There Was A Nixed Johnny Gargano And Tommaso Ciampa Reunion On WWE TV In June 2023

There were plans for a DIY reunion this past summer, but they were nixed fairly late.

Fightful Select has learned that there were active plans this Summer to reunite Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa on WWE TV, as hinted at on episodes of WWE Raw. However, this was one of many stories that got nixed and effectively dropped.

The June 19 episode of WWE Raw saw many changes, including a planned World Heavyweight Championship Open Challenge match. We’d reported at the time that Tommaso Ciampa was scheduled to answer the open challenge, but there was much more to it than that.

When we’d reported that, many readers said that Ciampa’s return shouldn’t have resulted in an immediate loss. However, that was far from the end of the story. Ciampa was to answer the open challenge, and the match would be ruined fairly quickly by Judgment Day. A returning Johnny Gargano – who was backstage in his hometown of Cleveland – would then make the save, reuniting DIY.

Plans began to change heavily in the days prior, before being nixed altogether. Those that we spoke to said that several involved were frustrated by the change. For over three months after that, Gargano remained off television until returning on October 2.

Many thought that as a result of Johnny Gargano being off television that he was injured again, as there were incorrect rumors of him not being cleared. WWE sources confirmed to us repeatedly that he’s been cleared since late April, and simply wasn’t used. He returned at a WWE live event in Fort Myers in late July, wrestling Omos.

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