CLEVELAND — Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa did not grow up together and took different paths to get to World Wrestling Entertainment’s developmental territory, NXT, but despite their varied backgrounds, they combined to form one of the most popular tag teams on the brand, #DIY.
More than the success in the ring, including a run as NXT tag-team champions, there was a bond formed through time spent together on the road.
“Our history kind of speaks for itself,” said Gargano, a native of Cleveland who is in town for tonight’s NXT tour stop at The Agora Theatre.
“When you look at things, we’re kind of polar opposites, and that’s almost what made everything so special to begin with, what made #DIY so special. It’s two guys from completely different backgrounds, completely different walks of life who came together for a common goal and formed a very real friendship out of that.”
But what required time to build took only seconds to destroy.
After NXT TakeOver Chicago in May of 2017, Ciampa turned on Gargano, ramming him headfirst into the video boards on the entrance ramp and proceeding to pummel his former tag team championship partner with right-handed strikes.
Despite having a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Ciampa delivered a running knee strike to a downed Gargano before retreating to the locker room.
“Out of that very real friendship came heartache and came heartbreak and came betrayal,” Gargano said.
“It was a story that people could really latch onto, and I’m extremely proud of the work I’ve done on NXT. When I look back on this 10, 15 years from now, I will think very fondly of the last three years because it’s been a dream come true.”
Since the betrayal, Gargano and Ciampa have headlined three TakeOver events, first in an unsanctioned match at TakeOver: New Orleans on April 7, 2018. Then, at TakeOver: Chicago II, the two did battle in a Chicago street fight.
The two concluded their trilogy with an NXT Championship match at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 on August 18, 2018.
“It’s been magic,” Gargano said. “I think that’s the best word to describe it. #DIY has been magic, and the fact that we’ve been able to tell this story in the ways we’ve been able to and include different characters, include different ups and downs, dips and dives, just things you haven’t seen in professional wrestling before, it’s almost like a movie.
“That’s kind of what this is. We’re making a movie here, and yeah, it’s very special. It’s very near and dear to my heart, and it’s something that I’ll hold onto for a very, very long time.”
Gargano and Ciampa went more than 38 minutes in the unsanctioned match, and a submission victory for Gargano got him reinstated to the NXT brand after previously being finished with the company as a result of a previous match stipulation.
Then, Ciampa won the Chicago street fight and the NXT Championship bout in a Last Man Standing match in Brooklyn.
For their efforts, Gargano and Ciampa were voted by the fans to have had the Rivalry of the Year at the NXT Year-End Awards in 2018, but recently, the two agreed to rejoin forces and compete in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Invitational.
“The passion of everybody in that locker room, I felt like I wanted to do whatever I could to elevate it,” Gargano said. “I believe in NXT. I believe that it is the best wrestling brand in the world, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get it where it needs to be.”
