Ciampa dedicates his United States Championship match on RAW to WWE Hall of Famer
Ciampa will take on Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship on tonight's episode of Monday Night RAW.
The Black Heart won two matches on RAW last week to become the No. 1 contender. He recently took to social media to dedicate his first championship opportunity on WWE's main roster to legendary wrestler and Hall of Famer Harley Race.
Race is one of the most well-known wrestlers from the territory days of professional wrestling. The second-ever King of the Ring was also the inaugural NWA Mid-South United States Heavyweight Champion, the belt that would eventually become the United States Championship in WWE. He was also one of Ciampa's mentors and coaches.
Hours before wrestling for the title with decades of history, the former NXT Champion posted pictures of himself with Race on Instagram, dedicating the match to his memory. The lengthy caption described the relationship between the two.
The former DIY member won a triple-threat match against Chad Gable and Dolph Ziggler on last week's RAW. He then defeated AJ Styles later that night to get a title shot.
The 37-year-old also seems to be out of The Miz' shadow, winning the mini-tournament last week, which the A-Lister was part of as well.
The United States Championship has been given the respect that the historic title deserves. With a vignette showing the belt's history and three matches determining the No. 1 contender for it.
Ciampa cuts an impassioned promo ahead of his United States Championship match
Ahead of challenging Bobby Lashley for his United States Championship on tonight's episode of WWE RAW, Ciampa cut a promo on the champ.
The former NXT Tag Team Champion cut the promo backstage on WWE's live-event in Charleston, South Carolina. He claimed that Lashley is great in whatever he does, but just falls short of perfection, leaving just enough room for someone to be better than him.
“I am not here to take anything away from Bobby Lashley. He is a proud United States champion. The All Mighty One is not just a catchphrase, this is a guy, Bobby Lashley, who is a national wrestling champion. Almost an Olympian, but third on the ladder. He is a hell of an MMA fighter … in Bellator, not the UFC. Bobby Lashley served in the United States Army but he is not a Marine. My point is that Bobby Lashley always leaves just a little bit of room for somebody to be just a little bit better than him. I am the greatest sports entertainer of all time. I’m not just good, I’m not just great, I am the greatest," Ciampa said. [H/T Cageside Seats]
The Black Heart added that he has The Miz factor by his side and Lashley doesn’t even know half of what I’m capable of in that ring.
"And, and, and … I have the Miz factor by my side. And with Miz leading the way, we’re talking about a guy who wasn’t just a United States champion he was a world champion. He’s been in the ring with champions. He has Bobby Lashley scouted. The fact of the matter is Bobby Lashley doesn’t even know half of what I’m capable of in that ring," Ciampa added. "So with Miz leading the way it is as good as gold. This Monday night on RAW you are looking at your new United States champion, Ciampa.” [H/T Cageside Seats]
#WWERaw #WWECharleston.@NXTCiampa shows no fear towards the Almighty @fightbobby. 😳🔥 #WWERaw #WWECharleston https://t.co/2IACHCk7z0
Ciampa was one of Triple H's favorite wrestlers when the latter ran NXT. Now that The Game is the Head of Creative, it is not outlandish to say that the Black Heart of NXT might just be the favorite to win the match.