Tommaso Ciampa Planned AEW Debut Around Giraffe Safari With His Family

Tommaso Ciampa’s AEW debut wasn’t just a wrestling move—it was part of a family safari getaway that turned into the perfect opportunity to bet on himself and pull off a surprise wrestling return.

During his interview on SI’s The Takedown, Ciampa revealed the wild behind-the-scenes story of how his AEW debut came together with less than 48 hours’ notice—thanks to a long-planned trip to Blue Hill Ranch, a giraffe sanctuary in Texas.

“My wife and I, I don’t know, couple months ago or so when we started to realize, you know, we’re not going to stay with WWE. We’re going to kind of bet on ourself here. I said, 'Well, my contract’s up at midnight January 26th. Nobody knows that, and I want to keep it that way. Where is AEW on that Wednesday?'”

It turns out AEW had shows nearby in Texas, and the location was too perfect to ignore. So they took a gamble.

“My wife, for I don’t know five years, has been eyeing up Blue Hill Ranch, which is in Texas. It’s a giraffe safari where you get to stay. And we looked at it—and Dynamite and Collision, Blue Hill Ranch is literally in the middle of the two.”

“I said, ‘Babe, why don’t we just book a family trip and if things work out and I can get to AEW that Wednesday, it’s a two-hour drive. And if it doesn’t, we have a family vacation.’”

Once Ciampa posted his farewell message from WWE, it didn’t take long for AEW to reach out. The conversations started immediately—with QT Marshall, RD Evans, Mikey Rukus, and Mike Mansury all jumping into action.

“Next thing I know, I’m talking to Mikey Rukus… That dude is a wizard. He had 36 hours to put this thing together—and he crushed it. Me and my wife are listening to it in the car with the radio turned way up, and I’m just like, ‘If people don’t like this, I don’t know what they’re going to like because this thing is awesome.’”

It was a whirlwind build-up. From music and lighting to gear and graphics, everything came together in record time—and Ciampa didn’t take that creative freedom for granted. The fact that he managed to pull this off while staying at a giraffe ranch with his family? Only makes the story more surreal.

“It felt like somebody walked past me and looked at that vision board and just said yes to everything. And that’s never happened in my career ever.”

“We’re really working hard to keep this thing secret. I’m flying into an airport two hours away… It was just one of them days where I just kept thinking like, ‘Is this real? Did this happen?’”

Tommaso Ciampa is now fully All Elite—and he did it with a giraffe named Google watching nearby. That’s one way to kick off the Psycho Killer era. Ciampa bet on himself, brought his family along for the ride, and landed exactly where he wanted to be—with full control of his vision. AEW didn’t just give him a new stage—they gave him the keys to his own creative kingdom.