Photo: Tommaso Ciampa Gives First Update Since Surgery

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa gave his first social media update since going under the knife on [...]

By Connor Casey

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa gave his first social media update since going under the knife on Sunday, posting a photo of him still holding his championship.

"Goldy and I are on the #WWEFastlane to recovery," Ciampa wrote, as both he and the title had braces around their necks.

WWE confirmed on Wednesday that Ciampa would undergo surgery on his injured neck.

"NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will undergo neck surgery tomorrow, WWE.com has confirmed," the site read. "Following a medical evaluation today, Ciampa has been scheduled for an anterior cervical fusion. Stick with WWE.com for more details as they become available."

Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported earlier the same day that Ciampa was expected to be out for a "long, long time" after the surgery, putting his return schedule somewhere between six and 14 months.

Ciampa's WWE career has already been hindered by one major injury. Back in May 2017 it was revealed that Ciampa had been working with a ruptured ACL during a ladder match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, where he and Johnny Gargano (as DIY) failed to regain the NXT Tag Team Championships from the Authors of Pain. Ciampa turned on Gargano after the match, but would not appear in NXT again until TakeOver: Philadelphia in early 2018, and quickly restarted his feud with Gargano after costing him the NXT Championship in a match against Andrade ("Cien" Almas).

The pair would go on to have what many considered to be the best feud of 2018, facing off at TakeOver: New Orleans, TakeOver: Chicago II and finally at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. The two traded wins in the first two bouts, but Ciampa got the last laugh by successfully retaining the NXT Championship (which Gargano accidentally helped him win) in a Last Man Standing match.

It was revealed in the months after Brooklyn 4 that Gargano was responsible for attacking Aleister Black at Full Sail Live's parking lot, causing him to miss out on the Brooklyn 4 title match. The move turned Gargano heel, and he eventually realigned himself with Ciampa to reform DIY. As of the most recent NXT television tapings, Gargano and Ciampa broke up once again after DIY lost in the semifinals of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Ciampa tried to betray Gargano again, but "Johnny Wrestling" countered the champ and gave him a beating of his own.

No word yet on the status of Ciampa's reign as champion heading into TakeOver: New York on April 5.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of