Tony Khan comments on the latest AEW signing.
Tommaso Ciampa shocked the wrestling world with his surprise appearance in All Elite Wrestling. The former WWE NXT Champion made his AEW debut on Dynamite last week to set up a TNT Championship match with Mark Briscoe.
Backstage, Ciampa commented on his AEW debut. “Tonight, Tommaso Ciampa became All Elite,” he said. “On Collision, I become the new TNT champion. The Psycho Killer is alive.”
The Psycho Killer stood by his words as he defeated Briscoe for the TNT Championship on the AEW Collision broadcast later that week, putting him on an elite list of performers to have won a title in their in-ring debut for a promotion.
Tony Khan on signing Tommaso Ciampa to AEW
During a recent appearance on Josh Martinez’s YouTube channel, Tony Khan was asked what made Tommaso Ciampa stand out when he first considered bringing the former WWE star to All Elite Wrestling.
“I think AEW is where the best wrestle, and Tommaso Ciampa is a fantastic wrestler. Our fans like to see the very best wrestle against the very best, so Tommaso Ciampa is someone who can come into AEW immediately now that he’s the TNT Champion. It reflects very well on AEW and our media partners to have such a fantastic wrestler with his credentials coming into the company,” Tony Khan said.
“He also has a great history in Ring of Honor. So even though he’d never been in AEW, he’s a big part of the history of the Ring of Honor promotion. And as the owner of ROH, having one of the legends come back — somebody who has great accomplishments and has been a champion in ROH, and is now a champion in AEW as well — puts him on that impressive list of people who have held both the ROH TV Championship and the TNT Championship.
“I think that as TNT Champion, or in any role in AEW, the most important thing when we bring somebody in like Tommaso Ciampa is: Are you a great wrestler? Is there a place for you here where you can add to the AEW roster and set up great matches for the future? Tommaso Ciampa fits that to a tee, literally. I think he will be a great addition for us. I’m very excited that he’s the TNT Champion in AEW.”
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