Ciampa Addresses Possible DIY Reunion With Triple H Leading WWE Creative
One of the most memorable teams of WWE's 2010s, especially in "NXT," was the team known as DIY which featured Johnny Gargano and Ciampa, fka Tommaso Ciampa. The duo won the "NXT" Tag Team Championships before splitting up and beginning an epic feud that would shape the black-and-gold brand right up until it was reimagined as "NXT 2.0." Ciampa is now on the main roster, and Paul Levesque, fka Triple H, the founder and longtime godfather of "NXT," is the new head of main roster creative. Gargano, on the other hand, declined to re-up with WWE in 2021 and his currently a free agent after celebrating the birth of his son, though all eyes are currently turned to this weekend's Starrcast V event in Nashville, where Gargano will presumably reveal what his future holds.
"The door was always open," Ciampa said in an exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc.'s Senior News Editor Nick Hausman. "Johnny left so he could go be a dad ... For Johnny, it was like, 'Oh, I have baby Quill, and I have to [wrestle] full-time or I take a break,' and he just took a break. So I don't know, I think the chances of him returning were always really good ... Maybe they're better now, but regardless, I think he's definitely going to come back to wrestling.
"He's in shape, he still loves it. I'm sure he's still probably one of the best in the world right now. So for him, it's just a matter of time."
Despite their lengthy feud, Gargano and Ciampa would team together once more in Gargano's last match to date for the company — and in wrestling overall — as they teamed up alongside Pete Dunne and LA Knight to represent Team Black and Gold in WarGames, taking on Team 2.0, which consisted of Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Tony D'Angelo, and Grayson Waller. The match was won by Team 2.0, and the following Wednesday, Gargano delivered a promo to the "NXT" audience. Afterward, he was attacked by Grayson Waller, writing him off TV. He hasn't been seen in wrestling since, with the sole exception of a video package appearance celebrating Alex Shelley on "Impact on AXS TV" this week.
Ciampa, meanwhile, has been seen on recent episodes of "WWE Raw" serving as a guardian angel for The Miz, who is facing Logan Paul at WWE SummerSlam the day before Gargano's Starrcast panel.
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