clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Who were those independent stars working the WWE NXT taping last night? (SPOILERS)

By Sean Rueter

Almost lost in the mix of either momumental spoilers or swerves from last night's WWE NXT taping - for shows that will air both before and after the biggest event in the brand's history, next Saturday's TakeOver: Brooklyn - was an appearance by two guys who are pretty familiar to fans of the U.S. independent scene.

But for folks who followed the two men through Ring of Honor (ROH) and Gabe Sapolsky's WWN promotions, their appearance for a tag match was one of the highlights of a big night at Full Sail Live.

Warning...potential spoilers follow for the next few weeks of NXT on WWE Network...

.

.

.

As with the other news out of the August 13 taping, it's unclear what or how much of what was filmed will make it the streaming service, or how it will presented within the continuity of NXT. That includes the tag match where Tyler Breeze, a heel, and Bull Dempsey, a former heel on a babyface redemption arc via cheesey training videos, were defeated by a couple of unsigned talents introduced by the names they own, Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano.

Gargano has long been a top indy talent, including a record setting run as the champion of Sapolosky's Dragon Gate USA. He worked NXT earlier this Summer, losing a dark match to Apollo Crews.

Ciampa has not headlined as much as Gargano, but many (including this writer) felt he was primed for a main event run with ROH before he left that company in March of this year. He's had a few stints as with WWE as an extra and under a developmental contract when the company still used Ohio Valley Wrestling for that purpose last decade.

Neither man has signed a deal (WWN was quick to point out that Gargano is still under contract to them and use the buzz to promote his upcoming appearances in Evolve), and both have been linked to Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling. But what's unusual about their work last night in Florida is that they went over two established NXT acts...

Who knows what the future holds for these guys, or if anyone who wasn't in the building last night will ever see this match. Either man would be a nice pick-up for NXT, in my opinion, especially Ciampa, who is a more brawling-focused version of a Cesaro-type.

Both have numerous connections to talents already signed by Triple H as well...although Kevin Owens wasn't willing to break kayfabe on Twitter to endorse them:

Would you like to see Ciampa or Gargano in NXT, Cagesiders? Do you think we will?

More From Cageside Seats

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Cageside Seats Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of all your pro wrestling news from Cageside Seats