Gargano was the surprise final entrant in a gauntlet match on Tuesday’s NXT after his wife Candice LeRae introduced him. However, he spent most of the match in the depressed state he has been seen in on SmackDown in recent weeks. Eventually it boiled down to Shiloh Hill and Gargano. However Birthright chose into interfere, dragging Hill out of the ring and throwing him against the staris before rolling him back into the ring. Unsure of what to do, Gargano was eventually pushed by LeRae and he fell on top of Hill, pining him to earn the title match.
As a result of the win, Gargano will now face Myles Borne for the NXT North American title at Stand & Deliver. The two had a staredown after the match.
Gargano has a storied history with NXT, previously winning the NXT Tag Team and NXT Championship. On the main roster, he mostly teamed with Tommaso Ciampa until he left WWE earlier this year. In the time since, Gargano has been shown depressed over the current state of his career.
WWE NXT Stand & Deliver (April 4)
Sol Ruca vs. Zaria
NXT Championship: Joe Hendry defends against Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, and Tony D’Angelo
NXT North American title: Myles Borne vs. Johnny Gargano
NXT Women’s title: Jacy Jayne defends against either Kendal Grey or Lola Vice
NXT Tag Team titles: Vanity Project defend against either Los Americanos or Birthright
In a social media post, Ethan Page was bragging about his win over TNA star Trey Miguel at Friday’s house show in Detroit when he came across Johnny Gargano, who responded with an insult. The two then got into a brawl that had to be separated by the rest of the roster. Gargano then declared he’d be going after Page’s North American title at NXT Cleveland on Saturday night at the Agora Theatre.
Top results from Friday include Ricky Saints & The Motor City Machine Guns defeating Lexis King, Josh Briggs, and Trick Williams, Sol Ruca defending the Speed title against Kendal Grey, which went to a time limit draw, then defeated Grey in a second match, and Oba Femi defeating Je’Von Evans. Femi was confronted by Omos after the match, who had appeared at a NXT house show the day prior.
A decorated tag team made a surprise return to NXT on Tuesday’s episode.
DIY’s Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa appeared on Tuesday’s show to confront TNA Champion Trick Williams in a segment where Williams declared himself the greatest NXT star of all time. The segment concluded with Gargano and Ciampa laying Williams out with their tag team finisher.
DIY took exception to that claim and have the accolades to back it up, with both Gargano and Ciampa holding the NXT Championship, plus the NXT Tag Team Championship in their time on the brand. Gargano also held the North American title in NXT, plus the duo has gone on to claim the WWE Tag Team titles on the main roster on two occasions.
The appearance sets up a tag team bout for next week where Williams and a partner will take on DIY. Although not yet officially announced, Williams hinted at the bout for next week in a segment also uploaded to WWE’s digital media channels:
Following Adam Cole’s announcement at AEW All In on Saturday, numerous people from around the wrestling world have posted tributes online.
Tony Khan revealed shortly before the show began that Cole was not cleared to perform and that the TNT Championship was vacated, though he didn’t specify what was preventing Cole from being cleared. Cole then came out before the TNT title match and told the fans he would be “gone for a while.” He also said he wasn’t in the right head space to think about retirement, leading to speculation that his in-ring career could be over.
After Cole’s announcement, Britt Baker, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, and several others reacted online:
“I’ve known @adamcolepro for over 15 years at this point. We were already good friends from our time on the indies, but even more so during our time in NXT. You’d be hard pressed to find someone I spent more time with on a daily basis. We’d go to the Performance Center, sit and watch wrestling with Shawn, eat lunch, then work out with @fla_hayes, and drive to the local Florida coconut shows together on the weekends. We’d always talk about getting a chance to work together on a big stage on those drives. We got that chance when we main evented TakeOver: New York. To my knowledge.. one of the highest grossing NXT events of all time. That night was already incredibly special for me but the fact I got to share it with one of my best friends made that moment mean even more. Nothing but love and well wishes to not just one of my favorite opponents but favorite human beings.”
Christopher Daniels wrote, “ADAM COLE I can’t express how much I love and respect this man. I hope he recovers and returns to continue fulfilling his dream here at AEW.”
“Adam Cole is an incredible Professional wrestler and an inspiration to all Independent wrestlers everywhere. In 2021 AEW had a bus ride going from Kansas City to St. Louis and he talked to me for 2 hours straight. Giving me advice, and chatting with me about the business. I genuinely hope to see him in a wrestling ring again some day,” wrote Alan Angels.
“One of the highlights of my time at WWE was getting to work with Adam Cole on a weekly basis. For 3+ years, I got to see him flourish and excel in every facet of the pro wrestling game. And what a magnificent human being,” wrote Dewey Foley.
Britt Baker, Cole’s former longterm partner, posted an image of a broken heart.
The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles will be on the line on WWE SmackDown tonight, taped last week in Hartford, Connecticut.
With Jade Cargill out due to an injury, Bianca Belair will now team with Naomi to defend the titles against reigning WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. Naomi filling in for Cargill was approved last week by general manager Nick Aldis.
Johnny Gargano, one half of WWE Tag Team Champions #DIY, will go one-on-one with Alex Shelley, part of former champs the Motor City Machine Guns. It will be their first singles match since 2016.
The show is expected to feature the fallout from last weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event when undisputed WWE World Champion Cody Rhodes defeated Kevin Owens and then was taken out with a package piledriver after the broadcast ended.
The new Bloodline are also expected to make their presence felt tonight in addition to a surprise rematch from a recent SmackDown bout.
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– A video recap of Saturday Night’s Main Event opened the show.
