5 NXT Superstars that have already grabbed Vince's brass rings

#2 Tommaso Ciampa

The Greatest Sports Entertainer that ever lived!

It's rare for heels in this day and age to generate genuine heat no matter what the conditions or their actions. It's even rarer for them to maintain that magnitude of hate through their work over time. After a point, fans just tend to gravitate towards the performer's unbelievably cool efforts. This is more so the case with regular fans of the product, watching it day in and day out especially the ones you see at NXT.

As such, Ciampa deserves some kind of medal and it all boils down to his awareness of his audience. Knowing that the fans in NXT are of the variety that is in the know of the business, that can't handle McMahon's idiosyncrasies regarding the business. It is why Ciampa crafted the character of the dastardly black heart coldly referred to as 'Tommy Entertainment'.

Calling himself an entertainer and not a wrestler will, of course, endear him to Vince McMahon. Yet it's also the larger subtext of the situation that'll put him over in the eyes of the boss. Ciampa is well aware of the viewers he plays with and knows how to hold them in the palm of his hand.

He may never be more than upper mid-card deal for Vinny Mac, but considering where he began, that's a lot more than fans could have predicted. Surely at the least, there's another 'Goldie' waiting for him on the main roster.