{"id":37642,"date":"2019-02-06T14:24:31","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T19:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=37642"},"modified":"2019-02-08T16:24:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T21:24:43","slug":"has-the-gargano-ciampa-saga-ran-its-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/02\/06\/has-the-gargano-ciampa-saga-ran-its-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Has The Gargano & Ciampa Saga Ran It’s Course?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The saga of Johnny Gargano<\/strong> and Tommaso Ciampa<\/strong> has been mostly excellent for over a year, which is a remarkable feat. The characters have been clear, their motivations easy to relate to and understand, and they haven\u2019t been the least bit boring. Even when dealing with unforeseen injuries, the twists and turns of the plot itself have kept us at the edge of our seats for a long time. But now that\u00a0TakeOver: Phoenix<\/strong><\/em> has come and gone, it\u2019s time to address the elephant in the room – the writing has gotten very sloppy this past month. Not in the whole show \u2013 the women\u2019s and tag team divisions are still written well \u2013 but the Gargano vs. Ciampa saga has now taken up so much space that it needs to be addressed at large.<\/p>\n

Has The Gargano & Ciampa Saga Ran It’s Course?<\/h1>\n
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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So\u00a0what\u2019s the problem? Let\u2019s go back to the days when #DIY<\/strong> was officially a tag team. They were known, and beloved, for their resilience, their athletic style, and their lack of size. This made them the perfect foils for their two biggest rivals: The \u201cNo Flips Just Fists\u201d Revival<\/strong> and the giant powerhouse Authors of Pain<\/strong>. The matches they had with each other were outstanding, not just because of the performances, but also because of the intrigue of the matchups themselves which built the platform for the in-ring narrative to be told by highlighting the contrasts in style. This best manifested itself in the moment where The Revival organically teamed up with #DIY mid-match to take down AOP \u2013 an act that was both shocking and perfectly sensible.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Ciampa turned on Gargano and broke up #DIY, this continued. The reasons for the matches\u2019 conceptions were organic, and the matchups were consistently intriguing. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade \u201cCien\u201d Almas<\/strong> presented an ultra-babyface finding his way as a singles star up against a heel champ\u2019s constant interferences. Gargano vs. Ciampa gave us a sentimental, broken man becoming desperate to score a win against a jealous, weapon-wielding sadist.\u00a0Aleister\u00a0Black<\/strong> vs. Tommaso Ciampa pitted a people\u2019s champ with a few reliable moves against a reviled cheater with an arsenal of tactics. And each matchup gave us a payoff to the narratives as well, with an added twist which allowed the stories to progress to the next stage. Can Gargano overcome\u00a0Zelina\u00a0Vega<\/strong>\u2019s interferences? Yes! But only to succumb to\u00a0Ciampa\u2019s\u00a0<\/i>interference. Can Gargano find redemption after being driven out of NXT? Yes! But only by being driven to become as obsessed as Ciampa is. The first Ciampa vs. Black title match even saw an in-match progression of the character, as Ciampa\u2019s mind-games pushed Black deviate from his usual strong, silent, strike-based character and break out a bridging German\u00a0suplex\u00a0while giving Ciampa a verbal browbeating in the ring. It was all great storytelling.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But when TakeOver:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>War Games II<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0came to a close, the narratives got more convoluted and the problems started. Black had just beaten Gargano, in retaliation for jumping him from behind, in a match that showed us two main things, narratively: One, Gargano\u2019s embrace of the dark side doesn\u2019t fit quite right on him, and he probably won\u2019t win this way unless he embraces it fully. And two, Black has successfully put Gargano behind him and can now refocus on getting the NXT Championship. These two things make a lot of sense, and the story that\u00a0should\u00a0<\/i>naturally materialize from here would require Black to move on, and Gargano to explore his dark side on a different opponent. Both stories would be more than interesting enough on any\u00a0TakeOver. Instead, Gargano simply demanded a redo against Black. And, with\u00a0Ciampa\u2019s goading, Black decided\u00a0to\u00a0accept the rematch in\u00a0a steel cage\u00a0for no good reason.