Tommaso Ciampa marked his arrival in AEW answering a TNT Championship open challenge laid down by Mark Briscoe during “AEW Dynamite.”
Briscoe defeated El Clon in his scheduled title defense, notching his third retention since defeating Kyle Fletcher at Full Gear.Â
Briscoe connected with both the Froggy ‘Bow for a near-fall and then the J-Driller, but El Clon bounced out of the driver and adjusted his neck before retaking the advantage. Clon connected with a splash but only for a near-fall, seeking to land the killing blow before Briscoe rolled him up for the count of three.Â
El Clon was making his first attempt at gold in AEW since debuting in October last year, having picked up a win in his maiden bout against Angelico and then beat Komander earlier this month in singles action; he was also on the winning team alongside Josh Alexander and Kyle Fletcher against SkyFlight in trios action last weekend.Â
After the match, Briscoe took to the microphone and said he would be defending the title again in an open challenge, though it would not be against another member of the Don Callis Family – having fended off Fletcher, Hechicero, and El Clon in this reign. That prompted Ciampa’s arrival to answer the challenge and confirm the match for Saturday’s “AEW Collision,” confirming his arrival in AEW following the expiry of his contract with WWE.Â
Ciampa spent 10 years with WWE before announcing his imminent departure on January 21, reigning as NXT Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion on two occasions, as well as the NXT Tag Team Champion on one occasion.
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