Tommaso Ciampa confirms that he turned down a contract renewal with WWE prior to joining AEW

As seen during the January 28th 2026 edition of AEW Dynamite, Tommaso Ciampa made his official debut with the company. While speaking to CBSSports.com.com, Ciampa confirmed that he turned down a contract renewal with WWE prior to joining AEW…

“We chatted a handful of times in the last two or three months. I just needed to do what was right for my wife and me. I have not one bad word to say about WWE. They gave me an incredible opportunity and platform. Over the last 10 years, I learned a ton. I evolved a ton. It’s time for me to take all that and really apply it. The biggest part was the leap.”

“My interest in doing this has been for at least two or three years. For the last six months, I’ve had a foot out the door. It was one of those things: do you bet on yourself, see this through and see if you were right, or do you stay put and take the safe bet? I have a seven-year-old. I want her to know that you get one life. You get one career, you get one chance at this. You don’t want to leave it with ‘What if?’ That was the final determining factor.”