Ciampa’s Heel Run

Tommaso Ciampa’s heel work over the past month has been some of the best I can ever remember. It took him weeks to say a word, and it almost didn’t even matter when he did. Facial expressions, crowd taunting, sign ripping, mannerisms, he nails it, and his timing is perfect. He comes out cocky as hell but ends up enraged because of his obsession with Johnny Gargano. Obviously you have people who are going to cheer the heel no matter what, but Ciampa is not trying to be a cool heel. He’s trying to be hated, detested, booed, vilified, and make himself into the perfect foil to one of the last remaning white-meat babyfaces in Gargano. You rarely see someone wipe their ass with a crowd sign, or taunt an old lady. I’m not exactly sure what it is that he has that other heels don’t that’s making him stand out so much, but I know I want to see more of it.