Nobody Will Do It For You: The Rise And Fall Of #DIY
6. Blackheart Versus Rebel Heart
Zelina Vega, sick of Johnny and Candice, gave Gargano another shot at Almas' championship on one condition; if he lost then he had to leave NXT. During this match, Ciampa appeared and took advantage of a fallen referee to knock Johnny out of his Garga-No-Escape submission with yet another crutch to the spine. Pinned moments later, Gargano was now out of a job.
"The black heart of Ciampa on full display."
Ciampa's attempts to return to NXT were met with absolute loathing from the crowd. Entering with no music, still dragging his crutch behind him, he was overwhelmed by the fans' support of Gargano. After tearing up a Johnny Wrestling sign one week he was met the next by hundreds of them the next week and cries of "Ciampa sucks!"
It took three weeks for the most hated heel in the business at that moment to get a word out against the boos of the crowd, and then he circled the ring, tearing up the Gargano winking face signs. It was then that Gargano appeared behind one of the signs and attacking Ciampa to the delight of the crowd.
After Gargano showed up at Ciampa's house at 3.25am, Ciampa appealed to General Manager William Regal for aid. Regal set up an unsanctioned match at Takeover: New Orleans between the pair. If Ciampa wins, Gargano is banished from every NXT show forever. If Gargano wins, he gets his job back.
The unsanctioned match started with a burst of aggression from Johnny that saw him seemingly burn himself out and open himself for counters from Ciampa, who soon tore crutches from a fan and brought them into the ring. Representing both Ciampa's injury and Gargano losing his job, the crutch became the first focus of the battle and a tug of war ended with Johnny finally getting some payback on his former partner.
The next phase of the match explored their past together as #DIY, at one point seeing them literally bound together until Ciampa hit Gargano with a low blow. Signature moves were countered, submissions escaped, and a single-man version of Meet In The Middle wasn't enough to put either man down. Alone, they couldn't get it done, and even Project Ciampa from the middle rope only led to a two-count and Ciampa being forced to remove his knee brace due to the pain.
This masterwork of storytelling then revisited their Cruiserweight Classic match, this time Ciampa had no mercy for Johnny, but Gargano slammed the knee brace into Ciampa's exposed knee and went for the crutch. With Tommaso protecting himself in the middle of the ring, Johnny couldn't bring himself to finish it and he dropped down beside Ciampa, seemingly spent.
The Blackheart struck with the knee brace but Johnny was ready, and he countered it, eventually turning the Garga-No-Escape into an STF using the brace.
And, with the match won, Johnny Wrestling was reinstated to NXT.
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