michaels. And Hunter is up there in the conversation for best in-ring performer of all time, too. I think Shawn might just happen to be the best. It's not a bad duo to have helping out.
I don't know how Shawn got involved exactly. I think it's just once the wrestling bug bites you, it bites you forever. He was doing his own thing and happily retired, and he came down to the Performance Center once because he lives not far away. It's that wrestling bug, he sees a bunch of guys who have the same passion he has, and it's hard for him not to get sucked in.
That turned into him coaching and taking on a class, and the class has guys like myself and Johnny and Adam Cole and others in it. That ends up developing into "Shawn's kids," and once he has that investment, now he's hooked.
Shawn's an incredible dude. He's not just into the match. He's hooked into your life, your career, your home life, all of it. He ends up becoming this life coach-mentor dude, and he's just invested.
JS: It must be nice to have that kind of experience around, someone who has seen everything there is to see both in the ring and behind the scenes.
Ciampa: NXT has changed quite a bit since it started. It's gone from us doing stuff on the WWE Network to now being on USA and live TV. So many things have changed, but behind the scenes, he's still there for all the television shows.
He's a storyteller, man. He's the guy we all grew up on. It's a crazy thing for any of us who are performers. I grew up watching Hunter and Shawn, and now these guys are coaching and helping us, and we're bouncing ideas off them and it's bonkers. It's crazy.
You're really doing yourself no service if you're not taking full advantage of that. And I've taken full advantage of it. Shawn's that behind-the-scenes coach who just wants this thing to thrive and succeed for the betterment of everybody, for the betterment of the business.
JS: The first time I saw you live was in Chicago in 2017. You turned on Johnny that night to start all of this. And a real-life injury occurred. You had worked for so long to finally get this opportunity, and life slapped you in the face. Were you worried it was going to be over before it started?
Ciampa: A few years earlier, I had torn my left ACL, so the second it happened in the match in Chicago, I knew my right ACL was torn. There was no doubt in my mind. But I also knew that when I tore my left ACL, I wrestled for 20 minutes after. I was like, 'OK, I know I can wrestle, I can keep this going, I'm OK. I just have to work around it.'
I never had a woe-is-me attitude, for a multitude of reasons. One, I needed both my shoulders repaired. This opened up a window. 'Oh, he needs to take nine months off to fix his knee. Great, we'll fix his shoulders.' I knew that was going to help me going forward: longevity, career, being in pain, all that.
Two, I knew that we accomplished something that night. You could feel the energy in the crowd, man. When I turned on Johnny, it was just this visceral hatred, and I was like, 'oh.'
Plus for me, I am 100 percent more comfortable as a heel, that is my bread and butter. I'd worked for two or three years in NXT as an underdog, babyface tag team guy, and I knew, 'oh, they haven't seen anything yet. Wait until they see what's coming.'
I knew that Johnny Gargano is the best in-ring performer today. There's no one who touches him, and so I don't have to worry about that because he's going to do his job. He's now the babyface. His partner turned on him, now he's got to find himself, find his way. He's perfect for that.
I know he's going to do his job. All I've got to do is go do my job. And my job was just to work my butt off, get in the gym and train and get ready. I don't know, man, I felt as confident as somebody could possibly feel in that situation.
For me, the whole time doing rehab, I knew what was waiting for me. I just had to deliver. I just felt like, 'oh yeah, we're going to do this. We're fine.'
JS: That's a very inspiring outlook. It's amazing to me, looking at Wikipedia, which we know is always accurate...
Ciampa: 100 percent accurate.
JS: It says you were working for years in a fitness studio and made the decision well into your career to go for it and do this wrestling thing full-time. You had come to a point where you had to decide whether wrestling was going to be your life. How did you make that choice? Was it difficult?
Ciampa: When I was in Ring of Honor, I was still doing the fitness studio and it was taking a toll. I have the Facebook deal where it will share these old pictures with you. Sometimes a memory will pop up from years ago: It might be a status that talks about waking up at 4 a.m. for work. I was waking up at 4 a.m., opening the club, doing the training, and I was doing that nonstop.
