Watch: Tommaso Ciampa Says He’ll Be at NXT Tonight, Just Not to Wrestle

Former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa has been out of action ever since he underwent anterior cervical fusion to repair his injured neck. And while there was a glimmer of hope for his return earlier this week just in time for NXT’s premiere on the USA Network, the former champ officially squashed the rumors when he spoke with Bayley super fan Izzy on Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of rumors and speculation about what my role is gonna to be. Breaking news on the Izzy show, right? I’ve been told I will be coming back to a wrestling ring,” Ciampa said. “I’ve been told I will eventually be able to wrestle again. And the sad part is, no, I’m not cleared yet, guys. It just, it is what it is.”

“So, I will be there September 18th, I will be there the 25th, I’ll be there every time going forward,” he continued. I just won’t be out in front of the crowd until this [his neck] allows me to. I promised Mama at home, that this time we’re gonna take our time. So, I’m excited for it, I’d be a little more excited if I could take part in it. But we’ll get there soon.”

Fightful reported earlier this week that Ciampa was listed to return on Sept. 11 via WWE’s internal injury report. He clarified with the site that the reports are often out of date due to a lack of communication.

And yet even with that statement, Ciampa released a video promo on Wednesday promoting his road to recovery mere hours before NXT’s premiere episode on the USA Network.

Ciampa’s injury brought a sudden end to his NXT Championship reign, which was particularly heartbreaking for fans given that his years-long rivalry with Johnny Gargano was on the verge of culminating at NXT TakeOver: New York back in April. With Ciampa out, Gargano challenged Adam Cole in a Two-out-of-Three Falls match and won the title. Ciampa seemingly turned babyface after the show by celebrating with Gargano, and has hinted at targeting Adam Cole (the reigning champ) in various tweets.

NXT’s premiere on USA will feature an NXT North American Championship match between Velveteen Dream and Roderick Strong, Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain in a Street Fight and Candice LaRae vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim for a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.