Tommaso Ciampa Gives More Insight Into Moving From WWE To AEW, Felt Financially Comfortable To Leave WWE
Tommaso Ciampa was in WWE from 2015 to 2026, finding success as a multi-time NXT Champion and a multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion.
He made the move to AEW in January 2026, making a surprise debut on the January 28th episode of Dynamite. Ciampa had been regularly used on WWE TV throughout 2025, teaming with Johnny Gargano and chasing the WWE United States Championship.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on Close Up, Ciampa gave more insight into his decision to leave WWE.
“Our [Ciampa and his family] decision to move on, we talked about for months. I might even say a couple of years, realistically,” he said.
Paquette asked about checking the bank account and figuring out when you are comfortable.
“That’s a big thing, right? To be honest, that’s the biggest thing that you start to go. We are getting a definitive income. It’s a salary. You know what the independent scene is like. You understand the travel if you start to go to different countries. What’s the impact on Willow [his daughter] and my wife? The biggest decision of it all was, ‘Are we finally ready to do it?’ When I left NXT to make the move to the main roster, financially, we were not ready to do that, and we knew it. There was not really a question of, ‘Let’s take a risk. Let’s bet on ourselves.’ It just wasn’t in the cards. We had, at that time, a three-year old. It just wasn’t there. Now, I’m starting to go, ‘Yeah, I think we are at the point financially where we can take the risk.’ I’m not getting younger. I don’t feel old, I feel great. It’s one of those things where everything lined up. Our discussions were far more about real life than it was this dream. While that was going on, a lot of work was being done in the dark, like preparation,” he said.
Ciampa previously revealed that his AEW debut came together quickly. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Ciampa won the AEW TNT Title in his first match, but lost it to Kyle Fletcher this past Wednesday on Dynamite.
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