Then going on the road for the Friday and Saturday, coming back Sunday, and going back to it. I was going stretches where I was going like 30, 40 days without a day off. I was just burnt out on both ends, and the decision had to be made. I was doing really good in the fitness industry, and while the wrestling was going pretty good, it wasn't paying the bills.
The decision initially was to do the fitness thing, but let me give it the old college try, one more year. I just happened to get my first tour overseas at that point, and I got to go to England and Germany and finally made a bit of money. I came back to the States and back home, and I just remember having that conversation with my wife, 'I was overseas for three weeks and all I had to do is wrestle and I felt great.
I was eating good, I was just training hard, I didn't feel deprived of sleep and burnt out. Then I came home, and it was right back to the trenches. They called and said 'hey, come back for two weeks.' But if I came back, I had to leave my job because there's no way I could keep it.
The decision was presented to us in that way, and I ended up just kind of going all-in. We had just got married and now we wanted to get a house and start a family and all that. It was very much like, 'hey, we'll give this two years and just put in the work.' But if it didn't work, the fitness thing was my fallback.
Luckily, it worked. I started doing a lot of stuff overseas. I ended up voluntarily leaving Ring of Honor when my contract was up because I was making so much more money on the independent scene. And within a year of leaving, Johnny and I started doing stuff at NXT and it just snowballed from there.
Fortunately, it was the best decision I ever made. And the driving reason behind it was getting that first tour, and being like, 'oh man, when all I have to do is focus on wrestling, I actually can do it a lot better.' It just kind of became this thing where it was 'all right, shoot, let's see what happens when that's my only thing I have to focus on.'
JS: In 2018, all that work and focus paid off. You guys had feud of the year, black and white in a world of gray. There was a clear hero and a clear villain. Now, not so much. Do you like the fact that the roles have reversed a bit? Does it give you a new story to tell?
Ciampa: Yeah, it opens up different windows. I love good versus evil. I love it. Again, it's what I grew up on. I knew Hulk Hogan was a good guy and the guy going against him was a bad guy. I love good versus evil. It always works. Even when you look at superhero movies, the action is really cool and all that, but what sucks you in is good trying to overcome evil.
But it's one of them things that once you do it, and especially if you do it and kind of hit a home run with it, it's like, 'OK, that that was as good as it's going to likely get.' Plus now that we're live weekly, it's a television show and every character needs layers.
If I'm always pissed at the world, eventually the viewer needs to know why I'm pissed at the world. It's got to keep you captivated, so you can only tell the story for so long until you have to give the guys layers.
For me, my layer came so organically, 'oh, he went and got neck surgery,' and you see a bit of real life with the baby, my wife and home life. It opened up this whole new insight into me for the viewer.
Now there are a crazy amount of layers to both Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. The viewer can argue 'Johnny's a good guy.' And the guy next to him could say 'no, no, he's the bad guy. This is why.' And you can do the same for me. I love that now.
I loved the black and white before, and I love what's going on right now because it's just two human beings out there who genuinely believe that they are fighting for the right reasons.
JS: And it all comes down to this final match.
Ciampa: Everything that we've done over the last five years literally boils down to both of us saying, 'I want to be the face of NXT.' If you break everything down, it's two dudes who came in without a contract, worked their butts off, got all the way to the tag team titles, to the main event scene, to the NXT title. And after all of that, it wasn't enough.
The face of NXT. That's what Johnny Gargano wants. That's what Tomasso Ciampa wants. It's captivating stuff to me. I think when people look back at this years from now, that's what people are going to feel. Like, 'oh man, we've watched this thing unfold, and there's just so many story points to it, so many nuances to it.'
We try really hard to never forget anything. I'd never want a fan who is completely invested to feel like I dismissed his thoughts or how they feel. I always want them to appreciate that we care enough, that we're putting in the thought process and all the effort forth to make sure nothing's forgotten.
What happens Wednesday night, it's so freaking heartfelt. It's so much. It's intense. It was physical. A couple of weeks removed, I'm still healing, still recovering. We tried really hard.
If this is the final chapter of a five-year story that a lot of people have been invested in, we did not want to let them down, and I don't think anyone's going to feel let down at the end of Wednesday night.
Tommaso Ciampa will face Johnny Gargano Wednesday night on NXT at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.
