A new era is taking place in WWE as NXT 2.0 premiered last Tuesday. Now, the black and gold brand is focusing on younger talent and trying to find the superstar of tomorrow.
Leading the pack is Tommaso Ciampa, who defeated Pete Dunne, LA Knight and Von Wagner to become the NXT Heavyweight champion for the second time.
Ciampa's first title challenger appears to be Bron Breaker, who had a confrontation with the new titleholder at the end of last week's show.
Ahead of Tuesday's episode of NXT 2.0, Ciampa talked with DAZN about winning the belt for the second time, the critics of the new NXT, and what the potential is in Breaker.
(Editor's note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
DAZN: I talk to people in Boxing and MMA, and I always ask what they do when they win the belt for the first time, or they regain a belt. Do you sleep with it, put it in the closet or under the bed, or do you put it on the dresser and stare at it for a while before you hit the hay for the day?
Tommaso Ciampa: I'm a take an obscene amount of photos with the title with my daughter type of guy. It's embarrassing the amount of photos that we took (laughs). The first time I ever held an NXT title, she was just born. There's a photo shoot at the hospital with the NXT title and her. It's just awesome. Now she's turning three on Sunday, so it's a whole different type of photoshoot. On a personal level, aside from all the business and all the pro wrestling stuff, that was the coolest part. She has no memory of the first time, and this time she'll remember it. It was just cool for her to see the title for the first time, and I don't know it was the whole thing was cool.
DAZN: You're talking about your daughter. Does this title reign mean more than when you want it the first time you won the tag titles with Johnny because your daughter is able to comprehend and start to understand what's going on now?
TC: I can't say more. That first title when Johnny, so special for us. We're so close, best friends traveling the world and just two kids to make a splash in the world of WWE. That was so cool. To win the NXT title for the first time, I think for me, was a moment of just my whole career up until that point, 13-14 years was I believed that I could be the top guy somewhere. But then, to actually have that moment happen was so meaningful. I don't think it's a secret that my favorite thing to do in professional wrestling is to play the part of the villain. To do it with a crowd of jeers, boos, and hatred was all the more beautiful for me. And then this one, this one's a whole different feeling, especially after relinquishing the title two and a half years ago and having neck surgery and having some doubts about what I have left in my career and where I'd be at this point in my life. I couldn't rank them one, two, and three. It's incredibly special, especially with the rebranding of NXT 2.0. To know that I'm that guy who gets to be the face of that brand and gets to represent this company, it's a responsibility I take extremely seriously.
DAZN: Like you said, you are now the face of the new NXT. When the changes were coming about, what did you initially think of all the changes that were about to happen?
TC: I remember watching NXT before Johnny and I arrived here and being so drawn to it and just feeling like this is the place I have to go. And this current time, this NXT 2.0, this 2021 version, if anything, reminds me so much of that NXT that I initially watched and was drawn to. You have your veterans, whether back then it was Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Finn (Balor), (Shinsuke) Nakamura, (Samoa) Joe. Then you had all these other guys who were like, ‘Look at me’. That goes from Sasha Banks to Bayley to Becky (Lynch), and then you go to the Men's Division, and you have Tyler Breeze, American Alpha, Revival. All these people made their mark in NXT, made their splash and their debut, and stuff there. We got to watch them develop.
To me, as the performer and as the fan, I love watching people develop. I love sink or swim. I love seeing how people react or respond to different scenarios. So this is very exciting for me because somehow through the last six years, not only have I debuted in the company that I dreamt of debuting, but I've reached the ultimate top spot with the NXT title. I get to do it at such a special time because that atmosphere backstage on Tuesday was just electric man. It was so contagious. The excitement level is off the charts. It reminds me of that time in 2014- 2015. It has that same feel, that same energy. I think you just give us some time to develop, and we're going to watch some awesome stuff transpire because some of these guys and girls, they're ready. They've been ready. They came into this program during a time the pandemic was going on. There's no crowds at all. And now it's like, ‘Hey, now you have a crowd, and you're on USA, the whole world can watch you, and then you're going to watch how they respond’. They knocked it out of the park on Tuesday, and I'm excited to see what happens as we move into the next few weeks and months.
DAZN: What do you say to the haters that are very skeptical of NXT 2.0?
TC: To be honest, man, I don't really talk to them. I blocked that noise. What good is it? I'm told everyday that I'm short, or I'm old, NXT is dead. People don't realize that's it’s such a small group, and they're just very loud. They just want to hear themselves. Let them hear themselves. Let them show in empty rooms all they want, and then the echo comes back. Say whatever you want, that's fine. I'm living it. I know the truth. I know the work I put in. I know the work all the guys and girls put into NXT. You know what makes NXT so special. It's the passion. The passion from Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Coach (Matt) Bloom, or any of the trainers that trickle in to all the different guys and girls who are going out their week in and week out to put their bodies on the line. That's contagious, and fans see that, and they feel it. When you walk out that curtain and that arena, that's when you feel that passion, you feel that energy. Maybe it doesn't always read the way I wish it did on television. I can't say because I'm there. So I don't know. But that's what I hope people take from this. I hope people continue to watch that and see that.
These are boys and girls, men and women who are living their dreams. They're living their dreams, not because someone handed it to them. They're living their dreams because they decided to take that path less traveled.
DAZN: At the end of the show last week, you're sitting there watching the Dexter Lumis-Indi Hartwell wedding a good time, and here comes Mr. Bron Breaker approaches you.
TC: That’s a big boy.
DAZN: His dad and uncle were big stars, so he’s got the heritage. He looks just like his dad.
TC: He comes from a long line of colorful singlets. I’ll admit it. I'm a fan. I'm not gonna lie. I'm a fan of it.
DAZN: What do you make of his potential because it seems like he just needed a platform as it’s already clicking with the audience?
TC: There's certain people where it's not a matter of if, it's when. He falls in that category. But the first time I met him, I knew it right away. We both have a mutual friend in Dallas (Page), and we hit it off right away. He's a hard worker. He's got a good attitude. He's gonna be such a big star. He really is. That's part of the excitement for me. Because I've been there, I've done that. I know what it's like to have the first match, what it's like to have the first TV match, the first Takeover match, the first title match. It's awesome to pass that on (and) be a part of the other side of that and to be guiding those nerves and anxiety. It's a cool feeling I get. For me, it reenergizes me in a sense. It's just awesome. I don't look that far in the future. When I was five years in and saw that when I stepped in the ring with a guy like a Samoa Joe, I never looked at it like one day that's going to be me, it's going to be the reversal of roles. It's very exciting to be put in that position and to be trusted in that position. That part is awesome because I put a lot of work into that.