NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain def. #DIY in a Ladder Match
The incredible success story of #DIY came to an ugly end at WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago.
Not only did Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa lose their NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match to the unbeaten Authors of Pain, but Ciampa attacked Gargano after the bell in an assault that was hard to watch.
It was a painful ending for a duo that had achieved so much through their heart and loyalty. Hardly 10 minutes before he was smashed through the stage by a man who he thought was his best friend, Gargano had pushed Ciampa out of the way of an incoming ladder and took the full brunt of the impact himself. That was the type of sacrifice that defined #DIY as a team.
It should’ve been another great night for Gargano and Ciampa. Although they were overpowered and oversized by their opponents, #DIY brought the fight to the titleholders with high-risk dives and well-oiled tag team offense. When they had to fight dirty, they did that too, brutalizing Akam and Rezar with steel ladders to keep them down.
When The Authors of Pain finally began to impose their will on #DIY, the Chicago faithful fell eerily quiet with concern for the tag team favorites, but Gargano and Ciampa somehow willed themselves back into the fight. At one point, they smashed Akam and Rezar through ladders that had been propped between the ring apron and the ringside barricade. Later, in a moment that will unfortunately be overshadowed by Tommaso’s ugly betrayal, Ciampa stopped Rezar from grabbing the titles by climbing up behind him and German suplexing him through a ladder that had been propped up in the corner.
#DIY fought so hard that at one point they were literally gripping the titles, only for The Authors of Pain to kick the ladder out from under them. With Gargano and Ciampa dangling over the ring, Akam and Rezar snatched them up and laid them out with their devastating Super Collider.
Seconds later, The Authors grabbed their titles and exited, but Gargano and Ciampa hardly looked defeated as they embraced in the ring with the capacity crowd awarding them a standing ovation. They made it all the way to the top of the entrance ramp before Ciampa grabbed his friend by the back of the neck and drove him headfirst into the TakeOver set.
The beating went on for what seemed like forever as some fans booed Ciampa while others turned away in disgust. The dream of #DIY ended right there in Chicago. The nightmare has just begun.
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