The Beginning for “DIY”
Underdog tag-team fraction, DIY, consisting of two Indie boys, soulful Johnny Gargano and rough-playing Tommaso Ciampa, were set to face current-reigning NXT champions, The Revival, in Toronto, Canda. The match was set for a 2-of-3 falls, where on November 19th, 2016, DIY would capture championship gold in the third fall where Gargano locked in the “Garga-NO Escape” on Scott Dawson, and Ciampa saved Gargano’s submission from being broken-up, where he applied his very own “Bridging Fujiwara” on Dash Wilder, where Scott Dawson, full of hesitation and pain, tapped out to Gargano! Soon, the two underdogs were on top of the tag-team division, and the NXT universe was theirs!
Their Legacy in NXT
Gargano and Ciampa would soon go on to have an exciting, complicated, heartbreaking, and reuniting history. The two gentlemen would proceed to hold the titles for two months, but soon came crumbling down when they were defeated by AOP (now tag-teaming with Karrion Kross as of 2024) in their ladder-match on January 28th, 2017. With their devastating loss, their hearts would soon be ripped from each and everyone’s chest, as Tommaso Ciampa tapped into his psychotic dark side, and threw beaten and bruised Gargano into the megatron screen, where he’d proceed to nearly murder him with blows, strikes, and a disturbing knee to the face, leaving him lifeless.
The two would begin their bitter rivalry months later in the ring after Gargano had a singles run full of ups and downs, where he came extremley close to capturing the NXT title a handful of times. The Rebel Heart and the Black Heart would wrestle in a trilogy of matches, first an Unsanctioned Match for Gargano to be signed back to NXT, which he sucessfully won as the crowd went wild. Second was a Street Fight, where despite Ciampa’s insane beating, he planted Gargano’s head into bare wood while handcuffed, pulling off the most raw win I have ever seen to this day in wrestling. Third was a Last Man Standing match, where Gargano once again gained the upper hand, but his anger and vicious attacks got the best of him, when he accidently went flying off the stage and injurying his knee, leaving him inable to stand up, giving Ciampa the winning score as he retained the NXT title.
The two would proceed to have their own single runs, both grabbing championship gold at some point, later reunite as heel tag-teams, appear on RAW and Half-Time Heat as a team, but turn on each other again in the “Dusty Tag Team Championship”. Later they’d have a final match against each other in 2020, and yet reunite again when they faced the NXT 2.0. Team in War Games, 2021. Once Ciampa had his final match in NXT however, and Gargano resigned from WWE, their future together seemed very uncertain.
“Meeting In The Middle” once again…
That was, until October 2nd, 2023, nearly two years after their split, as Ciampa was being ambushed in the ring by Imperium, a hero very familiar to Ciampa would appear; Gargano would rush to the rescue! When Gargano got the three off his ex-partner, Ciampa and Gargano locked eyes, and could feel what had to be done. They went to their spots for their signature move and landed their “Meet in the Middle” blow to Kaiser, instantly posing these two as reunited tag-teams. DIY WAS BACK!
8 years later, Underdog tag-team fraction, consisting of two indie-boys at heart, “Heart and Soul” Johnny Gargano and “Blackheart” Tommaso Ciampa, were set to face current reigning champions, A-Town Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) in Toronto, Canada, but this time knowing what gold around their waist feels like, making them hungrier than ever. The match was set for a single fall, where on July 5th, 2024, DIY would repeat history, just as they did in Toronto back in 2016, where Gargano locked in the “Garga-NO Escape” on Grayson Waller, and Ciampa saved Gargano’s submission from being broken-up, where he applied his submission across the neck on Austin Theory, where Grayson Waller, full of hesitation and pain, tapped out to Gargano! Now, the Smackdown universe is theirs, and their new adventure as champions has only begun!
The Champs we Need.
Once again, Gargano and Ciampa had become champs just where their reign had started all those years ago! Gargano and Ciampa have remained as my two favorite wrestlers in WWE since they’ve debuted, so seeing them capture gold once again made me leap out of my seat and run around for joy! These two gentlemen are extremely skilled and hard-working wrestlers who can seriously tell a story through their craft, where each match they have they always manage to call back a previous moment from one of their duels. These two fighters more than deserve gold around their waists, and I am looking forward to their potential as Smackdown champions!
Thank you for reading all the way to the end! If you enjoyed this article, read more on my home page, share with anybody who would enjoy this article, and please support my social platforms and the ‘Gunn’s Garage’ blog so reviews like these reach more pop culture fans like you!
-Caleb Gunn, Writer, Actor, Artist, and ‘Self-Proclaimed’ Celebrity
Leave a Reply