WWE NXT Takeover Chicago, June 16th 2018 Results, latest winners & video highlights

#5 - Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Friends turned enemies

Gargano came to the ring first after being told to 'kick his ass' by wife Candice LeRae, quickly followed by Ciampa. Both men wore trousers as opposed to tights for this one, sticking with the street fight theme. Ciampa raced down to the ring and both men attempted to attack one another with crutches, and when they went over the announcer's table, Nigel McGuinness was seemingly crushed beneath the rubble.

They fought into the crowd as Ciampa tried to break a Gargano sign but failed. It was revealed that the sign said 'use this Johnny', as it had a stop sign attached to it. Ciampa was struggling badly and crawled back to the ring, as Gargano threw a trash can into the squared circle alongside a steel chair. Ciampa ducked underneath the trash can's lid and nailed a German suplex.

Ciampa couldn't maintain control as Johnny Wrestling nailed a great suicide dive to his former partner on the outside. Following a short back and forth Ciampa went under the ring and got a steel chair, ramming it into Gargano's gut. He then put Johnny's head in the middle of the chair, ramming him into the steel steps to really maximise the damage to Gargano's neck.

Tommaso struck Gargano with the trash can and continued to smile as he did so, before throwing it straight into Johnny's head. They got back in the ring as Ciampa took off his top and began choking Johnny with it. A slingshot into the bottom turnbuckle from Ciampa also impacted Gargano, as Mr Blackheart himself went under the ring to get handcuffs.

Gargano began fighting back, spearing Tommaso through the ropes to buy himself some time. Johnny took off his leather belt and started whipping Ciampa with it, which really seemed to wake up the crowd who chanted you deserve it to Ciampa. Gargano hit a lovely superkick to a kneeling Ciampa who had the can over his head.

Out of nowhere, however, Ciampa hit the double-knee backbreaker before kneeing the trash can lid into the temple of Gargano - which got him a narrow two-count. ASTONISHING. Ciampa hit Gargano with White Noise onto the steel steps from the ring apron, but again, Johnny Wrestling kicked out.

Ciampa then got some pliers and cut off the first layer of the ring, exposing the harder section of the boards under the ring. He then hit Gargano with another vicious chair shot. Ciampa lifted Gargano up to the top rope, biting him in the face. Tommaso got him ready for White Noise again onto the exposed boards, but Johnny reversed it and managed to avoid disaster.

The two rivals exchanged blows, but Gargano landed a huge superkick before collapsing onto Ciampa - but he kicked out. Gargano tried to dive to Ciampa from the ring, but Tommaso hit him with the trash can lid on the way down. Ciampa missed with the knee to the steel steps and tried to take off his knee brace, but Gargano spotted him.

Johnny focused his attention on the knee and began dismantling Ciampa with a chair, but Tommaso managed to reverse it into the Gargano Escape. Johnny escaped but Ciampa issued repeated blows to the head to maintain momentum. Ciampa nailed Gargano with a crutch to the back of the neck, which gets him a close two count.

Ciampa slowly walked over to Gargano who was crawling away, picking him up and saying 'we were like brothers, you did this to yourself'. Much like last year, Ciampa threw Gargano into the LED screen on the ramp before kneeing him straight in the head. Ciampa took off Gargano's wedding ring and spat on it, but that allowed Johnny to pick him up and nail White Noise through two tables.

Ciampa was loaded onto a stretcher, and Gargano watched over him from the platform above. Johnny looked at where his wedding ring used to be, and in a blaze of anger, he went after Ciampa again as he was being wheeled away. Gargano unstrapped him from the stretcher and locked in the Gargano Escape, with Ciampa tapping out as Gargano attacked two officials who tried to stop him.

Gargano handcuffed Tommaso and hit him with nearly a dozen superkicks before locking in the Gargano Escape again. More officials dragged Gargano away, but when he got back up to the apron, Tommaso caught him and DDT'ed him onto the exposed wood. Gargano was out cold, and Ciampa got the three count.

Tommaso Ciampa defeats Johnny Gargano

The medical staff attended to Gargano as Ciampa waved him off once last time.

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