Last week on SmackDown, both Johnny Gargano and the WWE Universe were left stunned by Tommaso Ciampa. After interfering in the championship match between The Motor City Machine Guns and the Street Profits, the Blackheart shoved his tag team partner to the ground. It was a tense moment and one that suggests that Gargano may need saving from Ciampa sometime soon. Well, maybe it could be tonight, and a 27-year-old superstar might be the one to do it.
What happened last week wasn't exactly a one-off incident. There have been plenty of times in the past where Tommaso Ciampa has lost control. After all, he isn't called the Sicilian Psychopath for nothing. Most notably, he betrayed Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in 2017, and now it feels as though history is about to repeat itself. But, perhaps there will be a twist this time around, especially if 27-year-old Austin Theory decides to save his old mentor.
That's right, should things go awry tonight on SmackDown, Austin Theory could be the one to come to Johnny Gargano's aid. It looks like WWE is heading down the path towards a Tommaso Ciampa heel turn. And a while back, it almost seemed certain that they were planning for Theory to turn face. Well, now they can kill two birds with one stone, and pull off both turns on the same night.
It certainly would be nice to see one-half of The Way reunite once more. But, this is nothing more than speculation. At this point, it's a matter of waiting and seeing how things unfold on tonight's SmackDown.
One of the main reasons why things imploded last week on SmackDown, is Johnny Gargano's friendship with Alex Shelley. The 37-year-old is good friends with The Motor City Machine Guns star, and even refers to him as his "big brother". He even credits Shelley as the reason why he is a wrestler today.
However, this is exactly why Tommaso Ciampa has completely lost it. While he looks at The Motor City Machine Guns as competition, Gargano sees them as mentors. This infuriates Ciampa, who believes that DIY needs to focus on getting the WWE Tag Team titles back, no matter the cost.
Safe to say, the next couple of episodes of SmackDown will be interesting. Simply because, it will be a case of 'will they, won't they.' Will DIY break up? or will they be able to weather this storm? All will be answered in time.