One of the recent NXT callups, as well as the current NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa has made waves on the main WWE roster, only to have it taken away so quickly.
Ciampa will have to undergo neck surgery on March 7, putting him out of action, according to WWE. He has been scheduled for an anterior cervical fusion, which is a surgery to remove a herniated disc from the neck, through the front of the neck, in the throat area. Recovery time for a procedure like this is around three to six months for the patient to return to normal. WWE did not set a timetable for his potential return or how long he could be out.
This could explain why the focus on Ciampa and Johnny Gargano as a tag team on Raw quickly switched over to other NXT newcomers Ricochet and Aleister Black, who now have a Raw Tag Team Championship match at Fastlane, this Sunday.
With Ciampa out, this throws a few wrenches in WWE’s plans. Wrestlemania and NXT Takeover is right around the corner, and Ciampa is the NXT Champion. So what’s next? Ciampa for sure won’t be at WWE’s biggest PPV of the year, and while he may show up to Takeover, he probably won’t be competing. It’s more than likely we’ll see him vacate the NXT Championship, which isn’t a huge deal, since he’s moving up to the main roster anyway.
However, Ciampa undergoing surgery won’t affect his role in the upcoming NXT tag team event. Starting on March 6, the Dusty Rhodes Classic kicks off and Ciampa and Gargano have reteamed up for the event. Seeing as it’s pre-taped though, fans won’t miss anything.
It’s a bummer for NXT and WWE fans, as Raw was just getting a taste of DIY (Ciampa and Gargano), and they could really have helped put the tag team division there back on top. We wish him a speedy recovery.
While DIY won’t be competing at Fastlane this Sunday, their NXT peers Aleister Black and Ricochet will be, and we have predictions for that and all the matches for the WWE PPV.
