NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa Set to Miss 'A Long, Long Time' After Neck Surgery

It seemed like NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa was set for a big career leap in 2019. However, just weeks after earning his promotion to WWE's main roster, Ciampa's big year has officially been put on ice.

Ciampa has missed the last two weeks of WWE television due to a neck injury, and according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, he's set for surgery this week. Ciampa was reportedly trying to work through the unspecified injury, but apparently, things got bad enough that Ciampa's surgery was fast-tracked. Per Meltzer, Ciampa is set to be out "a long, long time." Meltzer admitted that he wasn't exactly sure what the injury was, but estimated that Ciampa could be out for 6-14 months.

For the 33-year-old NXT Champion, this comes as heartbreaking news at a highly unfortunate time. Having already bounced back from significant knee surgery, another long stint on WWE's disabled list just seems unfair at this point. However, we'll hope that whatever the issue is, Ciampa can heal quickly and resume his trajectory.

With Ciampa set to miss a chunk of time, that means WWE will have to find a new NXT Champion. While Ciampa didn't have specific plans for NXT TakeOver; New York, he was guaranteed to defend his title. All signs pointed to yet another installment of Ciampa vs. Johnn Gargano, but now WWE and NXT will have to get creative to get the soon-to-be-vacated title a new owner. NXT is littered with talent and names like Velveteen Dream, Adam Cole, and Gargano all seem like logical options to be the next NXT Champion.

While technically part of WWE's main roster, Ciampa was likely to have a negligible role at WrestleMania 35. WWE was using him and other call-ups like Gargano, Aleister Black, and Ricochet as shiny new toys rather than pillars of their biggest show of the year. Ciampa's exit affects NXT far more than Vince McMahon's main circus.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we talk about the new Game of Thrones trailer, Shazam!, WWE Fastlane & so much more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!