Ciampa Reveals Physical Trait Of His That Vince McMahon Praised
Former "NXT" superstar Ciampa has recently been brought up to the "WWE Raw" brand, meaning that until Friday, Vince McMahon was the person whose opinion mattered most. McMahon has been known to prefer larger-than-life superstars with imposing figures, and during an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Ciampa revealed that the former chairman of the board had some very specific opinions on his physical appearance.
"I had a discussion with a very higher up person in our company," Ciampa said. "I put the shorts on, you know, and he said, 'Oh, look at those shoulders. I love shoulders. Those legs are a little slight.'" While Ciampa never actually named McMahon, the distinctive growl he put into his voice made it clear who he was talking about.
"Next thing I know, I got a phone called that said, 'I think we want to try and go with long tights,'" Ciampa concluded, to the laughter of the assembled crowd.
Ciampa made his way to the main roster following a loss to Tony D'Angelo at NXT Stand and Deliver, the last match in what was a very successful six-plus year tenure with the "NXT" brand. Ciampa, formerly known as Tommaso Ciampa both on "NXT" and the independent scene, started out in the Black and Gold brand by teaming with Johnny Gargano to form DIY. The duo would go on to defeat The Revival for the "NXT" Tag Team Championship at NXT Takeover: Toronto in 2016, but Ciampa would eventually turn on Gargano, kicking off one of the promotion's defining feuds. Ciampa would win the "NXT" Championship in the process, holding it for an impressive 238 days, but was forced to relinquish it in early 2019 due to injury days before he was scheduled to defend the title against Gargano in a match that presumably would have served as a definitive end to the years-long story they'd been telling.
Ciampa would eventually find his way back to the title he called "Goldie" two and a half years later, when he defeated Von Wagner, Pete Dunne, and LA Knight to win back the championship he never lost. Ciampa eventually gave up the throne when he was defeated by Bron Breakker on the 2o22 New Year's Evil edition of "NXT."
Since arriving on "Monday Night Raw" Ciampa has acted in a guardian angel-type role for The Miz, constantly attempting to save Miz from any conflict the A-Lister may be in. Ciampa took part in the main event segment this past week on "Raw" when Miz brought out Logan Paul for Miz TV.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "San Diego Comic-Con" and give a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.