NXT: Ciampa To Undergo Neck Surgery, Out For “Long, Long Time”

Last week, we reported on an apparent injury NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa suffered at a recent Smackdown LIVE event. It seems that injury was more serious than originally thought.

On the most recent episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio show, Dave Meltzer stated that Tommaso Ciampa will be undergoing neck surgery. There is no time table for his return, and he will be out for a “long, long time.” It would appear that the Blackheart has wrestled his last match of the year.

Where Do We Go From Here?

This is upsetting for a number of reasons, and the first being because a rising star has had another setback. After the initial start of the DIY breakup storyline in 2017, Ciampa suffered a torn ACL. An injury that would keep him out until the beginning of 2018. Having to put the Gargano/Ciampa feud on hold for the first time. The feud has been a mainstay story line in NXT since Ciampa returned from injury.

Unfortunately, it would seem that we are not going to get the big payoff for this angle now. With the seriousness of the neck injury, the plans for a Ciampa/Gargano NXT Championship match at TakeOver: New York are nixed from the card. The match was setup at the last series of NXT TV tapings. With more tapings scheduled for next week, we will have more information on what NXT plans to do with their biggest championship soon. It is unlikely that we will ever get a proper payoff to this winding road of a story line between the former NXT Tag Team champions.

Main Roster Call Up

It’s also upsetting because both Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano had recently made their main roster debuts. Teaming up to defeat both The Revival and The Bar on back-to-back shows. One can safely assume that the two other NXT call ups (Aleister Black and Ricochet) have been plugged into the spot that DIY was going to have. Black and Ricochet will team up to challenge The Revival and Roode/Gable in a triple threat for the RAW Tag Team Championships this Sunday at Fastlane.

Tommaso Ciampa was on his way to becoming one of the best NXT Champions the company ever had. His title defenses during TakeOver events were always solid, and he is the one true super heel the company has. You rooted for him to lose, and he never did. We can only hope that Ciampa has a speedy recovery, and returns sooner rather than later.