Real Reason Tommaso Ciampa Jumped Ship From WWE To AEW (WWE News)
Ex-WWE man Tommaso Ciampa views AEW as akin to ECW in the 1990s or NXT in the 2010s.
Tommaso Ciampa signed a deal with AEW mere days after leaving WWE, and the former NXT standout has revealed why he wanted to make the jump. During an interview with 'The Takedown' on Sports Illustrated, Ciampa said that he'd "been leaning towards [leaving WWE] for quite some time".
Plus, he'd always fancied wrestling under Tony Khan's watch in All Elite. At one point mid-chat, Tommaso compared AEW to Paul Heyman's ECW revolution in the 1990s, and stated that he'd always wished he could've pulled on the boots for that company. Now, via AEW, he feels he can be part of a similar revolution.
Amongst other things, Ciampa also compared AEW to ROH's boom in the early-2000s, and to WWE's NXT brand once it exploded under Triple H watch in the mid-2010's. He's proud to have wrestled for the latter 2 promotions, but now has full focus on a memorable run under Khan's umbrella.
Ciampa's wife and daughter were fully behind his decision, which was important to him. Their backing made it possible for Tommaso to debut on this past Wednesday's edition of All Elite flagship show Dynamite - he'll wrestle his first match for the company on this weekend's episode of Collision.
Tommaso's last match was a tag-team effort alongside old partner Johnny Gargano vs. Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov on the 19 December 2025 SmackDown.
Ciampa has been particularly thrilled by Khan's passion, and the fact that the AEW chief had entrance music ready to go for his debut within just 36 hours. That sort of excitement, and All Elite's status as a true WWE alternative, convinced him to make the organisation his new home.