5 Things you need to know about Tommaso Ciampa

#2. Ciampa gives a great deal of credit to Shawn Michaels

NXT's resident WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels

NXT has an abundance of talent that at times may seem like an embarrassment of riches. This includes their backstage talent. One of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time is also an NXT Trainer. Shawn Michaels loves his new role and according to Tommaso Ciampa is really good at his new job.

Tommaso Ciampa credits Michaels with helping him advance as a professional wrestler,

"Working with Shawn, something about him teaching a class....no one has taught me the way he has. Sitting in his skull sessions - and I think you can see it in everybody in that class, Velveteen Dream, and Kyle O'Reilly, and Undisputed Era, Adam Cole, everybody - he just makes you better."

Ciampa details the first time he ever watched video footage with the WWE Hall of Famer,

"The first time we were watching a skull session tape of some match and I just remember him hitting pause and just going - there's this silence and this wait in the room. Then he rewinds it a bit, and presses play. He doesn't say anything yet. He hits play again and he pauses it again. He said, 'I want you guys to listen to the crowd here. Could they have laid out more or should they have sped it up more?' He presses play again and it's honest to God - you hear your whole life, 'Listen to the crowd, listen to the crowd,' and here's the guy teaching you how to listen to the crowd. He started doing that everyday at the PC with every match and he's teaching you the ebbs and flows. The independent way was to let them peak and let them finish their, 'This is awesome chant,' and then you get going again. He had this way of teaching you that right when they're about to peak, get moving again."

Ciampa admits that Michaels is demanding and this has often led to him getting 'blown up' before the end of matches, but he also credits Shawn Michaels with rejuvenating his wrestling career, after twelve years in the indies.

According to Ciampa, "The tempo and the pacing is the number one thing he changed in me. It's really listening to the crowd, but then applying that." Due to Michaels' tutelage, Ciampa often feels like he's "cheating." He adds, "This isn't fair. Of course, we're going to get better."