1. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Let me just get this out of the way straight off the bat; this feud has been one of the greatest storylines WWE has ever produced. Period. It has made one of wrestling’s most beloved all-time babyfaces in Johnny Gargano and one of wrestling’s most despicable heels ever in Tommaso Ciampa.
The latter is not one of these new wave heels either where the fans still cheer them anyway because they’re cool and they respect their in-ring capability. Despite what WWE officials would have you believe, you can still have ‘real’ good guys and bad guys as the ‘Psycho Killer’ is truly despised by fans regardless of his incredible in-ring talent.
Leaving due to injury after having turned on his former #DIY tag team partner, Ciampa has made us wait for our revenge while Gargano has rediscovered himself as ‘Johnny Wrestling’, putting on instant classics with Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and building himself up as an undeniable hero in the fan’s eyes.
When Ciampa made his surprise return at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia to attack Gargano following his main event match, we were filled with the rage he left us with the last time we saw him. He then cost Gargano his job in a career vs. title match against Almas on NXT TV shortly after and our hero was gone.
The ‘Blackheart’ spent the next few episodes of NXT ‘working’ the crowd into a frenzy without ever really speaking a word. Seriously, they had so much faith in the heat he could create just through his presence alone that they didn’t give him any entrance music… this is how it’s done, Dolph!
The ‘pop’ Gargano received when his entrance music hit was earth-shattering and he looked ready for a fight. The match itself was unlike anything we had seen before in WWE. Sure, some basic principles were the same and odd spots have been hit before but it is the way these two pieced it all together to end the story they started with each other.
I’m usually not a massive fan of matches without rules as there’s rarely ever a real reason for it other than to hide the downfalls of a competitor’s in-ring capabilities but this match needed to be unsanctioned. It needed to be chaos and, combined with both men’s outstanding prowess in between the ropes, it was made all the better for it.
This match also brought out a vicious side to Gargano who is usually a very hard-hitting but ultimately by-the-book babyface. Hell, when there are no rules, why not go all out? He could unleash his hatred and disappointment in his former friend without looking like he was turning to the dark side of the wrestling force and it was incredible to watch.
These two hurt each other in every way possible and with near fall after near fall, we knew the end was in sight, and Gargano looked ready to truly snap. The highlight of this match was not any big impressive move or painful bump on to the concrete floor, it was the callback to their previous bout at the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 where Ciampa couldn’t bring himself to finish off Gargano only this time it was the other way around.
After everything Ciampa has done to his #DIY brother, Gargano stopped himself before going too far and looked at his former friend, not with hatred, but with despair. How had it come to this? What happened to them?
The finish to this match was iconic and I truly believe that it will be remembered forever as one of the all-time greats. If you haven’t seen it, I urge you to take half an hour out of your day and go watch it. Go watch all these matches and the rest of NXT TakeOver: New Orleans actually because it was possibly the best wrestling event ever to take place under the WWE brand and you would be a fool to miss it.
6 years ago by Wrestle Talk
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