Ex-WWE Star’s Jump To AEW Surprisingly Acknowledged On SmackDown
WWE has seen many superstars depart the promotion over the last few years, and many of them have signed for AEW following their release. Both promotions have shared multiple wrestlers till now.
In recent years, stars like Andrade, Ricochet, and Wes Lee have all turned up in All Elite Wrestling. One of their most recent signings is one of Triple H’s favorite stars.
The Psycho Killer, Tommaso Ciampa, recently made his debut on AEW as he faced Mark Briscoe in his first match and became the TNT champion in his in-ring debut.
Tommaso Ciampa referenced on WWE SmackDown
Ciampa’s contract with WWE was expiring towards the end of January, and he decided not to renew his contract with the promotion, and made his debut for AEW shortly after that.
His move away from the Stamford-based promotion was mentioned on Friday Night SmackDown tonight. Johnny Gargano has been moping backstage ever since his loss to Axiom, where the masked star won his mask back.
“My tag partner’s gone. I have no friends. No titles. I have nothing left.”
– Johnny Gargano#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/k9KQ0vosHb
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) February 14, 2026
Gargano was moping tonight as well, while Candice LeRae tried to cheer him. However, Johnny snapped back, saying that his tag partner is gone (hinting at Ciampa’s move to AEW), he doesn’t have any titles, and doesn’t have anything left on the show.
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