Tommaso Ciampa Sends Warning To WWE Champion
Tommaso Ciampa has issued a stark warning after another big win on Raw.
Gunther is now the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, beating the 35-year-old record belonging to The Honky Tonk Man who held the title for 453 days. The champion wanted to celebrate that feat on Raw recently but was interrupted by the man who almost stopped the record from being broken, Chad Gable.
That soon broke down into Gable and his tag team partner Otis in a brawl with all of Imperium and the numbers advantage began to prove too much. Thankfully for American Alpha, Tommaso Ciampa soon made his presence felt running off Imperium with the help of a steel chair.
On Raw in Salt Lake City, Ciampa defeated Giovanni Vinci, earning Vinci more disgust from Ludwig Kaiser. Speaking in an interview after that match, Tommaso Ciampa made very clear that he got involved in Imperium’s business for one reason, to be the man that finally ends the reign of Gunther.
Tommaso Ciampa wins against Imperium again on Raw
Now on the 25th of September edition of Raw, Ciampa’s quest to do that continued as he defeated Kaiser in a one-on-one bout.
Speaking on Raw Talk afterward, Tommaso Ciampa issued a stark warning to the Intercontinental Champion as he seeks to become the man to slay the dragon:
“Gunther, I know you’re watching. Now, I need you to listen. I realize that right now, this is your world. I see what people are saying. I hear it, I hear the doubt. ‘Ciampa doesn’t have a chance versus Gunther.’ No. ‘Ciampa doesn’t deserve this Intercontinental Title shot. Gunther’s unbeatable, and Ciampa’s not the same as the black and gold days. He’s changed.’ I think so myself, are they right? Have I changed? Can I not beat Gunther?
“Then I shift my mindset. I block out all the noise. I block out all the hate. I think of the people who believed, who continue to believe. I think of my wife and my baby girl, Willow Belle. She turns five tomorrow. Happy birthday, Willow. I think of all those believers, and I want to say to y’all right now, I see you, and I hear you. I feel you. Soon, we’re gonna remind the world. Gunther, I’m ready to climb to the top of that mountain, stare the dragon eye to eye, and cut his damn head off.”
“You and me, while we’re different, we’re a little bit alike. I know what it’s like to make it to the top of the mountain. I know what it’s like to have that title and hold it close to your chest. I know what it’s like for that to mean the world to you. But I also know what it’s like to fall from the top of mountain. I know what it’s like to hit rock bottom, and then to pick yourself back up and go make that climb again.
“That’s where we differ. So as I think, ‘Has he changed?’ Yeah, I’ve changed. You know what I’ve realized through all of this? I’d rather be a man who fights for something than a man who fights with nothing to lose any day of the week, twice on Monday. Gunther, it is a long, long fall from the top of the mountain. Buckle up.”
Also on Raw, there was one star who debuted new music on the show as they had their first match on the red brand in over two years.