– Bianca Belair and Naomi were shown walking backstage. Ditto for Nia Jax, Candice LeRae, Motor City Machine Guns and #DIY. Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline then made their entrance.
The Bloodline segment
I really like the Drew McIntyre wrinkle here. Between him and Kevin Owens, the modern day Paul Levesque heel is one that actually appears to be smarter than everyone around them and is simply sick and tired of being sick and tired. Who can’t relate to that? As such, it’s hard not to at least empathize with people like McIntyre and Owens, which isn’t historically what a heel should be … but hell: Welcome to the Triple H Era. Anyway, a strong verbal exchange to open the show. Sikoa has improved so much on the mic between when he started leading his version of the Bloodline and the current day.
Sikoa stood in the ring and told SmackDown to acknowledge him. Everyone booed and chanted “OTC!” Sikoa said Roman Reigns sat on his boat and challenged Sikoa to a Tribal Combat match and the crowd gave Sikoa the “What?” treatment. Sikoa stopped and said instead of saying “What?” they need to acknowledge him. The crowd went back to booing and chanting “OTC!” Sikoa proceeded to accept Reigns’s challenge for the Jan. 6 Raw on Netflix. Sikoa said he will walk out as the Tribal Chief and the Head Of The Table. Sikoa looked into the camera and told Reigns that after Jan. 6, Roman could hop back on his boat and head back to the island of irrelevancy.
Drew McIntyre’s music hit and McIntyre slowly walked out of the entranceway. McIntyre took his time getting into the ring. McIntyre grabbed a microphone and stared at Sikoa. Sikoa said he was really happy when McIntyre kicked Jimmy in the face last week. Sikoa then said Drew better have a damn good reason for why he’s interrupting him. McIntyre said he wanted to beat Sikoa within an inch of his life. McIntyre wondered if Sikoa ever wondered when Drew would come for him. McIntyre noted how Sikoa cost McIntyre the world title at Clash At The Castle and caused his family pain and misery.
However, McIntyre said that Sikoa was the only one in his family who had the balls to stand up to Roman Reigns. McIntyre wondered what he should do. McIntyre told Sikoa needs to take Roman Reigns out for good. After Sikoa does that, McIntyre said he and Sikoa could finish their business. Jimmy Uso appeared with a crutch and attacked McIntyre out of nowhere. Those two fought into the crowd and LA Knight’s music hit. Apollo Crews, Andrade and Knight ran to the ring and attacked Sikoa, Fatu and Tonga. The show then went to a commercial break.
The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga & Jacob Fatu) defeated LA Knight, Andrade & Apollo Crews [16:39 of TV time]
Goodness, gracious. A SNME video package and all Bloodline business took up the first 35 minutes of the episode. And I don’t even think we saw the full match as there was some questionable editing that popped up here. I wonder how this played with the (presumably) tired live crowd last week. Now for the real question: Is it time to wonder who LA Knight pissed off yet? The guy somehow gets over, stays over for at least a couple years, finally gets a title run, loses that title a few months later, and is now … teaming with Andrade and Apollo Crews to lose to Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline? That a bit suspect. Anyway, the match here kind of dragged (even with the editing), but it got the job done in terms of getting Sikoa a win before heading into his showdown with Reigns in a couple weeks on Raw. Fatu felt less dominant here, which was a tiny bit disappointing. Maybe an off night? Maybe a conscious booking decision?Here’s hoping for a bounce back soon.
The match was joined in progress and Crews was working over Tonga, complete with a press slam. Knight tagged in and hit a swinging beck-breaker on Tonga. Andrade tagged in and chopped Tonga. Crews then tagged back in and the two hit back elbows on Tonga for a two-count. Andrade tagged back in and kicked Tonga, but Tonga fought back a little until Andrade took Tonga down and Fatu ended up on the outside with Tonga. Crews tagged in and the two landed dual splashes on Fatu and Tonga. Knight went to the top rope and taunted Sikoa, who stayed away from the scene.
Back inside the ring, Crews attempted to keep the upper hand, but Tonga tagged in Fatu and Tafu took Crews out with a leaping elbow. The show then went to a commercial break. The show returned and Sikoa had control over Crews. Fatu tagged in and bodyslammed Crews. Fatu went for a running splash, but Crews got his knees up and and tagged in Andrade, who came in and took out Fatu. Andrade hit a Meteora on Fatu for a two-count. Andrade went to the top and landed the miss-then-not-miss a moonsault spot for a two-count.
Sikoa tagged in and Fatu fired up, lifting Andrade for a scary-looking spot as Sikoa helped Andrade over the top rope. At some point, Fatu tagged back in, but the program showed a replay of the scary spot, so nobody saw it. In any case, Fatu hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Andrade inside the ring as the show went to another commercial break. The program returned and Fatu kept his dominance up over Andrade until Fatu went for a hip attack in a corner and Andrade moved. Ultimately, Andrade got the hot tag to Knight, who ran in and stomped on Tonga.
Knight clotheslined Fatu and hit a running knee on Tonga. Sikoa got involved, but Knight hit a neck-breaker on him. Crews tagged in and landed a splash from the top rope for a two-count on Tonga. Out of nowhere, Nakamura showed up and took Knight out while Crews worked a Crossface on Tonga. Sikoa broke that up and things broke down. Sikoa officially tagged in after dragging Tonga to their corner. Sikoa hit a hip attack, Spinning Solo and a Samoan Spike on Crews to get the win.
