"It's an honor" - Ciampa gives his reaction to behind hailed as an NXT icon

WWE Superstar Ciampa recently shared his reaction to being heralded as an icon of the company's 'developmental' brand NXT.

NXT has long been considered a feeder system in WWE, where wrestlers learn the company's style before potentially moving to the main roster. One star who chose to stick around in NXT for a much longer period, however, was Ciampa. The Sicilian Psychopath sought to legitimize the brand by any means necessary.

During his 7-year run in NXT, Ciampa captured the NXT title twice as well as the NXT Tag Team Championships with Johnny Gargano. Speaking on El Brunch de WWE, the heart and soul of the black and gold brand shared his thoughts on his iconic status as well as the time he spent on the show.

"It's an honor, NXT was my home for a long time, I still kind of consider it home, to be honest with you. That black and gold brand specifically, the stuff that we were able to do and create, you know, it's gonna hold a very special place in my heart forever. I feel like we got to write our own story there and that's the coolest part to me and Johnny and Undisputed Era and Finn while he shared it with us is so many of us, you know, Alistair and everybody. As a wrestler, I think the coolest thing you can do is leave behind some sort of legacy and a story that you're proud of and what we did as DIY specifically with The Revival and then the Cruiserweight Classic and splitting up in our feud like that's something I was very hands-on with I got to give a lot of input to it." From 41:02 to 41:56

Ciampa's last match in NXT came at Stand & Deliver, where he lost to young upstart Tony D'Angelo. It was an emotional farewell for one of the brand's longest serving talents.

Ciampa had no idea Triple H was going to come out after his match

After his loss at Stand & Deliver, the two-time NXT Champion said his goodbyes to the fans who loved him dearly.

However, a surprise that would come The Blackhearts's way was the presence of the recently retired Triple H. The King of Kings was key in building NXT as a legitimate third brand in WWE.

Speaking to BT Sport, the Boston native stated that he had no idea that The Game was going to come out and embrace him after his match.

"I saw Hunter just for a brief second and I was like, ‘Holy crap. I had no idea you were gonna be here.’ He said, ‘Oh yeah, I wouldn’t miss it.’ I said, ‘Oh, cool,’ and next thing you know, the music hits and I go out." Ciampa added: "Then, I see him and I had that moment of, ‘Oh, we’re doing the thing.’ I had no idea." H/T Inside The Ropes

With NXT now in the rear-view mirror, Ciampa did not waste any time making his next move in WWE. He would make his official main roster debut on Monday Night RAW shortly after.

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and El Brunch de WWE.