The return of the Psycho Killer

Tommaso Ciampa’s return to roots in AEW

The man known as the Psycho Killer, Tommaso Ciampa, has finally snapped and reverted into his namesake. On last week’s episode of AEW Collision, Ciampa launched a vicious attack on Mark Briscoe near the entrance ramp.

Briscoe accidentally cost Ciampa his match against Daniel Garcia of The Death Riders. While attempting to stand up for himself after Garcia attacked him first, he ended up distracting Ciampa and letting Garcia slither into the win. Right after, as Ciampa & Briscoe argue about the result, FTR  come out to lay the smackdown on Ciampa for rejecting their team-up offer earlier. Briscoe quells the situation, calming both parties down before heading out the ring with Tommaso. 

At the ramp however, it was a spiritual homecoming for the Psycho Killer. Someone did get a smackdown laid on them, but it wasn’t Tommaso. Instead, it was him beating the absolute **** out of Mark. Ciampa then spit on Briscoe’s signature bandanna and threw it at him, which automatically moved him up to probably the second most disrespectful star on the roster behind MJF.

Mark let his guard down and assumed Ciampa operated like a normal person. The type that appreciates when you save them. But like he himself admitted later in the show, something felt wrong ever since Tommaso came back. That feeling went away after the night’s assault; that’s the Ciampa he remembers.

This was the case since NXT, where despite everything he and Johnny Gargano went through together— all the tag titles they won, all the road trips they had, all the memories they shared—Ciampa still brutally attacked Johnny Gargano. Mouthing “This is my moment”, Tommaso threw Johnny him into a titanron and used that moment as a launchpad for his solo career, when he went on to become the NXT Champion.

Now that he’s in AEW, the same thing applies. He could be the type to appreciate Mark saving him despite the fact that Mark cost him an upgrade in championship rankings, which Ciampa has reiterated is his main goal here in AEW. 

But then we wouldn’t get him at his full potential. To win championships, Ciampa must tap back into the Psycho Killer. For a guy whose latest theme song echoes the words “My shadow knows my story”, this is a welcome return to roots.