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– MCMG were interviewed backstage by Byron Saxton. Alex Shelley said he had one thought – payback. Chris Sabin chimed in and noted how Gargano showed them who he truly is. Shelley said he was going to make sure Gargano knows he made the biggest mistake of his life. Sabin looked like he was going to accompany Shelley to the ring, but Shelley told Sabin to hang back for the match.
– A video package chronicling Chelsea Green’s win on SNME aired. After that, Green was interviewed by Saxton after SNME on Saturday night. Green said she always knew she’d win and she’s worked her entire life to be an overnight success. Green said it was “red, white and green.” Saxton talked about the historical significance of the win. Green said she is in the history books, where she belongs. Green brought up being released be WWE and being passed up by WWE in the past. Green said she was going to go to Disney World to celebrate.
– Graves threw to a video package chronicling the Kevin Owens/Cody Rhodes developments from SNME.
– Owens was shown in a dark place somewhere in a building. He said what happened after SNME was not his fault. Owens said there were a lot of people to blame for it and he was screwed out of winning the championship. Owens said what happened to him was a tragedy and travesty. Owens said he should be standing there the Undisputed WWE Champion, but he’s not. Instead, he took Cody’s belt and he’s not going to give it back until he gets what he wants. Owens said he hasn’t snapped yet and it can all get a lot worse. Owens said nobody wants him to snap. Owens said what happens next is on WWE officials including Nick Aldis and Triple H.
– Gargano and Ciampa were talking backstage. Ciampa said it surprised him that Shelley is dumb because MCMG can’t win the tag titles back in a singles match. Gargano said Shelley wants his revenge and Ciampa needs to stay in the back for his match against Shelley. Ciampa told Gargano to “go get him” and said he wouldn’t move a muscle.
The Grayson Waller Effect with Braun Strowman
Close your eyes. Picture this segment. Whatever you see or whatever you think you’d see – that’s exactly what it was.
Waller welcomed everyone in and Theory made his presence known as well. Waller said his guest is the first transfer to Friday nights on SmackDown: Braun Strowman, who walked out dressed as Santa Claus. Stowman threw gifts into the crowd on his way to the ring. Once in the ring, Strowman faked going to give Waller a gift, but instead, he didn’t. Waller said Strowman helped “all the poor people in Hartford,” and Strowman responded in anger before sitting down.
Waller talked about how he invested a lot of money into his new talkshow set. Waller said he was surprised Strowman would come on the show, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense because he realized how much he’d want to be around A-Town Down Under. Strowman appeared agitated. Waller offered up the ultimate alliance – Strowman and A-Town Down. Strowman slammed his hand on the GWE desk and Carmelo Hayes’s music hit. Melo walked out with a microphone.
Melo said everyone knows his match against Strowman last week wasn’t fair. Melo said nobody can humble greatness and told Strowman he wanted to run it back “right here, right now.” Strowman said he’s show Melo what The Braun Effect is. Strowman threw some fake palm trees at Melo and a referee walked to the ring for a presumed match between Strowman and Melo – after a commercial break.
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Carmelo Hayes defeated Braun Strowman via count out [3:32]
Eh. I can’t say I’m a fan. Melo just can’t help but find himself in series of matches against people. At the very least, this will be a best of three with Strowman, but who knows – maybe they’ll get to best of seven and LA Knight will be the special guest referee for that seventh match. Back to this match. Strowman just came back. He was obviously protected here because a fluke count out loss is almost meaningless, but the whole thing just felt unnecessary and boring (in terms of booking, at least). Bah humbug.
Hayes started the match by kicking Strowman’s leg. Braun no-sold it. Hayes punched Strowman, but that just seemed to make Strowman angry. Hayes slid to the outside and Strowman chased Hayes around the ring. When the two got back into the ring, Melo cut Strowman off, but Strowman shoved Hayes off. Strowman threw Melo back into the ring, but Melo kicked Strowman’s leg again. Melo then jumped into an attempted chokeslam, but Melo countered by planting Strowman. Strowman got up and ran at Hayes, but Hayes pulled the top rope down and Strowman went to the outside.
Hayes ran around the ring, but Strowman took Melo down once Melo ran into Strowman. Melo leapt at Strowman, but Strowman caught Melo. Strowman threw Melo back into the ring, but nobody noticed the count was at nine. So, with Melo back in the ring, Strowman was on the outside as the referee counted to 10. So, Hayes got the win via count out. Hayes then ran through the crowd and Strowman chased Hayes.
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– Nia Jax and Candice LeRae were talking backstage and Tiffany Stratton walked into the frame. LeRae told Stratton to stay away from ringside during their tag match later. Stratton walked away looking dejected.
– Melo was shown walking backstage and ran into Legado Del Fantasma. Strowman showed up and asked Santos Escobar where Melo was. Angel pointed Strowman in a direction and Strowman ran into Pretty Deadly. Hayes then attacked Strowman with a chair and took Strowman out, but Strowman got up and kept walking with his mad face on.
Johnny Gargano defeated Alex Shelley [10:03 of TV time]
As I write this, we are about 20 minutes from this episode of SmackDown concluding and this has to be the most uninspired WWE television show of 2024, tape delay or not. My goodness. This match was weirdly uninteresting. Two very good wrestlers combining for a cold-as-ice bout that never clicked into any gear – not just the often-referenced “next gear,” but any gear at all. The whole thing was disappointing at best. The #DIY/MCMG thing just isn’t working and someone somewhere needs to figure out how to get both teams in a different direction.
