During Saturday night’s episode of AEW Collision, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Mark Briscoe in his in-ring debut to capture the TNT Championship. After the match, former TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher came out to put the newly crowned champion on notice.
The match was a back-and-forth affair, with both competitors delivering a strong fight. Ciampa ultimately secured the victory with a German Suplex followed by a running knee strike. Briscoe’s title reign ended at 71 days; he had captured the championship from Kyle Fletcher at Full Gear last November.
The crowd celebrated Ciampa’s victory with chants of “You deserve it.” With this win, Ciampa became one of only two wrestlers, alongside Mercedes Moné, to win a championship in their AEW in-ring debut.
Ciampa made his AEW debut this past Wednesday on Dynamite, answering Mark Briscoe’s Open Challenge. Following his appearance, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan announced that Ciampa has signed with the company. He recently departed from WWE after deciding not to sign a new deal and has since talked about his reasons for joining AEW.
