Tommaso Ciampa Says Wrestling Mark Briscoe In AEW Brought Back ‘A Lot Of Memories’

Ishaan SharmaSeptember 11, 2026, 2:38 pm

Tommaso Ciampa shares his experience wrestling Mark Briscoe in AEW.

Earlier in 2026, Tommaso Ciampa made his first All Elite Wrestling appearance by answering Mark Briscoe’s open challenge for the TNT Championship. They shared the ring a few days later, where Ciampa walked out as the new champion.

Speaking on the Battleground Podcast, Tommaso Ciampa talked about sharing the ring with Mark Briscoe as his first match in All Elite Wrestling.

“Sharing the ring with Mark Briscoe right out the gate and then continuing that with the no holds barred match with him – that’s a dude that I shared the ring with a good 15 or so years ago. This is a fun traveling circus where you can be brothers and family with a group. Then as you disperse, you just kind of lose touch with one another. But every time you see each other, you just kind of pick up right where you left off. That’s kind of how it was with Mark and how it’s always been with the Briscoe family. So that was one of the moments where just being out there with him and doing it with him again, it just brought back a lot of memories. It’s always a good time when you’re around the Briscoes.”

Fans who have followed Ciampa and Briscoe’s careers know that they have worked with each other in the past, when both were in Ring of Honor. During the interview, Ciampa was asked if their match in AEW reminded him of the old days.

“My first ever appearance with AEW was just a face-to-face with Mark. I kissed him on the cheek as I walked out. Just the energy that he gives, and that good old toothless smile of his… he’s got an infectious, contagious passion for pro wrestling for life in general that the second I saw him it was a big warm hug. He’s a guy who just loves life. He loves wrestling. So just being around him, his energy is always infectious. It’s just a total blast to be out there with him. Then that music – when you hear that music, oh my gosh. There’s an energy in the crowd. Every time he walks out, it’s just unbelievable.”

Ciampa then recalled a conversation he had with Mark before locking horns for the first time in AEW.

“I said it to him prior to us actually locking up the first time. I just said, ‘This is going to be fun.’ Cause this is just two completely different wrestlers getting in the ring for the first time ever. We had shared the ring in ROH, but that was like what? 2012 maybe. So I know how much I’ve grown as a performer. I can only fathom how much he’s grown. We’ve gone totally different paths. So it was interesting to feel that chemistry come together so quickly. We both made it a point. I’m not really a practice, rehearsal type guy. I like to just get in there and just kind of do it. I feel like that’s the most organic thing that you can experience with a live crowd is that you’re just going out there, just doing the art form and doing it. Everyone’s just kind of in it together for the first time. It was interesting just how quickly we clicked and even more so in the hardcore match. I felt like we were sharing the same mind. It’s totally in sync. It was just an awesome experience.”