Shelley backed Gargano into a corner and pounded on him until Gargano worked his way out and chopped Shelley. Gargano ran towards Shelley, but Shelley moved and gained control. It didn’t last for long because Gargano came right back and stomped on Shelley. The pace, early on at least, was slower than expected. With Gargano on the apron, Shelley hit a neck-breaker and then kicked Gargano in the head. Shelley followed that up with a running knee outside the ring. The show then went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Gargano had control back inside the ring. Gargano went for a slingshot spear, but Shelley got his leg up and kicked Gargano. The two then traded chops. Shelley went for an arm bar, but Gargano countered into a roll-up for a two-count. Shelley planted Gargano and went back to work on Gargano’s arm. Shelley then chopped Gargano repeatedly. Gargano came back and kicked Shelley twice before running Shelley’s head into the second turnbuckle for a two-count.
Gargano went for a Gargano Escape, but Shelley got to his feet and before long, planted Gargano face-first into the second turnbuckle. Shelley went to the top, but Ciampa showed up and distracted Shelley. Sabin walked out and chased Ciampa away. In the meantime, Shelley hit a cross-body from the top, but Gargano rolled through and held Shelley’s tights to get the win.
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– Saxton interviewed Belair and Naomi guerrilla position. Naomi said she has Belair’s back forever and she said she knows how important the tag belts are to Belair and Cargill and she’d do everything in her power to make sure they win. Naomi then made her entrance for the main event.
Naomi & Bianca Belair defeated Nia Jax & Candice LeRae to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [11:05]
I don’t know what was up with Jax appearing to be busted all types of open near the end of the match because right before the show ended, we saw Jax again and there was barely any blood to be found, but that looked nasty for a second. Either way, this was a pedestrian main event on a less-than-pedestrian SmackDown. I don’t mind taped shows, but this felt so much like everyone was mailing it in on the basis of the holidays that these two hours were a hard watch. I guess this means Naomi is officially a world tag team champion now, so it should be interesting to see what happens when Cargill rejoins the conversation. For now, this was a completely missable episode of SmackDown. Driving around to look at Christmas lights never felt more appealing.
Belair and LeRae began the match and Belair threw LeRae across the ring. Belair then lifted LeRae, but LeRae got out of it and tagged in Jax. Belair worked a headlock and then kicked Jax. Naomi tagged in and Naomi landed the split splash on Jax while Belair hit her moonsault on Jax. That was good enough for a two-count. Jax almost instantly got up and took Naomi out. From there, the show went to a commercial break.
The show returned and Belair had control until Jax tagged in and hit a Samoan Drop on Belair for a two-count. Jax went to work on Belair’s back. Belair ran at Jax, but Jax moved and Belair hit the ring post. Jax worked on Belair’s neck, but Belair fought out of it, but Jax kept Belair cut off from Naomi. LeRae tagged in and hit a missile dropkick on Belair before following that up with a Senton off Jax’s back. All of that earned LeRae a two-count.
Jax tagged back in and grabbed Belair’s braid. Belair somehow wiggled away from Jax and LeRae after there was some miscommunication amongst the heels and Naomi received the hot tag. Naomi hit an X-Factor on Jax for a two-count. Jax ran at Naomi, but Naomi moved and Jax hit the ring post. Naomi tried a split-legged moonsault, but Jax moved and set up for her finisher, but Naomi got up and hit a powerbomb on Jax, whose head was super busted open. Belair landed a 360 splash on Jax, but only got a two-count.
Stratton appeared and walked down to ringside. LeRae hit a Tornado DDT on Belair, but Naomi saved a pin attempt. Jax jawed at the referee, so the ref didn’t see the tag between Naomi and Belair. Jax grabbed the MITB briefcase from Stratton, but the ref stopped Jax from using it. Back in the ring, Naomi hit the split-legged moonsault on LeRae to get the win. After the match, Belair officially handed Naomi her tag title and the babyfaces posed in the middle of the ring. They then posed on the second rope with their belts as the show went off the air.
Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano won the titles on Friday, defeating Motor City Machine Guns. The finish had Gargano & Ciampa, who had been arguing in recent weeks, have another blow-up. As Ciampa exited the ring, Gargano suddenly low blowed Chris Sabin. Alex Shelley entered the ring to argue with Gargano only to be met with a superkick. Revealing their spat to be a ruse, DIY then hit their finish on Sabin for the win, earning their second WWE Tag Team title win.
Recent weeks had seen Ciampa becoming completely obsessed with the Motor City Machine Guns and the WWE Tag Team titles, creating a source of tension between him and Gargano, who has a history with the Motor City Machine Guns and remained on friendly terms with them.
Sabin & Shelly were originally set to face The Street Profits on Friday. During SmackDown, however, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins were seen laid out backstage. As MCMG talked to SmackDown GM Nick Aldis about the situation, Gargano proposed DIY take the Street Profits’ spot in the title match, which MCMG agreed.
Johnny Gargano opened up about the WWE release of Indi Hartwell in a new interview.
Hartwell and Gargano were both members of The Way in NXT from 2020 to 2021, along with Austin Theory and Gargano’s spouse, Candice LeRae. Hartwell and LeRae also frequently worked as a team after being called up to the main roster.
Gargano recently told Metro that Hartwell has untapped potential.
“Obviously everybody knows what Indi means to me and Candice, we absolutely love and we absolutely believe in her,” he said.
“We still do believe that she’s so incredibly young, I think she’s got a lot to offer the wrestling world, and I am very excited to see what she shows the wrestling world,” Gargano added.
“I think she’s got untapped personality, untapped potential. I think when she’s able to finally show that to the world, people are gonna latch on.”
Gargano noted that both he and LeRae took time away from the company after the birth of their first child before eventually returning. He hopes that Hartwell could end up back in WWE someday as well.
