The greatest sports entertainer of all time" is Ciampa's audacious claim as the new No. 1 contender for the United States Title at WWE.
With Triple H beginning to exercise his creative muscles, the former NXT Champion is thriving on Monday Night Raw following a shaky start on the main roster.
Related: Tommaso Ciampa Recalls Being Surprised By Triple H At NXT Stand & Deliver
Ciampa has been reaping the benefits of WWE's new direction, appearing prominently on the most recent edition of Raw and getting a shot at Bobby Lashley's US Championship.
The Smash The Mat podcast asked Ciampa to define himself to those who hadn't seen his previous work. The self-confident former DIY star claimed to be the greatest sports entertainer of all time.
“I’m the greatest sports entertainer of all time. I started saying it when I was wrestling Johnny Gargano, who to me, is one of, if not the best in-ring wrestler there is,” he said in quotes cited by Fightful.com.
“I started to compare us, as you would any feud or foe that you have. What do I have that he doesn’t? Well, I talk. I walk, I look the way I look. As well as the way I perform in the ring. Overall, when you think of ‘what does the prolific professional wrestler of today look like?’ It’s me. Maybe, minus four inches. Nothing I can do about that, though. You control what you can control.
“When I say I’m the greatest sports entertainer of all time, it’s because I am. I have a really good in-ring IQ. I know how to tell a story and make everything count. My strikes are second to none. My intensity and focus, second to none. My work ethic, second to none. People are going to start to see that over the next few months.
“The more opportunities I get, the more times I get up to bat, the more home runs I hit, the more fans are going to understand what they’re dealing with.”
Ciampa debuted for WWE in 2015, first competing in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Johnny Gargano. The four years that followed saw him have great success with Johnny. And the rivalry that crept up between them is still talked about today.
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