Tommaso Ciampa thinks the transition from NXT to WWE will be a lot easier now than in the past.
In the past, NXT stars have come up to the main roster as complete unknowns to Vince McMahon. This led to them being repackaged, throwing away potentially years of development in NXT.
However, with Triple H and Shawn Michaels now in charge of WWE and NXT, respectively, that is bound to change.
Tommaso Ciampa spoke about this on the Battleground Podcast. He cited the increased communication between the two shows as the reason for the consistency with the call-ups.
“I think we’ll see a little bit less of that in the future.” Tommaso Ciampa said. Because there’s a lot more communication between the two brands now, and they’re a lot more in sync. For instance, if you develop a persona in NXT and it’s working—take Trick Williams, for example—I don’t think when Trick Williams comes up to Raw or SmackDown, he’s going to be repackaged. They’ll have to educate the crowd on who he is. But you’re going to get the same Trick Williams that you’ve been getting.”
“I think that was the hardest part for a long time. You did a thing in NXT, it worked in NXT, then you go to the main roster and it’s like, ‘Well, that thing didn’t exist in this universe, so we’re going to repackage you and put you in this position.’ And that’s very hard on a performer.”
Tommaso Ciampa Thinks Partnership With The Miz Didn’t Make Any Sense
Tommaso Ciampa continued. He spoke about his call-up in 2022, when the former NXT Champion was partnered with The Miz.
He noted that, despite how much he likes The Miz, the partnership made no sense for his character and they did not work as a unit.
“Even speaking from personal experience—when I came up and was paired with The Miz—I love The Miz, I love Mike as a person, I love his character, and I think he’s fantastic as a wrestler and performer. But in no way, shape, or form did Miz and Tommaso Ciampa make any sense as a unit. So, it was like, ‘Alright, how do I make this work, and how do I do this while staying true to myself?’ That’s where it becomes very hard to be the real you.”
“I think we’re going to see less of that now. There’s obviously a lot more communication—Shawn’s running creative and Hunter’s running creative, and they’re very good friends. So, I think that’s going to be a much smoother transition for people going forward, which is awesome.”
