Team #DIY Had A Much Different Original Idea For Their Team Name

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa’s breakout performances during the Cruiserweight Classic got them an opportunity with WWE that they did not pass up. They fought hard for those spots, and soon earned full-time deals. Everything paid off as we’ve witnessed many great moments for the two of them, but Team #DIY almost had a different name.

Sometimes WWE will bat around several ideas for a Superstar when they’re preparing them for a storyline. Team #DIY saw a massive boom in popularity in NXT before they were even signed to actual contracts.

While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Tommaso Ciampa went into how Team #DIY came to be. Everything worked out for the best, as things lined up. Ciampa also had a ton of dedication to go out of his way to make television tapings for NXT.

“We got lucky in so many ways once we got in the door. Regal got helped a lot too, because if you’ve seen the beginning of DIY, we’re tagging, we’re not, and then we finally have the shirt thing where we had that DIY thing and then into the Brooklyn TakeOver match with the Revival, and even before that we had a match against American Alpha.”

Advertising

Advertising

“I remember before that Alpha match, see, what would happen with us is we’d get a text from one of the writers of like ‘you’re needed for this taping in a couple days in Full Sail,’ but it would be pretty last minute. I had this UK taping, and I contacted the writer and said that I had this UK tour and I asked if I’d be needed.”

“He said, ‘man I don’t know, I wish I knew, but I don’t know.’ So, I said, listen, I’m just gonna buy my flight back and hope I can get it refunded if they use us, so I’m doing all this stuff in Progress, Scotland, and the UK. I get this text the day before and they’re like, ‘yeah, we need you,’ and I’m like, ‘alright, cool I have a flight in three hours.'”

“I flew back and I said to myself that I hope this match was worth it, and we had that match against American Alpha that people loved, and it was short, ten minutes, but people loved it, and that solidified with them that they want us.”

“So, I’m glad I did that match, because I went right back and finished my UK tour. That match got us to do the Revival thing, we had TakeOver Brooklyn, and all that happened before were signed. They didn’t even know about my shoulder until I went to Pittsburgh and stuff. I think that helped us, because we were in such good graces with them like, ‘we’ve got plans for these kids.'”

“It was just like, if any of those things doesn’t happen at the right time — We pitched some weird stuff to them like the Panda Express and stuff. We just wanted a panda to be our mascot, because we were just doing skits and Glorious Bombs, and we were doing funny skits, you know.”

Tommaso Ciampa was not on television this week, as he was not physically cleared to compete. Johnny Gargano had to go alone this week, but their team is still very much back together.

Team #DIY’s return to WWE television could result in a lot of great matches, because Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are a team that could go down in history as one of the greatest. Hopefully, they get plenty of chances to make history in the years to come under Triple H’s leadership.

What’s your take on this situation with the name Team #DIY almost had? Let us know what you think about things in the comments section!

Transcription by Ringside News