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A WWE Superstar recently was asked about his career-best match thus far. While he had two in mind, he spoke about one specifically.
Tommaso Ciampa's return to Monday nights on the June 19, 2023, edition of WWE RAW, got a massive pop from the live crowd. Over the next few months, he earned the respect of fans. This was especially notable during his IC title contest with Gunther in RAW's main event on October 2nd.
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet recently, Ciampa opened up on a lot of things. When asked to pick his favorite match with Johnny Gargano from NXT, he named the contests at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans and NXT TakeOver: Chicago II. The former was special because he was out of action prior for 10 months:
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"It's special too because I was coming off an ACL, two shoulders. Everything's been repaired. I'm 10 months out of the ring. I remember they kept going, 'Hey. Go do a couple of practice matches,' and I was like absolutely not. I'm like I'll go do it when it's time to do it, when there's a crowd. So it's literally the first match I've had in 10 months," Ciampa recalled. [From 1:00:46 to 1:01:00]
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The bout ultimately received a 5-star rating from renowned wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer. The former NXT Champion further noted how up until that point, he was a babyface, an underdog, and, a tag team guy. However, all of that changed when he turned on Johnny Wrestling. Their rivalry is regarded as one of the best in NXT history.
Ciampa recently openly discussed his battle with depression, and how his main event title match against Gunther on RAW made WWE fans root for him. Read about it here.
Rising WWE NXT star Bron Breakker named Ciampa as his mentor
While appearing on the Stick to Wrestling podcast, one of the things Bron Breakker discussed was the RAW Superstar, claiming that Ciampa is not only a solid wrestler but also an entertainer all the way. He even disclosed that the 38-year-old took him under his wing:
"I loved working with Tommaso (Ciampa). Tommaso’s a freaking awesome dude. Awesome wrestler, sports-entertainer. I mean top to bottom, I have the utmost respect for him. He did a lot for me. I had to face him and go into a story and stuff with him during a time when I did not know a lot at all about this industry, this business and he was kind of like my mentor during that time," Breakker said.
After putting on a remarkable contest with Gunther, Ciampa was beaten down by Imperium. This prompted Johnny Gargano to sprint down to the ring and lend an assist to his DIY teammate. Not only is the latter back, but both of them have now officially reunited on the main roster.
Are you hoping DIY finds success on WWE's main roster? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use the first quote, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription and credit INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet.
