Kemo
10-07-2023, 10:00 PM
Tommaso Ciampa is immensely excited for the future of WWE NXT, believing that the current iteration of the show has plenty in common with NXT's 'Black and Gold' era.
Ciampa was with WWE NXT for years before his call-up to WWE's main roster in 2022. During his stint with the brand, Ciampa would capture the NXT Tag Team Championships with Johnny Gargano and would become a two-time NXT Champion, holding the title during the Black & Gold era as well as in WWE NXT 2.0.
While Ciampa's days of being a part of WWE NXT are behind him, the Blackheart is pleased with what he's seeing. Speaking on After the Bell, Ciampa recalled being in person for last week's NXT No Mercy event and how it felt similar to the beloved Black & Gold era.
"So I actually stopped by the Performance Center and the vibe there and the energy, I don't want to say it's -- It is. It's exactly what it used to be. It had a tough spin. It had a tough time with NXT 2.0, the adjustments, the color scheme changes. Everything. The vibe was different for a while.
"It's hungry again and it's competitive again and it's a team effort again. It was a really cool thing to see and I kept saying that to everybody down there. All the producers & head coaches, Shawn [Michaels], Matt [Bloom], everybody. That crowd was as electric as anything I'd ever seen for a TakeOver. It was the first time watching that I thought 'Man, this is the Black and Gold feel.' They were crazy."
Ciampa spoke fondly of some of the WWE NXT talent, many of whom were part of NXT 2.0 but have come to flourish in the current iteration of the brand.
"All these new talents and acts have now stepped past that point of being new and they're developed and they have characters and they've got backstory. You can connect [with them.] It was cool to see.
"It's cool to see Carmelo Hayes be a full package. It's cool to see Trick Williams break out like crazy over the last few months. Ilja Dragunov is [on the] next level. He is full package and ready to go. You can toss that guy on a pay-per-view tomorrow and he is going to deliver. "
Next week's WWE NXT will be a stacked show featuring main roster talent as the two-hour show will go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday.
Ciampa was with WWE NXT for years before his call-up to WWE's main roster in 2022. During his stint with the brand, Ciampa would capture the NXT Tag Team Championships with Johnny Gargano and would become a two-time NXT Champion, holding the title during the Black & Gold era as well as in WWE NXT 2.0.
While Ciampa's days of being a part of WWE NXT are behind him, the Blackheart is pleased with what he's seeing. Speaking on After the Bell, Ciampa recalled being in person for last week's NXT No Mercy event and how it felt similar to the beloved Black & Gold era.
"So I actually stopped by the Performance Center and the vibe there and the energy, I don't want to say it's -- It is. It's exactly what it used to be. It had a tough spin. It had a tough time with NXT 2.0, the adjustments, the color scheme changes. Everything. The vibe was different for a while.
"It's hungry again and it's competitive again and it's a team effort again. It was a really cool thing to see and I kept saying that to everybody down there. All the producers & head coaches, Shawn [Michaels], Matt [Bloom], everybody. That crowd was as electric as anything I'd ever seen for a TakeOver. It was the first time watching that I thought 'Man, this is the Black and Gold feel.' They were crazy."
Ciampa spoke fondly of some of the WWE NXT talent, many of whom were part of NXT 2.0 but have come to flourish in the current iteration of the brand.
"All these new talents and acts have now stepped past that point of being new and they're developed and they have characters and they've got backstory. You can connect [with them.] It was cool to see.
"It's cool to see Carmelo Hayes be a full package. It's cool to see Trick Williams break out like crazy over the last few months. Ilja Dragunov is [on the] next level. He is full package and ready to go. You can toss that guy on a pay-per-view tomorrow and he is going to deliver. "
Next week's WWE NXT will be a stacked show featuring main roster talent as the two-hour show will go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday.