Tommaso Ciampa recently spoke with Inside The Ropes. The former NXT Champion discussed his match with Karrion Kross, his feud with Johnny Gargano, his relationship with Edge and more. Here are some highlights:
On Karrion Kross:
Ciampa: “I first heard about him only a couple months before he arrived, and it was mainly from fans, and it was just simple buzz of wanting to see a match-up between the two of us. So that’s the first I heard just because I kinda do stay in my bubble for the most part. And then when he arrived, I think I saw his entrance for the first time with the masses. And it blew me away. He’s a big guy, he’s got a great look, and I understand the hype, I really do, and having the first program be with the two of us, it makes sense to me a lot of ways, he reminds of me a bit of when Aleister Black arrived with the, there’s a lot of hype there, there’s a lot of, I don’t know, there’s the whole package. So for a guy like Karrion Kross to set his sights right at the top of the card and want to get right into a big program and make a name for himself and make an impact, I fully get it, it makes sense that the two of us got paired together because I think that, for the fans, it’s one of those match-ups that they just wanted to see.”
On his feud with Johnny Gargano:
Ciampa: “It feels like the feud started very 80s where it was good versus bad, and it was pretty clean cut, which is, I just love that style of pro wrestling, it’s what I grew up on, and I had a blast doing it, and then it feels like the back half of our feud became more current day, where it’s not as clean cut where it’s good and evil, it’s almost like it’s just people who have good qualities and bad qualities and what are we focusing on at the time. So it became just very, I wish that last match was in front of a crowd because I wish I could have heard who they were behind, you know what I’m saying? I think it would have been a split crowd whereas that first match-up in New Orleans, it was pretty clear that they were booing me and they are cheering him. So it just made it feel more and more like real life, like a movie and stuff. I don’t know, I don’t know that I would have changed anything, but I do wish we had a crowd for that last one just because it would have been a cool atmosphere.”
On Edge’s advice:
Ciampa: “Edge was kinda in my back pocket the whole time. I don’t know when exactly it started, it’s hard for me to say, I feel like it was some time after New Orleans, but I’m not sure exactly when, but it was he came down to the Performance Center, and we got chatting then, and he kinda just put it out to a bunch of us, saying, ‘Hey, if you guys wanted to throw ideas by me or whatever,’ I think he gave his phone number, his email or whatever it was, and I just took him up on it, and I started to just send him, I feel like it was shortly after winning the title, I started just, if I had a big match coming up, a Takeover or whatever, I would send him kinda my thought process, my outline and I’d just say, ‘Hey, am I missing anything? Are there any holes in this, is there anything that you would, you know, embellish on or you know stay away from?’ And he kinda just became my sounding board as far as prepping to go into matches, and a lot of it was exactly what you just said, it was how do I make sure I get booed and I don’t have any redeeming qualities? And he was awesome for that, he’s got a great mind, I would love it if he took on a role like Shawn Michaels as in NXT because he just is so awesome so work with.”
The full video is available here:
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