WWE: Ciampa on Changing His Mind Over Main Roster Run, New Signings, Oct. 28th SD to be Preempted

Ciampa Comments on Why He Changed His Mind Over Not Wanting to Leave NXT for Main Roster

A recent episode of the Out of Character with Ryan Satin podcast had Ciampa as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Ciampa’s reasons why he decided to change his mind about not wanting to leave WWE’s NXT brand for WWE’s main roster over schedule and travel-related issues.

“300 days doesn’t exist anymore. So, that was big and that was something that just kind of recently became a shift. Prior to the pandemic, it slowed, and then now it’s just a whole new game. The pandemic itself, the neck surgery, and how it all went down and I was home almost every single night of Willow’s [his daughter] first three years.

You build such a relationship with your child in those first few years.”

Ciampa also stated that his daughter traveling with him for some shows and his successful neck surgery were other reasons for changing his mind.

“Having the time at home with her for the pandemic, the schedule changing for the main roster, and interest in wrestling in general. Those were two big factors and then the success of the neck surgery.

I was in – I don’t want to say an abnormal amount of pain – but an abnormal amount of discomfort for years with my neck and I kept a lot of it to myself.

You don’t know the discomfort when it’s your norm, and it was my norm. So, now all of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Whoa, like I feel amazing, I’m getting back in the ring. I’m bumping. I’m having matches, we’re doing WarGames, I way overdo it in Portland just to see if I can as a personal test type of thing.

I’m like, ‘Wait, I thought I only had a few years left, but I might have 10 or 20 years left.’ So once you start opening that up, and you don’t put an expiration date on your career, it was like ‘okay, what do I want to accomplish?’ Because I honestly felt like when I won the NXT Title, that was it for me. I’ve hit my pinnacle, I have this crappy neck, I’m probably in my twilight.

Now we have this healthy neck, now we have this healthy baby, we have all this time at home, everything changed in such a great way.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com

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WWE Announces Newest Class of Signees for Performance Center

WWE announced that they have recently signed seventeen athletes to official developmental contracts for their Performance Center.

Official press release:

WWE announces its newest class of recruits to join the WWE Performance Center

WWE is excited to announce its newest class of recruits ready to begin their journey to WWE Superstardom.

The 17 hopefuls include a variety of up-and-comers who have already made names for themselves in the mixed martial arts and amateur wrestling arenas as well as several standouts from football, volleyball and soccer.

Valerie Loureda is an acclaimed mixed martial artist who previously fought in Bellator, where she compiled a 4-1 record. The 24-year-old Miami, Fla., native has a black belt in Taekwondo and has already made waves in the MMA world for her social media presence. Loureda is also the first Cuban-American to be signed by WWE.

The 24-year-old Tracy Hancock is already an internationally renowned amateur wrestler, having competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound, Colorado Springs native has spent five years training with Team USA Wrestling, winning a bronze medal at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships.

A former Miss Indiana, Alexis Lete heads to the WWE Performance Center after four years on the George Washington University volleyball team as their leading middle blocker. A social media star, Lete is most notably known for her viral Wonder Woman TikToks as well as hosting a cryptocurrency podcast, “Crypto Cast.”

Tiller Bucktrot is a 6-foot-4, 305-pound former offensive lineman for Tulsa University. Originally from Stroud, Okla., Bucktrot is a proud representative of his Indigenous heritage as a member of the Muscogee Creek Tribe.

24-year-old Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald is a Lakeland, Fla., native originally from Nigeria. The 6-foot-5, 284-pounder spent four seasons as a defensive tackle for Kentucky.

AJ Amrhein is a well-renowned fitness instructor from Scottsburg, Ind., and a former tumbler on the prestigious Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling team. Amrhein is a three-time national champion with The Bears and was named the 2020 Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.

A 6-foot-4, 335-pound force Antoine Frazier hails from Huffman, Texas, where he excelled on the football field before going on to become a regular on the offensive line for both Kansas University and the University of Northern Iowa.

A 2021-22 WWE NIL Athlete, Isaac Odugbesan is a three-time SEC shot put champion. The Lagos, Nigeria native currently holds both the indoor and outdoor distance records for Alabama.

24-year-old Daniel McArthur is a four-time NCAA All-American and ACC Track & Field Champion from the University of North Carolina. At 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, McArthur holds both the indoor and outdoor shot put records at UNC and attended the 2020 Olympic Trials.

Gina DeLucia is a 24-year-old Crossfit competitor ranked among the top females in the United States. A graduate of Ole Miss, DeLucia is a former cheerleader who went on to compete internationally at some of Crossfit’s most renowned competitions.

Giovanna Eburneo has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, winning both Pan-American and European Championships. The 25-year-old Sao Paulo, Brazil native is also a personal trainer.

Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Houston Miller is a 6-foot-4, 260-pound beast who played three seasons for Texas Tech along the defensive line.

Caleb Balgaard is a multi-sport athlete originally from Fenton, Mich. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound, 24-year-old stood out on the South Alabama baseball team as a utility hitter.

Standing at 6-foot-1, 310 pounds, Joe Spivak is another 2021-22 WWE NIL Athlete out of Northwestern University. A native of Darien, Ill., Spivak was named a captain of the Wildcats football team. The defensive lineman was also named to the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, which honors college football’s most impactful community service leaders.

Sarah Baer was a standout collegiate soccer and basketball player at both Bowling Green University and Lynn University. The 26-year-old dual sport athlete also has a master’s in criminal justice.

The 23-year-old Tiana Caffey is a former collegiate soccer player from LSU. A Port St. Lucie, Fla., native, Caffey was called up to play for the USA U17 National Soccer Team.

A threat on the gridiron and on the mat,Roman Macek was an offensive lineman for Duquesne University and a bronze medalist at the PIAA State Wrestling Championships. The 6-foot-1, 265-pound, Pittsburgh, Penn., native holds the Duquesne bench press record at 450 pounds.

For more information on the WWE’s talent recruitment, including how to apply for a tryout, visit Recruit.WWE.com.

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WWE SmackDown Oct. 28th Show to be Preempted for MLB Playoffs

Major League Baseball recently released the full broadcast schedule for this year’s post-season playoffs and World Series games on FOX, FS1, ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, and TBS.

In regards to WWE, the October 28th episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown is currently scheduled to be preempted due to FOX airing Game 1 of the World Series during WWE’s usual time slot that night on the network. This upcoming episode is currently expected to air on FS1 instead that night.

WWE could also face the possibility of another preemption taking place for their November 4th episode of SmackDown should this year’s World Series require a Game 6 to be played. That night’s episode would also air on FS1 should that end up being the case.