Tommaso Ciampa Clarifies Stance On Not Wrestling On WWE's Main Roster

Tommaso Ciampa has spoken to Fightful on his previous comments about preferring to stay on NXT rather than wrestling on Raw or SmackDown, which stem from a 2019 interview with former WWE announcer Lilian Garcia.

The former NXT Champion told Garcia that he had previously "fought the call up hard." This, Ciampa explained, was due to the increased strain of a main roster road schedule compared to NXT (h/t Fightful):-

"I had neck surgery. I'm not stupid. I get my window is smaller than it was and my bump card is ticking. If I'm doing 200+ dates on the road with Raw or SmackDown, or I'm doing a manageable load of 30-50 matches with NXT, I could do four years of that as opposed to one year on Raw or SmackDown. I've legitimately vocalized to them, 'If I have to go to Raw or SmackDown, I'm gonna retire and I would love to produce or coach.' But there's no way I'm taking on that load and having a six month run and then call it quits. It's not worth it to me."

This quote (and Tommaso's assertion that he "won't go" to Raw or SmackDown - and has communicated this to Shawn Michaels at least) has been misconstrued over the years, with the most extreme version somehow becoming Ciampa claiming he would rather retire than work the main roster.

Ciampa has addressed this now, in 2021, outlining the differences between Raw and SmackDown and the developmental brand:-

"It's the load. I think people misconstrued it as 'he hates Raw or SmackDown.' No, when I talked to (Lilian Garcia), it was a month or two after I had neck surgery, neck surgery that was potentially going to end my career. We were discussing home and road life and I said, 'I don't think I can handle traveling 300 days out of the year.' I physically would need a lighter load and NXT provides a lighter load. That's where I was at. If somebody told me today, 'You have to travel 300 days for work,' then, okay, the job is not for me."

Continuing, the 36-year-old responded with the following when asked if WWE's pandemic-enforced changes in schedule had led to him reconsidering his stance:-

"Things have changed. The pandemic hit and no one traveled. Now, we're kind of post-pandemic, not really, but we kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel and people are traveling a little bit. I'm also two years out from neck surgery. I have this discussion with a lot of people and it's always confusing to me and I think sometimes as a professional wrestler, and most likely for all athletes across the board, people look at you like 'is he a cog in the wheel?' People forget there is a human being there. The human being, Tommaso Ciampa, can't travel 300 days a year because he had neck surgery. That's reality and truth. He has a three year old at home and likes to watch her grow up, that's important to him. It's kind of silly to take it and spin it in such weird direction like I said it out of spite or hate because I didn't, It's not what it was."

March 2019 saw Ciampa vacate the NXT Championship after suffering a serious neck injury, with his doctors telling him that if he ever returned, he'd be on borrowed time. He returned to WWE that October and has been a virtual ever-present on NXT since then, not returning to the brief, hot-shotted main roster role he and Johnny Gargano were hurried into in February 2019.

But while Ciampa is clearly content operating on a brand that works better for him and his health, he isn't completely ruling out the prospect of appearing on Raw or SmackDown again:-

"I'm open to anything, it just has to fit me as a husband, a father, a performer, an athlete, a human being, knowing my age, my body, my desires, my wants and goals. It's not as simple as 'I'm not doing that thing because I'm not fulfilled creatively there.' It's such a silly...I'm a grown ass man. I have a wife and kid. I don't care about a fake storyline as much as people think. I care about my livelihood. I get it, perception is reality and people always look for headlines and want to spin it and go with whatever direction, but at the end of the day, I love the art form of pro wrestling and the idea of getting in there with new and fresh opponents. I love the idea of being challenged in ways I haven't been challenged. Whether that's a different platform with more eyes on me or with someone like Rey Mysterio, a legit living legend, I love all of it. That sounds great to me. I also make all my decisions based on what's based for me. I'm a realist. I understand the surgeries that I have. I feel great right now. I feel 100% super healthy, but I'm not dumb. My schedule has been fairly limited and I haven't pushed my neck beyond it's limit. I haven't taken a crazy load or schedule. I know there's a reason why I feel as good as I do. Any time I make any decisions to increase any load, that's just going to play a factor in my decision. It has nothing to do with any spite or hate towards anyone. We all work for the same company. We're friends with all those guys and girls and I enjoy watching them perform and succeed."

Ciampa has spent much of 2021 teaming with Timothy Thatcher in NXT, with the duo currently engaged in a feud with Pete Dune, Ridge Holland, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch.