After being arguably the biggest beneficiary of the creative regime change from Vince McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Tommaso Ciampa, the former tag team partner of Johnny Gargano down in NXT, has been unfortunately absent from WWE television, as he's been recovering from a hip injury that has kept him out of action since September.
Asked about how his former tag team partner is fairing through the recovery process by Catch Club, Gargano has let it be known that while Ciampa is still recovering, he's in good spirits and hopes to be back on WWE TV soon.
“He's currently rehabbing. He's trying to get back. He's one of the toughest, most resilient guys I've ever met. He is so incredibly talented. I've known that for a very, very long time. We've all known that for a very, very long time. What he's had to put his body through to do this is so inspirational. The amount of surgeries he's had, the amount of times he's come back, the amount of time and effort he's put into this and being great at this,” Gargano said via Fightful. “I've obviously known him for a long time, but even knowing him and being side by side with him throughout basically our whole journey in WWE together, and to kind of experience all that together, and to be told no together, and to kind of rise up and be where were are today is a really awesome story that will hopefully be told the full one day, but he is he's doing well. He's in good spirits and he hopes he's back soon.”
Could #DIY actually make its way to the main roster and bring the former NXT Tag Team Championship-winning act to RAW? Only time will tell, but for as long as Ciampa and Gargano are on the same roster, there's always a chance.
“You never know. I think as long as me and Tommaso Ciampa are in the same company, or even in wrestling, in general, we will always be linked together,” Gargano added. “There was always that idea of what would happen if DIY was on Raw and SmackDown, the amount of dream matches that could kind of that. So and I think we haven't scratched the surface of that yet. So people would love to see it. It sounds that way.”
Whoa, so not only is Ciampa nearing his return to the ring, but there's a chance we could see another #DIY run on the main roster, with matches down the line against The Street Profits, The Usos, and the New Day? If that's the light at the end of the tunnel, then the future is looking incredibly bright.
Triple H wanted to build around Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, not FTR.
Speaking of #DIY, Gargano and Ciampa were actually brought up on the FTR Podcast with Dax Harwood by, get this, Dax Harwood of FTR, where the former member of The Revival let it be known that Triple H wanted nothing more than to build the NXT tag team division and NXT in general around Johnny Wrestling and the”Blackheart.”
“We weren’t one of the guys I think he wanted to build the company around or the brand around,” Harwood said via Fightful. “I think he understood what we offered. I think I he understood how good we were in the ring, the stories we could tell, and I think he knew that we could be a piece to the puzzle, but I don’t think he wanted us to be the whole puzzle. He loved Gargano and he loved Ciampa, he loved those guys. Loved Fergal [Finn Balor], and those were his guys. So when I say we weren’t his guys, it’s not that he wasn’t a fan of ours, or we weren’t any of his favorite in-ring guys. It’s just, we weren’t the guys that I think he wanted to build the company around. Like I said before, Ciampa had [his number]. We were out for a couple of weeks, both of us got injured. I had surgery, and Ciampa was a little banged up, and Hunter would call or text him and ask, ‘How are things going?’ I had surgery and I’m sitting at home, and I’m trying to rush back because we’ve gotta come back to drop the belts to Gargano and Ciampa, and I heard nothing. So we weren’t Hunter guys. I don’t hold any ill feelings towards him because of that. We just weren’t. But I do think that he was a fan of our work. I know he was, he told us. I think that he was a fan of us as talents, just not who he necessarily wanted to build the company around.”
While Harwood's story is multiple years old, it's worth wondering if 2023 Triple H remains as high on #DIY as he was when his only creative responsibility was running NXT. If some, things are shaping up very well for NXT‘s first wrestling family as they fully transition to the main roster.
Follow Us
Subscribe