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, good characters sometimes do senseless things that even\u00a0they\u00a0<\/i>don\u2019t understand. And when the story justifies those events later, it\u2019s not a bad thing. Suppose, for instance, that Black accepted because, deep down, he didn\u2019t feel he fully absolved Gargano\u2019s sins. This could be a great chance to debut an attempt at a sin-absolving move even more devastating than the Black Mass. Unfortunately, this story doesn\u2019t do that. Black enters the match without reason, then almost leaves the cage, then changes his mind, then fights the same as usual. This betrays the fact that this match is purposeless for him. Unlike Gargano and Ciampa\u2019s aforementioned matches, this match doesn\u2019t have a real narrative to its conception, or to its in-ring action. We don\u2019t see anywhere near the contrast of styles that made the first Black vs. Gargano match such a joy to watch. The steel cage match only exists for its spectacle… and for its ending.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We see in the end that Ciampa instigated the steel cage match was so that he could give Gargano a win, and then pitch the idea of Gargano deserving a North American title shot. Again, this makes a lot of sense. Ciampa has always wanted to be seen as the primary member of #DIY, with Gargano behind him. The problem is that, just as Black had no reason to agree to fight Gargano, Ricochet<\/strong> had no reason to accept Gargano\u2019s challenge. The conception of the match was very thin, as it was really only there, once again, to create an avenue for the eventual ending.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And – here comes the hard part – as exciting as the Ricochet vs. Gargano match was, the in-ring action was narratively weak. There wasn\u2019t really a contrast of styles or tactics in this match. It was essentially Ricochet throwing every move in the book at Gargano, and Gargano just taking it.\u00a0Johnny Gargano<\/i>\u00a0was just taking move after move, without getting any offense in. This isn\u2019t his character \u2013 we’ve always seen him try hard to dish out as much punishment as he takes. And the thing is, he wasn\u2019t exactly overwhelmed by Ricochet\u2019s blitz, either. If he was, that\u00a0would\u00a0<\/i>have\u00a0<\/i>been an interesting\u00a0storyline; imagine if we saw Gargano take so many moves that he was pushed to take frequent breaks to the outside gasping for breath, or resort to dirty tactics and fake an injury, or some other character shift. Instead, aside from a few good counters, he simply endured the offensive onslaught until it was time for the end.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Compare this to Ricochet\u2019s previous matches against Adam Cole<\/strong> and Velveteen Dream<\/strong>. Velveteen Dream talked Ricochet into a match because they both wanted to\u00a0show\u00a0that their\u00a0gimmicks were not all hype. Adam Cole was out to prove that Ricochet was not special in-ring and that his craftiness could outdo Ricochet\u2019s acrobatics.\u00a0The NXT of a few months ago gave both participants a reason to truly\u00a0want\u00a0<\/i>to fight, instead of having Ricochet say \u201csure, I\u2019ll have a match against Gargano, because why not?\u201d And like most NXT rivalries before it, both of these matchups manifested in specific, carefully selected moments which played to those\u00a0characters\u2019\u00a0narratives and made the matches great. From little moments like Velveteen Dream\u00a0styling on Ricochet by\u00a0whipping off his hat\u00a0while escaping a hold, to big moments like Adam Cole\u2019s upside down superkick\u00a0counter. There are many such moments that\u00a0could\u00a0<\/i>have been part of the Gargano vs. Ricochet match,\u00a0to show the personalities of\u00a0two very interesting characters. Instead, we were simply given a moves-fest.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And it was a moves-fest with little story, as well.\u00a0When #DIY stole the Shatter Machine, it was a culmination of a reversal of fortune after the cocky heels tried to steal the Meeting in the Middle. This paid off the story of #DIY growing to know both each other and their opponents while giving The Revival their comeuppance. But when Ricochet stole the Gargano Escape, it showed us nothing about either character, and it didn\u2019t go with anything in the match – it was just a \u201cwouldn\u2019t that be a cool thing to happen?