“It worked out for me and Candice,” Gargano said. ‘Hopefully, she ends up back here, but you never know!”
Hartwell and Tegan Nox were released from WWE last Friday. Baron Corbin was also informed that his contract will not be renewed on the same date. Hartwell had been with the company since 2019. Her final match was at the October 25 SmackDown taping when she lost a tag match along with LeRae to Bayley and Naomi.
Gargano was trained and made his debut on the Ohio independent scene, including wrestling once for AIW in his debut year in 2005. He would continue to appear for AIW every year until 2016, when he joined WWE as part of the NXT brand.
DIY are set to defend their WWE Tag Team Championship against The Bloodline’s Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga on this Friday’s SmackDown in Cleveland. Cleveland will also host Saturday’s SummerSlam event. The Bloodline won a number one contenders gauntlet match on last Friday’s SmackDown to earn the title shot.
Gargano is an Ohio native, growing up in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood.
Johnny Gargano and his family were dealt a tough blow over the weekend when their Cleveland restaurant was destroyed in a fire.
Gargano’s Restaurant & Catering — owned and operated by Gargano’s father Frank for decades — was badly damaged in a fire on Sunday night. Thankfully, Gargano’s father was not at the restaurant when the fire broke out. There were no serious injuries reported, but one responding firefighter did suffer a minor back injury.
UPDATE on W.25th: water main break forced companies to relay water from distant hydrants. Fire resumed, the roof collapsed, parapets fell. Companies were able to protect exposures, including a gas station, but the fire building was lost. One firefighter suffered minor injury. pic.twitter.com/mWkpgIjJSG
Cleveland Fire Department was initially able to get the blaze under control, but a water main break complicated the response and led to the fire resuming. The roof of Gargano’s Restaurant & Catering collapsed and the building was lost.
Johnny Gargano shared a statement on social media calling the situation “extremely heartbreaking,” but he’s grateful that his father is doing okay.
“I figured I should touch on this because people are finding out, and I know a lot of wrestling fans were looking forward to going to my Dad’s restaurant when they were in Cleveland for Summerslam. Last night, there was a fire, and my Dad’s restaurant was badly damaged,” Gargano wrote. “I’m grateful that my Dad was not there and is okay. He is 82 years old, this is his life’s work. He has worked in that building every day for almost 50 years. I basically grew up there.. and now it’s just gone. It is extremely heartbreaking for my family.”
The restaurant was featured on NXT television in 2019 during Gargano’s feud with Adam Cole.
SummerSlam is being held at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Saturday, August 3, Gargano — who currently holds the WWE Tag Team titles with Tommaso Ciampa — has said that competing at the show would be a dream come true.
Either Ricochet, JD McDonagh, Bronson Reed, or Johnny Gargano will be the inaugural WWE Speed Champion.
The first round of the title tournament wrapped up with Gargano defeating Angel Garza on WWE Speed this week. Gargano got the victory with 53 seconds left on the clock after hitting One Final Beat.
Ricochet vs. McDonagh and Reed vs. Gargano are the semifinal matches for the tournament. The round begins with Ricochet vs. McDonagh airing on next Wednesday’s WWE Speed episode.
“Speed? I am Speed. You put me in any environment, Johnny Wrestling’s gonna thrive,” Gargano said in a promo after defeating Angel. “I’m coming for the Speed Championship. It doesn’t matter who I’m going up against. Bronson Reed, you may be big, but you ain’t Johnny Wrestling.”
Airing exclusively on X, matches on WWE Speed have a three-minute time limit. WWE and X’s partnership for the show is a two-year deal with new episodes premiering every week on Wednesdays.
DIY (Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) are the current number one contenders to the World Tag Team titles. They’re challenging The Miz & R-Truth for the belts on Raw next Monday.
Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Candice LeRae, and Indi Hartwell were able to compete on Monday night’s Raw after navigating significant travel issues.
The group dealt with delays and multiple flight cancelations until finally opting to make the five-hour drive from Dallas, Texas to North Little Rock, Arkansas. They arrived late Monday afternoon in time for the episode.
Gargano & Ciampa and LeRae & Hartwell won tag matches on Raw. Gargano & Ciampa defeated Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh, while LeRae & Hartwell defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven.
The travel issues were caused by winter weather and extreme cold. In a post on social media, Gargano detailed the experience:
9:30pm – Supposed to take off to Little Rock, ARK but de-icing terminal is frozen.
10:30pm – Deplane because all flights might be canceled.
11:00pm – Get back on the plane because we’re going to take off!
11:45pm – The crew timed out so now our flight is canceled.
Monday
12:00am – Wait in a line to get our plane ticket re-issued while calling various hotels because it’s after midnight and you can’t book them online anymore.
1:15am – Got our tickets for an 8:19am flight Monday morning.
1:45am – Arrive at our Dallas hotel.
6:45am – Wake up and find out our flight is delayed until 10am.
7:45am – Get a 30 minute workout in.
9:00am – Go back to Dallas Airport.
10:00am – New flight is now canceled.
10:30am – Drive 5 hours to Little Rock, ARK.
4:15pm – Get to Little Rock, ARK (Simmons Bank Arena)
7:15pm – #DIY gets the win against Dom and JD followed by Candice and Indi getting the win against Piper and Chelsea.
Gargano & Ciampa and LeRae & Hartwell are both being set up as potential Tag Team title challengers. The Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles are held by Damian Priest & Finn Balor. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance are the current Women’s Tag Team Champions.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California before Monday’s episode of Raw.
The first Main Event for 2024 kicked off the year with a show debut for Johnny Gargano. It was quite a boon for this show’s limited audience as he put in a strong showing.
