Tommaso Ciampa finally has what he wanted: a match with Timothy Thatcher.
The Blackheart will square off with the dean of Thatch-as-Thatch-Can at NXT TakeOver: WarGames this Sunday night.
Thatcher has taken liberties with students several times during his Thatch-as-Thatch-Can demonstrations, eventually drawing a confrontation with Ciampa after Thatcher assaulted ex-student August Grey after defeating him. The devious technician retreated after insisting he had “no problem” The Blackheart.
That changed later when Ciampa’s presence at ringside loomed over Thatcher enough to distract him from business against Kushida, costing him a loss.
This past week, Ciampa interrupted Thatcher’s latest “class,” which may have been a trap by Thatcher all along as he and his student attacked The Blackheart from behind, concluding in Thatcher finally accepting Ciampa’s challenge.
Which will prevail in this battle of no-nonsense rivals — The Blackheart’s hard-nosed style or Thatcher’s deep array of holds?