Tommaso Ciampa Injured; What happens to NXT TakeOver New York?

[smarkmouth]

Please note that there is no discussion in this OP about spoilers. Anything that discusses the NXT Championship match at TakeOver is pure speculation by yours trully.

If you've been following reports, you've likely come across news and rumours that Tommaso Ciampa is injured and may have been working with an injury for some time. He had a scary moment on Smackdown when he dropped Sheamus on his own knee, but he seems to be okay in that regard. Spinal stenosis, however, may be cause for concern, leaving him in need of surgery which leaves his current run as champion in question. Not only that, this also puts the final chapter of one of the most extended rivalries in recent WWE history up in the air. As of the most recent episode of NXT, Ciampa extended the olive branch (with a sinister spin) to Johnny Gargano reuniting #DIY for the Dusty Rhodes Classic. I can't see the team advancing all the way to the finals while leaving TakeOver New York in want of a main event, I see it as the precursor to the final chapter of Gargano/Ciampa earmarked for TakeOver.

Not knowing if that's a possibility really leaves room for imagination in a mad dash to end this storyline in a satisfying way without directly involving the antagonist. So, I want to see what you got? I present my own ideas, ranging from okay to terrible;

The Trials of Johnny Gargano
Say they flat out vacate the championship due to Ciampa's injury. They'll have to declare a new champ at TakeOver NY. Luckily, while Gargano has been feuding with Ciampa for two years, this feud has involved another handful of superstars who have crossed paths with Gargano. Imagine a tournament that involves the next set of NXT tapings, house show tapings and culminating in semi-finals and finals in TakeOver. Throughout the tournament, Gargano crosses paths with some combination of EC3, Andrade, Velveteen Dream, and facing off with either Ricochet or Aleister Black in the finals. It's poetry. He's revisited every chapter in this twisted Ciampa Fairy Tale, beating them all as Johnny Gargano, not as Tommaso Ciampa's puppet.

I wasn't the puppet master, Johnny...
DISCLAIMER: This one reeks of Russo. I almost didn't type this because I liked the first option so much but I promised you options from "okay to terrible." It's possible they've taped #DIY's inclusion in the Dusty Classic so this may not be possible but fuck it. Say over the course of this tournament we're teased that Johnny is becoming even more like Ciampa's puppet, but in execution it seems that Ciampa is actually turning face, looking out for Johnny as a real partner, becoming more free. This can culminate in Ciampa telling Johnny that he's sorry for everything, possibly breaking down, that he had a devil whispering in his ear who told him fallacies and promised glory at the expense of everything that mattered. Then the lights go out, some shit, Gargano is tied up in the ropes and possibly restrained by Luke Harper while Bray Wyatt wrecks Tomasso's shit. Ciampa vs Bray at TakeOver. Watch Royal Rumble 2014 and tell me this would be a bad match. Not saying it's a good way to end the storyline but such is life.

And lastly;

This one doesn't get a title. The reports are a work
Remember how Ciampa turned on Gargano at TakeOver? The next episode of NXT, Ciampa blamed the audience, saying it was our fault. Before the TakeOver in question, reports were circulating that Ciampa was injured and would miss some time, and he was pissed at the fans because as soon as those reports came out, the fans chattered about who should replace him as Johnny's partner in the tag team ladder match against AoP. Well, how did I start this thread, exactly? Perhaps I'm hoping against hope, as this one is impossible if the reports are accurate, but there it is. Wouldn't be the first time reports were leaked to subert the audience.

What do you think? What audible would you call in the last chapter of a two year angle?

[Jack-Hammer]

From what I've read, Ciampa has been working through the injury and I think that'll be the case here as well.

One thing NXT has done very well, one thing among MANY in my opinion, is create a sense of continuity and maybe them teaming on the main roster has been part of it. They've been successful as a team on the main roster by going over the Bar and the Revival and they're going to be in the DRTTC, but what happens if they don't win it? I avoid spoilers like the plague, I think it's one reason why I enjoy NXT so much, so I assume that the finals for the tourney are already set; logically speaking, it's unlikely that Ciampa and Gargano are in the finals as that'd mean they'd be wrestling in a tag match for TakeOver and that's not going to happen as Ciampa is NXT Champion. So, since it's likely they'll lose at some point, could this be an opportunity for Gargano to turn on Ciampa as Ciampa turned on him? They lose, they embrace as though everything's fine after a hard fought match and Gargano just begins to murder Ciampa. In a week, Gargano explains that while part of him hoped that DIY could be resurrected, he never let his guard down and struck at Ciampa first because he "knew", knew in the sense that he knows Ciampa's ways now, that Ciampa would attack him at any second, that he saw that evil, wicked spark in Ciampa's eyes for a brief second, then maybe Ciampa comes out and confirms that it's true and maybe even praises Gargano for finally honing that killer instinct. Gargano reveals then that he's done exactly that and Ciampa will truly meet "Johnny Badass" for the first time since William Regal granted his request for an NXT Championship match at TakeOver. Now, again, I don't know what the deal is as far as what the finals for the tournament look like so I don't know what they've got planned for Black & Ricochet at TakeOver but if the plan hasn't been for either of them to go after the title, then that leaves Gargano as the logical choice unless they want to go the route of having Velveteen Dream try to become the first dual champion in NXT history. Since that's probably not likely to happen either, having Gargano face off against Ciampa one final time to close the chapter on this saga could be the way to go.

Just looking at the landscape right this second in NXT, I see things going something along those lines. If that indeed is the plan, or at least something resembling it, then I fully expect them to keep Ciampa out of action as much as possible over the next month or so. I'd imagine he's been examined, examined again, examined some more, had x-rays done, MIRs done, etc. and Ciampa feels he can compete and the medical evidence supports it, at least for now. Again, all this depends on what went down during the last round of TV tapings but, as I said, I just don't see DIY lasting in the tournament and such a loss could easily result in Gargano vs. Ciampa one last time with Gargano finally winning the title and Ciampa taking time off in order to do what ultimately needs to be done regarding his injuries.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Not a fan of the guy but it sucks to see the top champ work through injury. He'll bounce back though.