To promote WWE SmackDown’s October 4th return to Nashville, Tommaso Ciampa made an appearance on the Battleground podcast. Ciampa discussed the transformation of his character as he transitioned from NXT to the main roster, highlighting his collaborations with The Miz, Johnny Gargano, and others.
Ciampa discussed the rise of NXT stars 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.”
You can check out the complete podcast below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
