Edge & Christian Praise Ciampa’s Heel Work on NXT
Former WWE greats Edge and Christian think highly of the work new NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa has been doing as a heel.
Ciampa won the NXT Title on the episode of NXT that aired on July 25 on the WWE Network, defeating Aleister Black. Edge and Christian discussed the title change on the latest episode of their podcast, E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness.
“The work he’s doing being a pure heel, not having any redeeming qualities, I think it’s a lost art. I think he’s doing great with it,” Christian said.
Both praised the match as well, noting it stood out for getting significant time, which made for what Christian described as “a big-fight feel.” Edge observed that the way the match played out arguably may do more for Black from a story-telling perspective.
“That’s the ideal reaction you want when a heel goes over for the title, is the babyface is completely ripped off,” Edge said. “He [Black] will have so many talking points going forward, so it helped him in the long run. And with Gargano in the mix at the end, it’s really well done. … I really hope that all three of those guys eventually get this type of canvas in either Smackdown or Raw.“
Ciampa’s win marked the first time the NXT Title has changed hands at an event other than a TakeOver since Samoa Joe beat Finn Balor at an NXT house show in April of 2016 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Ciampa’s first major match as champion already is set for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, taking place August 18, the night before Summerslam. Click here for a full report on spoilers for the upcoming weeks of NXT programming.