\u201d moment.\u00a0The one\u00a0moment\u00a0that\u00a0did\u00a0<\/i>go towards advancing their characters was the finishing sequence, and… well… it\u2019s probably the worst part of the match.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That night, Gargano was wearing ring gear inspired by Dark Phoenix, a comic book character who goes from being a big hero to an absolutely devastating supervillain. Seeing this, one would expect that Gargano would have to truly embrace his dark side in order to win the match. Not just because of the ring gear, but because of the narrative preceding this match where Johnny spent weeks refusing to accept that he was truly a bad guy even though he jumped\u00a0Aleister\u00a0Black. Also, because Ricochet \u2013 already a strong opponent \u2013 was putting on the performance of his life. And\u00a0so\u00a0when Johnny snapped and tore up the mat to set Ricochet up for a DDT onto concrete, it made perfect narrative sense that\u00a0this\u00a0<\/i>would be the moment he really embraced the darkness. But instead of going through with the move, Gargano backs out, then wrestles some more, and then\u00a0does\u00a0a\u00a0suplex<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>onto the concrete instead…. before finishing the match with his trademark slingshot DDT in the ring. In other words, the story set us up to see Dark Johnny, and then decided to withhold the payoff and go Muted Gray Johnny instead.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The most troubling thing is: going only halfway dark still won Gargano the match. Where does this leave Ricochet?\u00a0Ricochet\u00a0did his best and still couldn\u2019t beat Gargano even before\u00a0Gargano hit\u00a0his final form, so there doesn\u2019t seem to be room for progress.\u00a0Is he going to have to\u00a0triple\u00a0<\/i>moonsault\u00a0in the next match to get his title back? Likewise, Ciampa won his match against\u00a0Aleister\u00a0Black that night, not by exhibiting the strengths of his character or being pushed in a new direction, but by, basically, just being a better wrestler than Black. Where does that leave Black? In a typical story, his narrative is over now. He had his run at the top, got screwed, got a chance at redemption, and still lost. In the NXT of a few months ago, one would think that this signals the time for a call-up and a big main roster debut. But strangely, when Black had a chance to have just that by participating in the Royal Rumble, he only got one elimination. Even more strangely, he was also part of the post-TakeOver\u00a0spat between the six biggest names on the show (Black, Cole, Dream, Ricochet, Gargano, Ciampa) who all started arguing over, seemingly, who deserved the next NXT title shots.<\/p>\n

This all suggests that NXT has taken a turn. Instead of writing towards each character\u2019s personalities and motivations, the show is now writing towards moments.\u00a0It\u2019s focusing on one idea: \u201cHeel #DIY champs would be an awesome story,\u201d and then forcing it to happen without setting it up well, paying it off, or dealing with the collateral damage.\u00a0And although this is \u2013 for now \u2013\u00a0mostly\u00a0contained to the Gargano vs. Ciampa storyline, that storyline threatens to suck in the entire roster.\u00a0To some people, this may not matter (especially since it only got bad recently), but well-constructed narratives are a large part of the appeal to others. And it is worth bringing up that it wasn\u2019t always like this. NXT was great at telling stories well all the way through in a manner that progressed naturally and benefited every wrestler. With a better commitment to characters and attention to detail, it can be great again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The saga of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa has been mostly excellent for over a year, which is a remarkable feat. The characters have been clear, their motivations easy to relate to and understand, and they haven\u2019t been the least bit boring. Even when dealing with unforeseen injuries, the twists and turns of the plot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2899,"featured_media":37668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,3],"tags":[433,216,4246,531,68,70,4245,243,2073],"class_list":["post-37642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-nxt","category-wwe-universe","tag-aleister-black","tag-andrade-cien-almas","tag-dash-wilder","tag-diy","tag-johnny-gargano","tag-ricochet","tag-scott-dawson","tag-the-revival","tag-tommaso-ciampa"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2899"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}