Published 13:48 IST, February 17th 2020
Johnny Gargano betrays Tommaso Ciampa, costs him WWE NXT championship
After a long match against Adam Cole, it looked like Ciampa will once again become the WWE NXT champion. However, he was betrayed by his friend Johnny Gargano.
After a long match against Adam Cole at WWE TakeOver: Portland, it looked like Tommaso Ciampa will once again become the WWE NXT champion. However, that didn’t happen as he was betrayed by his long-time friend Johnny Gargano. The betrayal shocked Tommaso Ciampa and gave Adam Cole a chance to pin him and retain the title. Fans were in shock to see the babyface turn into a heel at the main event. Many believe that a storyline between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will start in the upcoming episode of WWE NXT.
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WWE NXT championship match: Tommaso Ciampa vs Adam Cole
Tommaso Ciampa dominated the match from the start as he hung Adam Cole up on the guardrail and delivered knee attacks to the champion’s face. He followed the attacks with nasty chest chops and a running knee. However, Adam Cole recovered quickly and delivered a wheelbarrow suplex which sent Tommaso Ciampa into the announcer's table.
Adam Cole tried to continue the punishment with a Panama Sunrise, but Tommaso Ciampa countered with a dropkick. He then went on to deliver a torture rack bomb which earned him a two-count. Ciampa then delivered a massive Air Raid Crash which also earned him a two-count.
After that, Tommaso Ciampa took the fight to the announcer's table where he delivered two powerbombs to Adam Cole. The challenger then took Cole to the ring where the champion delivered a ushigoroshi. Adam Cole tried to continue the dominance with the Last Shot, but Tommaso Ciampa moved out of the way and took over the match. When it looked like Tommaso Ciampa was going to win, Undisputed ERA members Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish entered the ring to help their leader.
Tommaso Ciampa responded quickly and took down the whole Undisputed ERA with a long shot. He even injured the referee in the process. As Tommaso Ciampa was busy with the Undisputed ERA, Adam Cole attacked Tommaso Ciampa with a low blow. Ciampa responded with a low blow of his own and followed it up with a Fairytale Ending to pin the champion. However, with no referee in the ring, Tommaso Ciampa was not able to secure the win.
Fans started counting down and Tommaso Ciampa pinned Adam Cole for 15 seconds. Johnny Gargano entered the ring with a new referee and started shouting ‘pin him’ to Tommaso Ciampa. However, Tommaso Ciampa thought that he had won the match and went to grab the NXT championship belt. As the crowd started shouting for Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano snatched the belt from Ciampa’s hand and attacked him. Adam Cole took advantage of the situation and pinned Ciampa to retain the title.
Updated 13:48 IST, February 17th 2020