Tommaso Ciampa has officially arrived in All Elite Wrestling.
As seen on the January 28, 2026 edition of AEW Dynamite, Ciampa made his long-anticipated debut with the company, marking the next chapter in his career after more than a decade associated with WWE. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Ciampa opened up about what led him to make the jump.
According to Ciampa, the decision wasn’t driven by one single moment, but rather a gradual realization as his WWE contract approached its conclusion.
“It’s something I’ve been leaning towards for quite some time. I don’t know that I can say there’s one sole factor that led to it or caused it. I think it’s one of those things when your contract is coming to an end, you naturally have discussions.”
Ciampa went on to explain how his choice was shaped by wrestling history and where he feels AEW fits within that lineage. Drawing comparisons across eras, he described AEW as the defining destination of the current generation.
“If I wrestled in the 90s, I’d wanna be a part of ECW… Early 2000s, you wanna be a part of Ring of Honor. I was lucky I got to do that a little bit. 2010s, I think for me at least, I wanted to be part of NXT Black and Gold. And when I looked at the landscape of professional wrestling in the 2020s… the answer was AEW, man. That’s what I want to be a part of.”
Perhaps most striking was Ciampa’s confidence in where he stands today as a performer. Pushing back against the notion that his peak came years ago, he made it clear that he believes his best work is still ahead of him.
“For a long time, I had to listen to people tell me, not so much directly to my face but more so online, that 2018 was prime Ciampa. I’m a hundred times better now than I was then. That was nothing. That was absolutely nothing. I’m physically better. I’m mentally sharper. My storytelling, my psychology is on a whole different level than it was back then… what people are about to see is going to blow their minds. It’s gonna shock the world, because I finally have a shot to find out if I’m as good as I think I am.”
With his AEW debut now in the books and confidence at an all-time high, Ciampa appears ready to test himself against a new roster and prove that his most impactful run is still yet to come.
