WWE Network News: Tomasso Ciampa Documentary Debuting, SmackDown Dark Matches In Hidden Gems,
Tomasso Ciampa Documentary Debuting
The Black Heart of NXT has finally returned from injury, staring straight at Goldie in Adam Cole’s hands at the end of Wednesday’s NXT broadcast. A documentary chronicling the former NXT Champion’s return from injury, titled Tommaso Ciampa: blackHEART, will air immediately after the October 9 episode of NXT on the WWE Network. WWE.com has the following description of the new special:
Witness the heroic struggle of former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa as he embarks on a difficult road to recovery from a devastating injury and finds strength from his wife, baby daughter, friends and the NXT Universe.
Journey @NXTCiampa's road to recovery after suffering a devastating injury in 'Tommaso Ciampa: blackHEART' streaming next Wednesday at 10 ET/7 PT on @WWENetwork.https://t.co/wK2RfIzNyq
— WWE (@WWE) October 3, 2019
RELATED: Former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa Returns From Injury, Stares Down Adam Cole
SmackDown Dark Matches In Hidden Gems
In other network news, we’ll be seeing four very interesting matchups added to the Network’s Hidden Gems section. As noted by WWE Network News, these four bouts were SmackDown dark matches, two each for the two competitors in this Friday’s WWE Championship match. The November 2001 match between Orton and Lesnar took place before either superstar made their main roster debut, and Kofi Kingston’s December clash features former ECW Champion Steve Corino. All four contests should be available for viewing today.
SmackDown Taping Dark Match 11/29/2001 – Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton face off as phenoms [Duration: 00:08:17]
Before they would go on to dominate the WWE landscape for nearly two decades, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton face off in this rarely seen contest.
SmackDown Taping Dark Match 01/03/2002 – Brock Lesnar before he was “The Next Big Thing” [Duration: 00:06:27]
An up-and-coming Brock Lesnar gives Rico one of the toughest challenges of his career.
SmackDown Taping Dark Match 03/23/2007 – Kofi Kingston and The Miz’s early showdown [Duration: 00:08:10]
Kofi Kingston shows The Miz the definition of awesome as he battles the cocky superstar in The Miz’s hometown of Cleveland.
SmackDown Taping Dark Match 12/14/2007 – A young Kofi Kingston faces an extreme opponent [Duration: 00:08:20]
Before winning multiple WWE titles, Kofi Kingston takes on former ECW Champion, Steve Corino, in this rarely seen match.