Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa
NXT TakeOver: New Orleans — April 7, 2018 · Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
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The Story
Tommaso Ciampa won the Unsanctioned Match, defeating his betrayed former partner Johnny Gargano in the explosive blow-off to the best-told feud in NXT history. There was no title and no rules — only the settling of a personal grudge that had been building for months.
The two had been #DIY, the beloved tag team that Ciampa detonated with a shocking, cold-blooded betrayal. By New Orleans the hatred was total, and the Unsanctioned stipulation let it spill everywhere — a no-rules brawl dripping with genuine venom rather than empty spot-for-spot violence.
The hardware told the story: Ciampa weaponizing his own crutch, an exposed concrete floor, the fight pouring out to the crowd barricade. Every weapon served the emotion, every near-fall felt like a wound. When Ciampa finally put Gargano down, it wasn't a triumph so much as a tragedy — the emotional apex of a rivalry and a masterclass in long-form storytelling.