Nobody Will Do It For You: The Rise And Fall Of #DIY
7. The Ghost Of #DIY
A suspiciously unfazed Johnny Gargano returned to Full Sail on August 2nd, sporting new ring gear and cutting #DIY's music in favour of his familiar Rebel Heart theme. Despite claiming in interviews that he was fine, that the crowd meant he was never alone, he couldn't help but dwell on #DIY. Still, physically healed and technically sound as ever, he requested a match at Takeover: Brooklyn III and was put up against Andrade Cien Almas.
"I need to be Johnny Gargano again. More importantly, I need to be Johnny Wrestling."
Entering to thunderous applause, Johnny had a tremendous back and forth match with Andrade that showed an impressive amount of chemistry between their styles. However, it was Zelina Vega on the outside who was the difference-maker. As Gargano was setting up for a single person version of Meet In The Middle, she pulled a #DIY t-shirt from somewhere and threw it into his arms.
Still haunted by the ghost of #DIY and the betrayal he'd suffered, that tee represented everything Gargano had been repressing, and he was stunned. Easy prey for Andrade, he lost the match and was left crawling away from the shirt.
Fighting to find Johnny Wrestling again eventually led to Johnny facing Lars Sullivan, Aleister Black, and Killian Dain in a Fatal 4 Way which he won. Now the number-one contender, Johnny was set to face the new champion at Takeover: Philadelphia; a man who'd proven himself the puzzle Gargano couldn't solve - Andrade Cien Almas.
A legitimate injury to Drew McIntyre had seen plans change for the NXT championship at the last minute, and Andrade Cien Almas had been left holding the belt without any feuds having been built. Having twice beaten the most over babyface in all wrestling at that time on his way to the top, it made sense to have them headline Takeover: Philadelphia with Gargano as the challenger.
What followed was a masterclass in psychology, athleticism, and storytelling from two future legends. Gargano was once again cast as the underdog; not only giving up size and strength against the champion but being outnumbered whenever Zelina Vega interfered. And she interfered a lot, distracting the referee and hitting Gargano with a hurricanrana to give her client an advantage. Having seen enough Johhny Gargano's wife Candice LeRae, hopped over the guard rail and evened the playing field as she ran Vega out of the arena.
In the first NXT match to ever earn five stars in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (only the sixth in WWE history, and the first in seven years) Gargano again found that Almas was just too much for him to handle, and he failed to secure the title.
As he and Candice made their way up the ramp to cheers and applause from the crowd, a gasp went up. A moment later Gargano was hit in the back by a crutch wielded by a returning Ciampa.
The Psycho Killer was back.
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