Fightful Select initially reported that Ciampa was scheduled to debut on January 21's 'Dynamite' but was held back due to weather that caused AEW Collision to be moved from Texas to Florida. However, AEW sources confirmed to Fightful that Ciampa couldn't have appeared on January 21 as he was still under contract with WWE at that time. By January 28, when he did debut, Ciampa was a free agent.
Ciampa revealed in recent interviews that his debut came together at the last minute. The 'Psycho Killer' was on a family vacation in Texas when the opportunity to appear on both 'Dynamite' and 'Collision' arose. He debuted on 'Dynamite,' won the TNT Championship at 'Collision,' and continued his vacation before returning for the following week's shows.