Tommaso Ciampa appeared on the Battleground podcast to promote WWE SmackDown’s return to Nashville on October 4th. Ciampa talked about the evolution of his character from NXT to the main roster, working with The Miz, Johnny Gargano and more.
Tommaso Ciampa talking about NXT stars being elevated to the main roster:
“There’s a lot more communication between the two brands now. They are 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 that he’s going to be repackaged. They’re going to have to educate the crowd on who he is, but he’s going to give you 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, the thing worked in NXT, then you go to the main roster and it’s like, well that didn’t exist. Not in this universe, so we’re going to repackage you and put you in this position. That’s very hard on a performer.”
“Speaking first person, when I came up, I was paired up with The Miz, I love the Miz. I love Mike as a person. I love his character. I think he’s fantastic as a wrestler and as a performer, but in no way, shape or form does Miz and Tommaso Ciampa make any sense as a unit. So it was like, how do I make this work? How do I do this and stay 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. Shawn is running creative and Hunter is running creative. Obviously, they’re very good friends, so I think that’s going to be a smoother transition for people going forward which is awesome.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Battleground podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
