As noted before, Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Cedar Park, Texas featured former WWE talent Tommaso Ciampa making his official debut in AEW. Ciampa was revealed to be the mystery opponent for Mark Briscoe’s open challenge for his TNT Championship at this Saturday’s AEW Collision show in Arlington.
Following his appearance, AEW CEO Tony Khan announced that Ciampa recently signed an official contract with AEW.
He arrived on #AEWDynamite tonight to answer Mark Briscoe’s TNT Title Open Challenge for #AEWCollision this Saturday, and now it’s official:
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 29, 2026
Tommaso Ciampa is ALL ELITE! pic.twitter.com/QbzexvPkim
Ciampa’s contract with WWE had expired earlier this week and departed from the company after being with them since 2015.

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