This was fine, but was essentially a squash with Tozawa getting in more than most would in this kind of bout.
Reed slowed things down early on, locking in a nerve hold, but Tozawa was keen to pump up the energy so he worked his way out quickly.
He used a headscissors to faceplant Reed into the turnbuckle and then planted him into the mat with a DDT.
Reed kicked out at two and so Tozawa stood tall and tore his shirt a la Hulk Hogan. The crowd dug it and he went up top.
Reed caught him and hoisted him onto his shoulders and threw him off with his death drop driver before coming off the top rope with his Tsunami for the win.
Johnny Gargano w/ Tommaso Ciampa defeated Ivar w/ Valhalla (7:10)
This was a well-paced match until they ended it with a roll-up, but it was fun to see someone as talented as Gargano on this show for once.
I had to look back, but this match marked Johnny Gargano’s Main Event debut. Ciampa has worked the show quite a few times under different monikers, but Gargano has, probably quite rightly, never appeared here before.
They went to an early break after about a minute or so of work in which Gargano had hit a suicide dive onto Ivar, only to get greedy and hit it again and get smashed into the apron.
After the ads, Gargano played cheerleader on the outside as Ivar took to the top rope and missed a moonsault which, frankly, looked like it sucked.
Gargano tried to capitalize and, after a kick to the head, got a two-count near fall. Ivar fought back and used a fallaway slam for a near fall of his own.
Ivar then used a leg lariat and a spine buster but Gargano showed grit to kick out and then caught him with a super kick.
With neither getting it done and the near falls totting up, the crowd was into it and the histrionics from Ciampa on the outside helped to build up the tension.
Unfortunately, it all just ended with a missed charge from Ivar and Gargano stole a cheap one with a quick roll-up.
Three former North American Champions return to NXT tonight for a fatal four-way bout.
To earn a North American title match against Dominik Mysterio, Wes Lee has to defeat Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, and Cameron Grimes tonight. Dominik refused to grant Lee a title shot and said the only way he could earn the opportunity is by defeating Gargano, Reed, and Grimes.
The NXT Tag Team titles will be on the line as Tony D’Angelo & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo defend against Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo. Garza & Carrillo ambushed D’Angelo & Stacks last week after a D’Angelo Family dinner.
Two more wrestlers will earn their spots in the Iron Survivor Challenge matches at NXT Deadline. Tonight’s qualifying matches are Bron Breakker vs. Eddy Thorpe and Kelani Jordan vs. Kiana James. This week’s participants were chosen by Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Dijak, Trick Williams, and Josh Briggs have already qualified for the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend, and Blair Davenport are the first three names to be confirmed for the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
The show opened with the Tag Team title match competitors brawling on their way to the ring as Vic Joseph & Booker T welcomed us to NXT.
NXT Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo & Stacks Lorenzo defeated Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo to retain the titles
Tony D & Stacks retained in a solid outing. Both have improved greatly in the last year-plus, and Garza & Carrillo have been fantastic for years.
Tony D & Stacks dominated the early part of the bout. They teased the Pwer & Glory/FTR superplex splash spot, but Garza & Carrillo cut them off and took over. Garza & Carrillo worked Stacks over through a picture-in-picture ad break.
Tony D got a hot tag after the break. Stacks tagged back in and got cut off again. Garza hit a nice missile dropkick off the top as Carrillo held Stacks for a near fall.
Garza hit a low blow and covered Stacks for a two count. Stacks hit a low blow to Garza in kicking out.
Tony D & Stacks hit the Bada Bing Bada Boom. Tony D launched Stacks out of the ring onto Carrillo on the floor, then covered Garza for the pin to retain the titles.
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A backstage confrontation between NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov & Nathan Frazer from earlier in the day aired setting up a match between the two. This video also aired on WWE’s social media channels earlier in the day.
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A Johnny Gargano hype video aired highlighting his NXT career.
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They aired Jerry Lawler announcing the Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches for the night in a video from his home that dropped Monday on WWE’s YouTube channel.
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Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs, and Brooks Jensen were celebrating Briggs qualifying for the Iron Survivor Challenge backstage. Briggs did some heel turn foreshadowing here.
Lexis King entered and congratulated Briggs on advancing thanks to his help, then hit on Henley and mocked Jensen for not being chosen for a qualifying match. Jensen made a crack about King’s beard.
Briggs continued his slow burn heel turn by volunteering Jensen for a match against King later tonight.
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Videos of Nikkita Lyons kicking, stretching, and kicking on her social media channels aired. Lyons was then shown in the crowd and it was announced that she will return soon from injury.
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A Cameron Grimes hype video played.
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Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match: Kelani Jordan defeated Kiana James
They kept this simple until it was time for Jordan’s comeback when she started to incorporate more of her athleticism. A fine match with a terrible finish.
Jordan used headlocks and basic offense to control the first part of the contest. James sent Jordan into the announce table to take control prior to an ad break.
Jordan’s comeback began during a picture-in-picture commercial break. Jordan hit an axe kick and a rocker dropper for near falls.
James blocked a superplex and hit a 401K for a near fall.
For the finish, Roxanne Perez rang the ring bell. This distracted James and allowed Jordan to hit a kick and split-legged moonsault for the pin.
This gave Jordan a nice win and furthered the Perez-James issue, but Perez is booked like an obnoxious jerk and not the old school babyface that she was born to play. It’s fascinating.
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Alpha Academy challenged Meta-Four to a six-person mixed tag team match for next week’s episode and said they wanted an answer by the end of the night.
