Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa Comment on NXT Dusty Rhodes Classic, Being Invited to Compete

Independent wrestling stars Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa made their first appearance on NXT programming on Sept. 2, talking to general manager William Regal about their spots in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

WWE.com later caught up with the two, asking each of them about the impression NXT has left on them, as well as what it’s like being in the tournament:

WWE.COM: When William Regal invited you to be a part of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, what was going through your mind?

CIAMPA: “Make the most of the opportunity.” Getting a phone call from William Regal was surreal, hearing his voice on the opposite end of the line. Him asking me if I was interested was, to me, an interesting approach, because of course I was interested. How could I not be?

We didn’t know right away what we would be doing. Getting to the building and slowly finding out more and more information and then hearing that we’re going to be a part of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic was cool. I never worked under Dusty myself, but you hear so many stories and you know the respect he has in this business. To be a part of something that’s going to go down in history, it’s a cool feeling. The door’s being cracked open. It’s our job to push through and make the most of it.

GARGANO: It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. When I was younger, I watched WWE. If you get into this business, your main goal is to wrestle for WWE. To be able to do that and perform for NXT, which is the hottest thing going, is a dream come true. I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve been very, very lucky to do a lot of cool things in my career, but this is the pinnacle. Everything has led up to this match. I know that opportunities like this come around once in a lifetime. I’m not going to let it slip by me.

WWE.COM: What can the NXT Universe, Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey expect from you on Wednesday?

CIAMPA: Expect the unexpected. The thing Johnny and I have on our side is that we both have over 10 years of experience, but neither one of us is in a rush to show our hand the first time out. I don’t view this as a one-and-done opportunity. I’m looking at the big picture. I’d like to be able to show more and more as time progresses. I don’t want to show everything the first time I come out of the curtain. There’s a lot of levels to me. That’s going to evolve and be seen by the NXT Universe in time.

GARGANO: They can expect someone that’s going to leave it all in the ring and knows how big this opportunity is. They’ve been in NXT for a while. This is my first taste. I’m not going to let that slip through my hands. I’ve been working for almost 13 years for this. It’s been my dream since I was 8 years old. Once I step foot in that ring, I’m going to leave it all on the table. Some people like to call me “All Heart,” because I wrestle with all the heart in the world. I can guarantee you that I’m going to leave my heart in the NXT ring.

To read the interview in its entirety, including how they feel about teaming up with each other after having gone one-on-one several times before, click here.