| DIY | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tommaso Ciampa (left) andJohnny Gargano (right) in February 2025 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Johnny Gargano Tommaso Ciampa |
| Name(s) | #DIY Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa[1] |
| Billed heights | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) – Gargano 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) – Ciampa |
| Combined billed weight | 400 lb (180 kg) |
| Debut | August 13, 2015 |
| Years active | 2015–2017 2023–present[1] |
DIY (stylized as#DIY) is an Americanprofessional wrestlingtag team composed ofJohnny Gargano andTommaso Ciampa. They are signed toWWE, where they perform on theSmackDownbrand. Gargano and Ciampa are former two-timeWWE Tag Team Champions. They are known for their time inNXT, where they are formerNXT Tag Team Champions.
Created on August 13, 2015, the team went on to win theNXT Tag Team Championship before breaking up atNXT TakeOver: Chicago on May 20, 2017, when Ciampa turned on Gargano. The two would then go on to have a lengthy and acclaimedfeud over 2017 and 2018, including facing each other for theNXT Championship.
On September 2, 2015, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were announced as part of theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.[2][3] On September 9, they successfully advanced in the first round of the tournament, defeating the also newly formed duo ofTyler Breeze andBull Dempsey.[4][5] On the September 16 episode ofNXT, Ciampa and Gargano lost toBaron Corbin andRhyno, thus eliminating them from the tournament.[6] On the October 28 edition ofNXT, Gargano and Ciampa were defeated byAmerican Alpha (Jason Jordan andChad Gable).[7]
On April 2, 2016, it was confirmed that Gargano and Ciampa had signed with WWE earlier in the week.[8] Their NXT contracts were so-called "Tier 2" contracts, which allowed them to continue working independent dates alongside their now regular NXT bookings.[9] On the April 13 episode ofNXT, Ciampa and Gargano defeatedThe Vaudevillains.[10] On the May 25 edition ofNXT, Ciampa and Gargano defeatedTM-61 (Nick Miller andShane Thorne).[11] On June 1, Gargano and Ciampa defeatedThe Revival (Dash Wilder andScott Dawson) after calling them out earlier that night. After the match, Dawson and Wilder attacked them and attempted to injure Ciampa's knee, but they were saved by American Alpha.[12] On July 21, it was reported that Gargano was signing a new full-time NXT deal, which would prevent him from taking further independent bookings.[13] Two days later, it was announced that Ciampa was also entering a new exclusive NXT contract, with his final independent booking set for September.[14]
On June 23, Gargano and Ciampa entered theCruiserweight Classic tournament, which saw Gargano defeat Ciampa in a first round match.[15] On July 14, Gargano was eliminated from the tournament by the eventual winnerT. J. Perkins.[16] On August 20 atNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Ciampa and Gargano unsuccessfully challenged The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship.[17] On the November 9 episode ofNXT, Ciampa and Gargano, now collectively billed as "#DIY", were defeated by TheAuthors of Pain (Akam andRezar) in the semi-finals of the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Classic, due to interference from The Revival.[18] Ciampa and Gargano received another title shot against The Revival in a universally acclaimedtwo out of three falls match on November 19 atNXT TakeOver: Toronto, where they went on to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions.[19]
DIY went on to successfully defend the NXT Tag Team Championship against the teams ofTajiri andAkira Tozawa, andTM-61 (Nick Miller andShane Thorne) in their respective home countries of Japan and Australia. On the January 11, 2017 episode ofNXT, DIY defeated The Revival in a rubber match to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships and end their trilogy feud, but were assaulted by The Authors of Pain afterwards. AtNXT TakeOver: San Antonio, they lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to The Authors of Pain. They would receive their rematch on the March 1 episode ofNXT, which ended in a no contest after The Revival interfered and attacked both teams. On April 1 atNXT TakeOver: Orlando, all three teams competed in atriple threat elimination match for the NXT Tag Team Championship, but DIY failed to regain the titles after being the first team eliminated.[20]
On the May 10 episode ofNXT, NXT General ManagerWilliam Regal announced that DIY would face The Authors of Pain in the first-everladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championship atNXT TakeOver: Chicago, which they lost.[21] Following the match, Ciampa turned on Gargano and attacked him, thus turning Ciampa heel and disbanding the team.[22][23]
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It was later revealed that Ciampa had suffered a rupturedACL in his right knee and would await surgery.[24] In a further update, it was reported that his surgery was successful and the timetable for his return was estimated for early-to-mid 2018.[25]
AtNXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, Gargano failed to capture theNXT Championship fromAndrade "Cien" Almas. After the match, Ciampa returned to attack Gargano from behind with a crutch. On the February 21 episode ofNXT, Gargano challenged Almas to a rematch for the NXT Championship, which he lost due to interference from Ciampa, forcing Gargano to leave NXT as per the pre-match stipulation.[26] The two then fought in the main event ofNXT TakeOver: New Orleans in anunsanctioned match which Gargano won, resulting in Gargano being reinstated in NXT. On the April 25 episode ofNXT, Gargano was attacked by Ciampa during his entrance for his NXT Championship match againstAleister Black. Two weeks later onNXT, Gargano called out Ciampa, leading to a brawl in which Gargano's wifeCandice LeRae was knocked unconscious. The two then fought atNXT TakeOver: Chicago II in aChicago Street Fight, which Ciampa won. Gargano's character then began a darker turn, becoming more unstable, showing a more aggressive style, and using aspike DDT to defeatEC3 on the July 4 episode ofNXT, similar to the one Ciampa pinned him with at TakeOver: Chicago II. At the July 18NXT tapings of the July 25 episode, Gargano interfered in Ciampa's NXT Championship match against Aleister Black and accidentally hit Black with the title belt, causing Ciampa to win the championship. The following week, as Black attempted to confront Ciampa, Gargano ran past him and attacked Ciampa, but was then attacked by Black. The following week, Gargano and Black were both attacked by Ciampa during their scheduled match. The three men were then scheduled to compete in atriple threat match for the NXT Championship atNXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, but Black was removed from the match after being found unconscious in the parking lot after the show, rendering him unable to compete. The title match was then changed to aLast Man Standing match between Gargano and Ciampa, which Gargano lost. On the October 24 episode ofNXT, Gargano was revealed as the one who attacked Black prior to their original TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 title match, thus turning heel. The two faced off atNXT TakeOver: WarGames, where Black defeated Gargano while Ciampa retained the NXT Championship againstVelveteen Dream.[27]
On the December 19, 2018 episode ofNXT, Black and Gargano competed in a steel cage match, which Gargano won after Ciampa interfered and they both performed their former tag team finisherMeeting in the Middle on Black, hinting a potential reunion. On January 26, 2019 atNXT TakeOver: Phoenix, Gargano defeatedRicochet to become the newNXT North American Champion while Ciampa retained the NXT Championship against Black in the main event. After Ciampa won, he was joined by Gargano and posed together with their respective titles.[28]
This would mark the reformation of their team (although they would not immediately re-use the DIY monicker) and the two had their first match as a team since 2017 on February 3, 2019 atHalftime Heat, teaming withAdam Cole in a losing effort against Black, Ricochet andVelveteen Dream.[29] On the January 30 episode ofNXT (aired on February 20), Gargano lost the NXT North American Championship to Velveteen Dream.[30][31] On the February 18 episode ofRaw, Ciampa and Gargano made their main roster debut and defeated former rivals andRaw Tag Team ChampionsThe Revival in a non-title match.[32] They made theirSmackDown debut the following night, defeatingThe Bar (Cesaro andSheamus).[33]
DIY took part in the2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on February 20, defeatingThe Undisputed Era (Kyle O'ReillyandBobby Fish) in the first round (aired March 6) and losing to Aleister Black and Ricochet in the second (aired March 13). After their loss, the duo disbanded again when Ciampa attempted to attack Gargano in a way echoing his original betrayal at TakeOver: Chicago in 2017, only for Gargano to reverse the attack andsuperkick Ciampa.[34]
With DIY broken-up again, the two were scheduled to face each other atNXT TakeOver: New York for the NXT Championship, but Ciampa was sidelined due to undergoing ananteriorcervical fusion surgery, which forced him to relinquish his title and was planned to render him inactive a reported minimum of six month, thus prematurely ending theangle.[35][36][37] With Ciampa sidelined, Gargano would go on with a feud withAdam Cole from April to August over the NXT Championship. After Cole earned Ciampa's vacant spot in the title match at TakeOver: New York, Gargano defeated him in atwo-out-of-three falls match to become the new champion.[38] He would later lose it to Cole atNXT TakeOver: XXV and fail to regain it atNXT TakeOver: Toronto, in a three stages of hell match.[39][40]
Ciampa returned on the October 2 episode ofNXT to face Cole, starting a feud with his stable,The Undisputed Era.[41] On the October 23 episode ofNXT, Gargano and Ciampa reunited yet again to face The Undisputed Era together; they were joined by surprise NXT returneeFinn Bálor, only for Bálor to attack Gargano and let The Undisputed Era assault Ciampa. Gargano suffered a legitimate neck injury when Bálor performed his signature move1916 on him on the entrance ramp, sidelining him indefinitely and ending the two's reunion prematurely.[42][43]
Gargano returned on the December 18 episode ofNXT, costing Bálor his NXT Championship match against Cole.[44] Although he didn't interact with Ciampa at first, leaving the future of DIY uncertain, he eventually came to Ciampa's rescue against The Undisputed Era on the January 15, 2020 episode ofNXT, signaling that they were still active as a team. Later during the show, DIY discussed the possibility of facingNXT UK'sMoustache Mountain, who hadtweeted about them during the show, with them agreeing to team up "one more time for old time's sake"; a match between the two teams was later made official forWorlds Collide, where DIY was successful.[45][46][47]
