NXT Star Tommaso Ciampa recently spoke with Denise Salcedo on how it is to be a performer as once you are part of the pro wrestling industry you are also part of a larger pro wrestling machine that spins like a wheel.
Tommaso Ciampa said:
“For me as a performer, you’re kinda just a cog in the wheel.” “It’s just a matter of being adaptable and taking any opportunity that you can get and just running with it and making the most of it. It’s so different how this works in stages as you grow as a performer and mature too as an individual. Because it’s this big wheel and it just keeps spinning and you’re not always gonna be on top of that wheel and you just have to be able to make the most of it wherever you end up being.”
“You look at a roster like ours or even take RAW and SmackDown, anybody for example, there’s so much talent right now in wrestling more so than I think probably ever. When you just take all of it together it’s an insane amount of talent and there’s only you know a certain amount of hours a week of television. Whether that’s NXT, or RAW or Smackdown or whatever and you just have to understand that. You can get 10 minutes, 20 minutes or last Takeover, I think I got 60 seconds in a promo, you just make the most of it and you just try to make sure that you’re always proud of what you’ve presented.”
Tommaso Ciampa then talked about always having to adapt as a performer just like Randy Orton.
Tommaso Ciampa said:
“I’ll use a person like Randy Orton for example.” “Randy Orton has moments where he’s the guy everyone is talking about. He’s the greatest villain in the world and then he has other moments where he’s gonna be tagging with RKBro and it’s still great because it’s Randy Orton. But he’s not the greatest villain in the world until he is again. It’s a wheel.”
Tommaso Ciampa then talked about how hard it is for creative to come up with a gimmick for any talent each and every week.
Tommaso Ciampa said:
“To be honest I don’t know that you always do [have an idea for a talent] and you have to understand that that’s part of the process.” “To keep everybody creatively fulfilled 52 weeks a year is impossible. That’s not real. So, it’s kinda just understanding the timing of it all. You could still put out quality during what you’re allotted but you control what you control.”
“It’s not easy by any means, I am not saying I don’t have days where I am frustrated or I don’t have a chip on my shoulder when I am left off of Takeover or something, I do, but I have to step outside of my own bubble sometimes too and understand this is a much bigger business than just me.”
Tommaso Ciampa then talked about how he is currently in the best shape of his life.
Tommaso Ciampa said:
“All I want is the opportunity to continue to do that, especially right now I am 36, I am in the best shape of my life, I feel like I am entering my prime.” “So, I look at these next five years as like, ‘Ah damn, these are the five years where the legacy gets created.’ Everything else has been ground work but these next five years like, just give me the damn ball, that’s all I want, just give me the ball.”
You can check out Tommaso Ciampa's comments in the video below:
