Ciampa says he takes inspiration from Stephen A. Smith for his promos

Ciampa has become a big fan of ESPN's Stephen A. Smith in recent months.

Since Triple H took over creative for the WWE main roster, the former two-time NXT Champion has been given the opportunity to shine in the ring and on the microphone. Under The Game, it would appear that The Blackheart has a bright future on Monday Night RAW.

On the latest episode of Out of Character with Ryan Satin, the Blackheart spoke about the style of his promos and how he's gotten character inspiration as of late from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

"You have to almost train yourself to figure out how it can apply. Recently, I got into Stephen A. Smith. He's a character, that's what he is. I don't know what he's like in real life, but I know he's not that," Ciampa said. "The same as Ciampa and Tommaso Whitney. I know what Tommaso Whitney is, and he's not Ciampa. Something happens where certain words and phrasing come out that I never use in real life, but it fits that guy. I'm sure Stephen A is the same way."

Ciampa is a fan of Stephen A. Smith's facial expressions and mannerisms

The former two-time NXT Champion said he began paying attention to the ESPN personality because his wife mentioned that she hated Stephen A. Smith when they saw him on television, which led him to want to figure out why.

"He's one of those guys that I'll watch sometimes and the only reason it caught me is because he was on and my wife was like, 'Oh, I hate that guy.' That's a trigger word for me. You feel, let me figure out why. he's got a lot of cool nuances you can pull from. His mannerisms and facial expressions. Some of his stuff is so arrogant. You can pull from anywhere, you just have to open up the avenue of 'how can I pull this into my wrestling bubble?'" [H/T: Fightful]

What do you make of The Blackheart's comments? Do you see where he's coming from as it relates to Stephen A. Smith? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.