On February 16 atNXT TakeOver: Portland, Gargano lost toFinn Balor; in the main event, he came out during Ciampa's match against Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, seemingly to help Ciampa after Cole's Undisputed Era teammates interfered in the match.[48] However, he instead hit Ciampa with the title belt, costing him the match and turningheel again; this marked the beginning of another feud between the two, and therefore another disbandment of DIY.[49] On the April 8 episode ofNXT, Gargano would defeat Ciampa in an Empty Arena No Holds Barred match, with assistance from LeRae, ending their three year-long feud once and for all.[50]
Ciampa and Gargano reunited on the November 23, 2021 edition ofNXT as part of Team Black & Gold alongsidePete Dunne andLA Knight to fight Team 2.0, consisting ofBron Breakker,Grayson Waller, Tony D'Angelo, andCarmelo Hayes, inthat year's Men's WarGames match.[51] They would go on to lose the match, this seemingly being Gargano's final match in WWE, after which he decided not to renew his contract with the company after it expired on December 10.[52][53]
Between the creation of DIY and mid-2016, both Gargano and Ciampa were under a part-time contract with WWE, and continued to appear on independent promotions. When DIY was created in August 2015, Gargano was also part of the Canadian promotion Smash Wrestling, in which he was the Smash Wrestling Champion since April 26. He continued to hold and defend the title in parallel of his WWE activities (including against his wifeCandice LeRae on August 23, 2015), before losing it toMark Haskins at PROGRESS Chapter 32: 5000 To 1 on June 26, 2016.[54]
Gargano and Ciampa also wrestled inPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) since 2013; on December 11, 2015, they unsuccessfully challengedThe Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) for theirPWG World Tag Team Championship on the first night of All-Star Weekend XI.[55] On the second night, they lost to Unbreakable F'n Machines (Brian Cage andMichael Elgin).[56] They also wrestled together at theOhio-based promotion Absolute Intense Wrestling, taking part of a ten-man tag team match in a successful effort at the Keep the Change, You Filthy Animal event.[57]
Both Gargano and Ciampa had also been a part of the Dreamwave promotion since 2014. On January 2, 2016 at the Season Premiere event, they unsuccessfully challenged Dreamwave Tag Team Champions Christian Rose and Matt Cage for their titles.[58] At the Beyond Wrestling event Beyond The Dream Left Behind on January 31, they defeatedDan Maff andMonsta Mack.[59]
On February 19, 2016 at theAAW Wrestling event Art of War, they were defeated byChris Hero andDrew Gulak.[60]
Gargano returned to WWE on the August 22, 2022 edition ofRaw; Ciampa, who was aligned withThe Miz at the time, would suffer a hip injury shortly after until the following summer, during which Gargano competed on his own or withDexter Lumis before a shoulder injury would also sideline him for several months.
On the October 2, 2023 episode ofRaw, Ciampa failed to win theIntercontinental Championship fromGunther. After the match, Ciampa was attacked by Gunther'sImperium stablemates,Ludwig Kaiser andGiovanni Vinci. However, Gargano would then make his return to WWE after several months away to rescue Ciampa, officially reuniting DIY in the process, and subsequently feuding with Imperium. They would go on to trade victories during the course of the feud. On the January 29, 2024 episode ofRaw, DIY received a match for theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship againstThe Judgment Day'sDamian Priest andFinn Bálor, but were defeated. On the March 18 episode ofRaw, DIY defeated theCreed Brothers to qualify for theSix PackLadder Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship atWrestleMania XL but failed to capture any of the titles.[61][62] On the April 15 episode ofRaw, DIY defeated the Creed Brothers andThe New Day (Kofi Kingston andXavier Woods) to earn a match againstAwesome Truth (The Miz andR-Truth) for the renamedWorld Tag Team Championship the following week, but failed to win the titles.[63]
As part of the2024 WWE Draft, DIY were drafted to theSmackDown brand.[64] On the July 5 episode ofSmackDown, DIY defeatedA-Town Down Under (Austin Theory andGrayson Waller) to win theWWE Tag Team Championship, marking their first championship win on the main roster.[65] The following week on the July 12 episode ofSmackDown, DIY successfully defended their titles in a rematch against A-Town Down Under, after which they were attacked byJacob Fatu ofThe Bloodline. On the August 2 episode ofSmackDown, DIY lost the titles to The Bloodline (Fatu andTama Tonga) after interference fromSolo Sikoa andTonga Loa, ending their reign at 28 days.[66]
On the December 6 episode ofSmackDown, DIY defeated theMotor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin andAlex Shelley) to win the titles for the second time after Gargano hit Sabin with a low blow, turning both menheel for the first time as a team.[67]
At theRoyal Rumble on February 1, #DIY defeated the Motor City Machine Guns in atwo out of three falls match to retain their titles after interference from the returningStreet Profits, who also attacked #DIY after the match.[68] On the March 14 episode ofSmackDown, #DIY lost the titles to the Street Profits, ending their second reign at 98 days. On the April 25 episode ofSmackDown, they would attempt to regain the titles against the Street Profits in a critically acclaimedtables, ladders, and chairs match also involving the Motor City Machine Guns, where the Street Profits retained.[69][70] On the May 23 episode ofSmackDown, Ciampa defeated Chris Sabin with assistance fromCandice LeRae.[71]
