Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have had, by far, the most storied rivalry in NXT history. The story of their friendship and break-up now spans over four years from their days as a tag team, DIY, to the continued animosity they breed for each other today.
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Over the course of those four and a half years, there have been a number of pivotal moments that have determined the fate of the two former allies, be they notable matches between or including the two men or their actions outside of the ring.
10 The Cruiserweight Classic
Gargano and Ciampa made their NXT debut in September 2015 as a part of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The two teamed together consistently after failing to win the tournament, but the first major instance of issues between the two occurred in a separate tournament entirely. In a long-forgotten first-round match, Gargano found himself opposite Ciampa in the WWE's Cruiserweight Classic. The two made up after the match (which Gargano won), but here the seeds of their eventual disagreements were sown, with the question of who was the better wrestler initiated by this chance encounter.
9 Gold In Toronto
The next pivotal moment in Gargano vs Ciampa was the peak of their tag team accomplishments, as at NXT Takeover: Toronto they finally succeeded in obtaining the NXT Tag Team Championships by dethroning The Revival. The match was an absolute masterclass in tag team wrestling, with both members of DIY on exactly the same page on their route to victory. This match is vital to their pivotal-moment pantheon as it shows just how far the two men have fallen in terms of their friendship, and how mirrored their careers in WWE have been.
8 The First Major Loss
This friendship first became rocky at NXT Takeover: San Antonio when DIY lost their tag team titles to The Authors of Pain. Though there was no noticeable friction between the two during or after the match, it was clear that Ciampa felt the loss far greater than Gargano did at the time and in the weeks after.
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The dream run of holding the tag titles together was no more, and once they'd lost the belts, far more substantial issues started to emerge between the two allies. To add to the heartbreak of losing the belts, all their ensuing attempts to regain their titles would fail.
7 The Turn
The last of these occurred in the first-ever ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT Takeover: Chicago, where DIY would once again come up short against The Authors Of Pain. After the match the two men received a standing ovation from the crowd; Ciampa had been battling a serious ACL injury during the match but fought through the pain beside his partner. This all became too much for Ciampa, and in the most memorable betrayal in NXT history, he launched Gargano face-first into the stage, severing the beloved tag team in the process and igniting the most personal feud NXT has ever seen.
6 A Crutch In Philadelphia
As Ciampa recovered from his ACL tear, Gargano was forced to pick up the pieces of his career and go it alone as a singles star. He succeeded in obtaining an opportunity at the NXT Championship at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia against Andrade, a match that many regard as the best in NXT history. The two men went to war, with Andrade charging his knees into Gargano's head, sandwiched between the knee and turnbuckle post. Gargano received a standing ovation from the crowd after the spectacle, just as they had for their tag title ladder match prior, but as he retreated up the ramp, a returning Ciampa greeted him with a crutch swing into his back. It reminded Gargano that no matter what happened in his career, Ciampa would never be too far away.
5 From New Orleans To Chicago
The matches at New Orleans and Chicago are the first of many Gargano vs Ciampa matches at NXT Takeover events and are two of the most brutal, timeless matches ever to occur in NXT. Not only pivotal, these matches are also essential viewing to understand the unfiltered disdain Ciampa and Gargano felt for each other at this time.
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They traded victories in these rightfully 5-star rated encounters (in one of which Gargano forced Ciampa to tap by using his knee brace, as a clear homage to where their problems started), but before their third one-on-one match, an unexpected brush with gold would occur on NXT television.
4 Ciampa Adopts Goldie, The Last Man Standing
At the time, Aleister Black was the NXT Champion, though Tommaso Ciampa earned an opportunity at the belt on an episode of NXT television. Gargano would interfere in this match in an attempt to derail Ciampa's chances, but instead, Johnny Wrestling hit Black square in the face with the title. Ciampa would capitalize on the opportunity as only he can, initiating his first NXT Championship reign, and winning the big one long before Johnny would manage to do so. To make matters worse, Ciampa would win their next match, becoming the last man standing between the two after Gargano sabotaged himself in going for a DIY-style running knee so close to the edge of a platform.
3 Reunion
2019 would be a strange time for DIY; the two would spend time apart, with Gargano engaging in a short-lived heel turn before the two decided to put their differences aside and compete once more as DIY in that year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. As you might expect, this reunion was short-lived, as they fell in the second round to the team of Black and Ricochet. Ciampa attempted once again to backstab Gargano but this time Johnny saw the assault coming and intercepted Ciampa. The two were then scheduled to reignite their feud, but Ciampa suffered a neck injury which left Gargano to instead feud with Adam Cole for the NXT title.
2 Inverse Betrayal
Echoing the above entry, Ciampa would return to NXT on good terms with Gargano, with the two even teaming up yet again as DIY. But, this time it was Gargano who couldn't bear seeing Ciampa in the spotlight.
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In the main event of NXT Takeover: Portland, Ciampa was on the cusp of defeating Adam Cole and reclaiming his NXT title. But in the climax of the match, Gargano ran to the ring and plastered Ciampa in the fact with the belt, the same way he'd helped him win his first title many months prior. This left Cole to pick up the scraps and retain his championship, leaving Ciampa looking up at the lights, left with nothing.
1 Destroying The Performance Center
So, after four and a half years of back and forth, we come to the empty arena of the present, with Gargano and Ciampa fighting through the WWE Performance Center and trashing the premises, Ciampa delivering an air raid crash to Gargano through a table and incapacitating both men. Triple H has recently promised an end to the feud once and for all in an empty warehouse match, but if their storied history is anything to go by, then this may not be the end The Game is hoping for. On looking back at how far they've come, the fates of Gargano and Ciampa feel as if they'll be forever intertwined.
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