Tony Khan Reveals Why AEW Signed Former WWE Champion
Tony Khan was quick to sign a former WWE champion to an AEW contract when he became a free agent.
Tommaso Ciampa spent the last ten years of his pro wrestling career as one of the greatest superstars in the history of the NXT brand, and also a member of the main roster.
During his WWE run, Ciampa was a 2-time NXT Champion and a 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion. However, he never got a big singles push on the main roster.
After letting his WWE contract expire in January, Ciampa signed with AEW’s Tony Khan. In his first AEW match on the January 31st episode of Collision, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Mark Briscoe to win the TNT Title, which suggests he will likely be featured there more than he was in WWE.
Tony Khan has shown a willingness to sign many WWE superstars over the years. Some of them have been more successful in AEW, while others haven’t been more successful at all. The good news for the wrestlers is that it gives them another company where they can pursue a successful career while earning big money.
In an interview with Josh Martinez, Tony Khan spoke about AEW signing Tommaso Ciampa.
“I think that AEW is where the best wrestle, and Tommaso Ciampa is a fantastic wrestler. And our fans like to see the very best wrestling against the very best. And so Tommaso Ciampa is somebody that can come into AEW. Immediately now, 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 AEW company.
“Also, he has a great history in Ring of Honor. So even though he had 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 coming back and somebody that has great accomplishments, and been a champion in ROH — now a champion in AEW as well. Going on that impressive list of people that have held both the ROH TV Championship and the TNT Championship now.”
Tony Khan Believes Tommaso Ciampa Is A Perfect Fit For AEW
As he continued, Tony Khan reiterated that Ciampa is the right kind of wrestler for AEW.
“I think that as a TNT Champion or in any role in AEW, the most important thing — and when we bring somebody in like a Tommaso Ciampa is, Are you a wrestler? Are you a great wrestler, is there a place for you here where you can uh really add to the AEW roster and set up great matches for the future? And Tommaso Ciampa fits that really to a tee, literally. And I think that he will be a great addition for us, and now I’m very excited that he’s the TNT champion in AEW.”
Tony Khan is looking ahead to AEW Grand Slam Australia, which takes place on February 14th from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. It airs in the usual AEW Collision timeslot at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max. Here’s the lineup.
* AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Brody King
* AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita
* AEW World Title #1 Contenders Match: “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Andrade El Idolo
* Loser Gets Their Head Shaved: Orange Cassidy & Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta – Whoever takes the fall in the match will have their head shaved.
* AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship: Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford
The winner of the “Hangman” Adam Page/Andrade El Idolo match will face the winner of the MJF/Brody King match for the AEW World Title at the AEW Revolution PPV in March.