The real story coming out of the Tommaso Ciampa update isn’t just about Ciampa — it’s about what WWE is already doing with Johnny Gargano.
Latest reporting suggests the company is actively moving forward as if DIY is done, and Gargano is no longer being treated as part of a tag team act behind the scenes. That’s a major shift for someone who has been almost exclusively positioned in tag team programs for the past few years.
During the January 11, 2026 Fightful Select Q&A show, Sean Ross Sapp addressed the Ciampa situation after a fan asked for more information. While he explained that people close to Ciampa are being careful out of respect for his privacy, he also made it clear that the reporting matches what he’s been hearing. He explained the situation like this.
“So the people that I spoke to wanted to respect his privacy as it related to the specifics, but what I’ve heard was that BodySlam.net reported it correctly—or they’re at least right on track with what I’ve been hearing.”
But the bigger takeaway came immediately after, when Sapp described how WWE is currently handling Gargano.
“He’s not been backstage of late. And Johnny Gargano is especially—or effectively—a singles competitor.”
That line speaks volumes. Gargano has spent most of the last three years presented as part of DIY, with his identity closely tied to tag team wrestling. Now, with Ciampa absent and not expected to return before his contract expires, WWE appears to be quietly repositioning Gargano on his own.
On television, Gargano has already been drifting in that direction. He’s currently tied into interactions involving Nathan Frazer and Axiom, which complicates things even further since that story was seemingly built around a tag dynamic. If Ciampa truly isn’t coming back, that program may never get the payoff fans expected.
This also puts Gargano in an uncertain but potentially interesting spot. WWE could lean fully into him as a singles babyface again, something that hasn’t been seriously explored on the main roster despite his track record in NXT. Or he could end up floating without a clear direction now that his long-term partner is out of the picture.
Either way, this isn’t just about Ciampa leaving — it’s about WWE already moving on creatively and restructuring Gargano’s role without making a public announcement.
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