Quotes from Tommaso Ciampa

Shoot, me, if I was going to go to war and you told me I could have Keith Lee, I'll sign up on that one. And you told me I could have the freaking UFC madman Matt Riddle - he's like the new Goldberg - I'll sign up on that one too. I love the guys.

I've never been comfortable on the top rope or launched myself into dives.

Early in my career, playing a character was vital. I had to be Thomas Penmanship because I couldn't be Tommaso because he is a shy kid, so I had to create an alter-ego.

I ended up voluntarily leaving Ring of Honor when my contract was up because I was making so much more money on the independent scene.

The old saying goes, 'Hit me with a cast once, shame on me, hit me with a cast twice, you're a dead man.'

Yeah, I don't know how many people are aware of it, but Scarlett and I have a bit of a past as far as wrestling goes. We were both in Ring of Honor at the same time, and our paths crossed when she was managing Matt Taven.

There's that part of you as a performer that when you're told you're gonna be a fan favorite, you think 'Oh man, I better smile more and be kinder, let the people in more' I kinda had to fight all those instincts and just be like 'No, no no, you're gonna walk at the same pace, do everything with the same cadence, do everything the same.'

The big picture goal is legacy. It's knowing that when I'm done, what I've done has changed the industry in some way and made an impact in some way.

I bleed black and gold. NXT is home.

I grew up on these long, drawn-out stories with four pay-per-views a year where things paid off. Everything was done for a reason. Then all of a sudden, I find myself in NXT and I get to play that out. I'm playing out my childhood.

It was really implemented in me from day one that everything I do out there cannot be misconstrued as fake. That's not to say I won't do things for a chuckle, but my own personal style is to be intense and snug. I want it as real as humanely possible.

I have the best physique in all of WWE; this is not by accident.

I am the best sports entertainer in the world. I always hear, 'Sports entertainer? You're a sell-out!' Call me a sell-out if you want. I'm buying in. This is my brand. NXT is mine.

I am writing my own legacy, and I am carrying NXT along for the ride.

I don't give a damn, I am a NXT Superstar.

I don't know that I like the idea of having NXT television superstars in the crowd. I don't want to have people from Raw and SmackDown in the crowd while I'm wrestling.

It's been the best-case scenario neck surgery that I think I could have drawn up as far as the procedure being done, Dr. Cordover in Birmingham, Alabama. Man, he is amazing at what he does. The rehab process has been no setbacks.

I was 'The Guy' for NXT, the hottest brand in the entire world. I came through knee surgery and two shoulder surgeries to get to that point.

In my own mind, I don't want to be the weak link of the team.

I don't think there's a performer in this world who makes better use of their surroundings than I do.

There wasn't a pinpoint time that it clicked, but I know for sure the end of Ring of Honor I started to realize that I became good at this. But I felt that at Ring of Honor I was type-casted and I couldn't get out of that and I was asking a lot from them if I can switch my character and have certain opponents.

Whether it be a televised match or even a live event match, in this day and age, the Internet is so accessible and everybody sees everything.

Ring of Honor fanbase is so real and so true. It's like an NXT fanbase; it's the same fanbase. You can't just feed them crap.

I hope I have a child with flair on my hands. That's all you can hope, right?