Changing companies is a major life event for any wrestler, but for Tommaso Ciampa, the hardest part was breaking the news to his seven-year-old daughter. In a heartfelt interview with Vice, the new AEW star revealed that his daughter was initially devastated when she learned he would be leaving WWE, fearing he would lose his friends.
“It Was Like I’m Starting a New School”
“She was super nervous for me… In her little seven-year-old mind, it was like I’m starting a new school. ‘What if you don’t know anyone? What if they’re not nice to you?’” Ciampa shared. He noted that she had nicknames for his WWE colleagues, such as “The Hair Boys” for Pretty Deadly and “Neck Tattoo Boy” for Cody Rhodes, and was sad to leave them behind.
However, her fears vanished when Ciampa brought her to his first episode of AEW Dynamite. “I’m so happy I brought her for the first one because it immediately changed how she views this,” he said. He specifically credited Mark Briscoe and Willow Nightingale for making her feel welcome. “Mark Briscoe… he’s great with kids. So charismatic, she’s meeting him and she thinks he’s just the coolest. Willow has the same name, she has two titles and the coolest hair… So she’s just in love with her.”