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Video aired from the NXT Anonymous social media account showing Lexis King following Trick Williams prior to Trick being attacked last month. The prime suspects as to who attacked Trick still appear to be King & Carmelo Hayes.
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Andre Chase breaks his silence —
Chase stepped to a podium with Thea Hail, Jacy Jayne, and Duke Hudson beside him. He thanked the investigators for their communication as they investigated Chase U.
Chase said that Chase U was being accused of misappropriating funds to pay gambling debts. Chase said this was true, and he’s taking full responsibility. He said that the scandal is endangering the future of Chase U, but that he is working hard to pay back the debt.
Chase refused to say how much money he owed, but that it was “significant.” He also declined to say who he was in debt to.
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Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match: Bron Breakker defeated Eddy Thorpe
This was at a different level than everything else on the show to this point. Just the crispness and confidence with which these guys run the ropes, their polish, their movement and positioning, everything.
This wasn’t quite a squash as Breakker gave Thorpe a little bit of offense, but it was a showcase for Breakker.
Breakker dominated with his throws, shoulder tackles, and suplexes. Thorpe hit a series of suplexes as he made his comeback, but sold his taped-up ribs in landing each one.
Breakker cut him off with a spear for the pinfall.
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A brawl broke out in the women’s locker room as Roxanne Perez learned that there will be a last chance women’s Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match on next week’s episode. Ava (Simone Johnson) delivered the news to Perez. RIP to The Schism.
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A hype video for Bronson Reed played.
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Trick Williams & Carmelo Hayes discussed the Lexis King video from NXT Anonymous and agreed that King is their next collective target.
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NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov defeated Nathan Frazer in a non-title match
This was practically a squash. Dragunov won after hitting three H-Bombs.
Baron Corbin appeared on the video wall after the bout and said that he and Dragunov will go face-to-face next week.
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Hall of Famer McKenzie Mitchell interviewed NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria about her next potential challenger in the winner of the Iron Survivor Challenge.
Fallon Henley interrupted and said she intends to win the Last Chance qualifying match next week.
Tatum Paxley peeked around the corner during Valkyria’s interview and insinuated that she was going to challenge Valkyria.
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A Karmen Petrovic hype video aired. She promised to defeat Arianna Grace. Their match is next.
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Meta-Four accepted Alpha Academy’s mixed tag challenge for next week’s episode in a pre-taped promo.
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Joe Gacy cut a promo from under the ring and said he is ready to unleash on his next enemy, though he may or may not know who that is. This was odd.
Booker and Vic discussed which of them should go under the ring to see if Gacy was still under the ring. I think they should both go under the ring and stay there. Don’t take the mics with you. Just go.
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Arianna Grace defeated Karmen Petrovic
This was a wrestling school match that served more as a backdrop for the Gacy angle.
Gacy climbed out from under the ring and stole the bell prior to an ad break.
Grace and Petrovic continued to set the women’s evolution back decades after the commercial. They pulled each other’s hair, then Grace used an eye rake that the referee missed and a fireman’s carry slam for the pin.
There was no bell.
Gacy rang the bell like a maniac from the audience. The crowd loved this.
This Gacy character is no bueno. This show dove off a cliff after Dragunov’s match.
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Wes Lee cut a promo with McKenzie backstage & promised to become the new number one contender to the North American title tonight.
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Lexis King defeated Brooks Jensen
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams were shown watching this on a backstage monitor.
This was techinically fine. King cut Jensen off. Jensen made a Shawn Michaels comeback complete with an inverted atomic drop and sweet chin music.
Hayes ran in and distracted Jensen and the referee under the guise of trying to distract King, but this could be taken either as Hayes messed up, or Hayes and King are in cahoots.
King hit the Coronation on Jensen for the pin.
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A video package played explaining the Iron Survivor Challenge rules for Deadline, and detailed that there was one spot left in both the men’s and women’s matches. Those spots will be decided in Last Chance fatal four-ways next week.
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Dominik Mysterio joined the commentary desk prior to the number one contender’s match main event, which is up next.
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NXT North American Championship number one contender’s four-way: Wes Lee defeated Bronson Reed, Johnny Gargano & Cameron Grimes
A fun main event with a ton of action. This was well laid-out with spots designed for everyone to have their own showcase moments. Reed was arguably the star of the match even in defeat.
The match began and they immediately went to a picture-in-picture commercial break.
Reed dominated with a delayed vertical suplex, a uranage, and more power offense. The other three teamed up to send Reed outside. Grimes got sent outside and Gargano & Lee shook hands before squaring up.
Reed climbed back in and all three again teamed up. Gargano hit Reed with a low blow and Reed again rolled to the floor. Grimes hit a double tijeras on Gargano & Lee. Lee hit a dive. Grimes hit a dive. Gargano hit three dives on all three of the competitors as the crowd chanted for Johnny Wrestling.
Lee hit meteoras on Grimes and Gargano. Reed cut Lee off as he went for a meteora and hit a DVD for a near fall on Lee. Grimes came off the top with a crossbody on Reed for a near fall.
Gargano went for a satelite DDT on Reed, but Reed blocked. Reed held Gargano in a powerslam position, then Grimes climbed on his back in Samoan drop position, then Lee climbed on Grimes and Reed hit all three with a Samoan drop for a near fall. The crowd went nuts for the triple Samoan drop spot.
The other three teamed up to powerbomb Reed off the second rope out of the corner. Reed rolled outside again as the other three traded strikes in the center of the ring. Lee and Grimes had some miscommunication on a spot. They tred it again and hit it.
Gargano used a submission on Grimes, but Lee broke it up. Reed hit a buckle bomb on Lee and sentons on Gargano and Grimes.
Reed hit a pop-up slam on Lee, throwing him into Grimes and Gargano.
Reed went to the top for Tsunami, but Ivar of the Viking Raiders ran in and attacked Reed. Those two fought off to the back.
Lee hit a crucifix bomb on Grimes for two. Gargano hit a superkick. Grimes hit Cave-In for a near fall on Gargano, then Lee hit Grimes with the Kardiac Kick for the pin.
Lee and Mysterio has a stare-down.
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Roxanne Perez & Kiana James brawled in the parking lot as security tried to pull them apart as the show closed.
Next week —
Ilja Dragunov & Baron Corbin face-to-face ahead of their NXT Championship match at Deadline
Iron Survivor Challenge Last Chance qualifying match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey vs. Eddy Thorpe
Iron Survivor Challenge Last Chance qualifying match: Fallon Henley vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James vs. Thea Hail
Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis & Maxxine Dupri) vs. Meta-Four (Noam Dar, Oro Mensah & Lash Legend) in a mixed tag match
The new Observer is out right now. Among the key stuff covered:
Match of the week and performer of the week
The plight of the recently fired WWE wrestlers and where many can or will wind up
What is a key point about wrestlers who come from WWE and their ability to adapt to other companies and what things need to be considered
XFL/USFL merger talks and why
More on Terry Funk including his career title history and biggest awards, some of the biggest and most notable title change matches of his career, the only HBO wrestling special and the only time Vince McMahon did a broadcast announcing with Gordon Solie, why Funk’s proposed lengthy reign with the biggest regional title in the countr6 ended in a few weeks, the amazing Funk Brothers legacy in Japan, Funk’s NWA title reign and booking behind his biggest matches
Preview of the NXT & AEW shows, lots of talk by Bryan Danielson about Zack Sabre and his retirement, strange things about the show, AEW PPV airing on free TV in the U.K., and early notes on WWE Fastlane
Destruction in Kobe and the next few NJPW shows
More on the All In attendance mark
The dismissal of the landmark Mark Hunt suit against Dana White, UFC and Brock Lesnar and the judges ruling
Full UFC weekend coverage
The most detailed look at the ratings for the past week, the segments, the competition and where audiences were up and down
The KeMonito story in Mexico that is mainstream news there regarding his retirement
Lots of injury updates
Stardom Grand Prix updates
Junior Battle of Glory
Katsuhiko Nakajima update
How Jericho vs Takeshtia was put together
Two former WWE stars talk their steroid use
wXw major tag team tournament weekend
FantasticaMania notes
More on MLW and its relationship with CMLL and NJPW
GCW continues to tour overseas
Imapct Bound for Glory notes
PCO talks his departure from Impact and who Impact is looking to sign
Lots of thoughts on Tony Khan’s recent press conference
FOX and AEW comments, streaming comments, more PPV, ownership talk
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Tuesday Update
WWE
Johnny Gargano talked about the reunion of DIY on X: “Real talk. I saw ALL your theories and hopes for #DIY these past 6 months. From dream matches to just genuinely wanting us back.. I know how excited y’all are. We are, too. Thanks for believing and holding out hope for us, and now that it’s finally time.. let’s freaking kill it!”
Gunther vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the Intercontinental title from Monday’s Raw has been uploaded in full on YouTube.
David Bixenspan has an article detailing a sexual misconduct incident that took place in independent promotion PWX prior to Riddle signing with WWE, where he allegedly changed clothes in the women’s locker room in front of other women at a independent show, with Malia Hosaka confirming the incident.
“We were all in there, our show was going on,” Hosaka told Bixenspan. “I didn’t know who he was, but I was sitting with my feet propped up and eyes closed. When I opened them[,] he was on my right stripped down to his underwear and I got mad at the lack of respect from today’s generation. For him to come into the locker room to change while the women had the room[,] and to strip down and change was disrespectful. There was a bathroom down the hall that fans couldn’t get to that he could have used. [In m]y generation[,] the men and women respected each other enough to at least ask if it was ok or to ask for privacy. It pissed me off[,] and then his attitude that he had underwear on and that it wasn’t a big deal pissed me off more[,] so I told him how I felt about the lack of respect.”
Riddle responded to the allegations in the article. “The PWX thing wasn’t even an incident[.] [T]here was only one locker room (which isn’t uncommon on the indies unfortunately) [and] the promoter told me to change in there[,] so I did. Malia confronted me on my way out, I explained that the promoter told me to go change in there and she talked to the promoter and that was the end of it.”
AEW has uploaded footage showing Adam Copleland celebrating following his debut at WrestleDream.
After nearly five months away, Johnny Gargano was back on WWE television last night.
Gargano reunited with his DIY tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa on last night’s Raw. Following the main event of the episode, Gargano saved Ciampa from an Imperium beatdown. Gargano took out Ludwig Kaiser and then joined together with Ciampa to give Giovanni Vinci their Meeting in the Middle finisher. Gargano and Ciampa hugged after Raw went off the air.
Last night’s Raw was originally only scheduled to feature a contract signing for an upcoming Intercontinental title match between Gunther and Ciampa. But Ciampa didn’t want to wait to get his title shot. He challenged Gunther to have their match last night, and Gunther accepted.
Ciampa put in a great effort but ultimately lost to Gunther. Ciampa passed out in a sleeper after being given two powerbombs.
Kaiser and Vinci attacked Ciampa once the match ended. Gunther headed backstage as Kaiser and Vinci delivered the beatdown. But Gargano’s music hit and he ran down to help Ciampa fight off Imperium.
