WWE NXT: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Candice LeRae is the next step in this rivalry

WWE NXT seemingly ended the rivalry between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, but could Candice LeRae provide a whole new chapter?

On the latest episode of WWE NXT, we saw a few matches that originally would’ve been a central focus of NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay.

With that show no longer happening and the advent of crowd-free wrestling, WWE NXT had to get creative in how they would end the epic rivalry between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

After a confrontation between the two a few weeks earlier on WWE NXT, kept relatively calm considering their history, it was Triple H who finally made it clear that this clash would be their last. As clear as day, he said that it would be over between the two of them when they left that building.

There are two very important things about that phrasing. The first is, of course, that it will be over. The second is “the two of you.” That keeps popping up. Triple H asked it, “just the two of you?” Both men replied in kind.

Except, that’s not what happened.

When the match began, Tommaso Ciampa reiterated that sentiment. “Just a ring. Just you. Just me. I win,” Ciampa said emphatically before their brawl got underway. After over 40 minutes of putting each other through hell and taking each other to the limit, it turned out it wouldn’t just be the two of them.

Candice LeRae, a wrestling veteran in her own right whose husband is Johnny Gargano, came in and seemingly turned on him by kicking Gargano in the crotch after screaming “I hate my husband” at Ciampa, saying Ciampa had brought this on because of what he’d done.

Of course, it turned out that was all a ploy. Not long after, LeRae also delivered a low blow to Ciampa, and it was revealed that Gargano had been wearing a cup which had apparently been in the package LeRae had given him just outside of the building before the match started.

If it had just been Gargano and Ciampa, things might have ended differently. Unfortunately, their story is over. It has to be over, or Triple H made it clear that WWE NXT would carry on without either of them.

Then again, there’s a whole other story here. Candice LeRae. While Candice LeRae has seemingly been relegated to “wife of Johnny Gargano,” which is legitimately disappointing considering her in-ring talent and value to the brand, there’s an opportunity here to capitalize on her skill.

When Tommaso Ciampa turned on Johnny Gargano, he also turned on Candice LeRae. Ciampa was Gargano’s Best Man at his wedding, but he was also a part of Candice LeRae’s wedding. Finally, don’t forget that all three of them lived together before all of this exploded.

Tommaso Ciampa lived with both of them. You don’t live with someone that long and not become close to them and form a lasting bond. Ciampa surely was very close friends with Candice LeRae, and truly felt like family to her. Ciampa was just as wrong to turn on her as he was to turn on Gargano.

Now, in the most shocking way possible, Candice LeRae has fired her first shot of revenge by taking closure and a victory in “One Final Beat” from Tommaso Ciampa. Things may be over between Gargano and Ciampa, but they’re only just beginning between LeRae and Ciampa.

While she’s exclusively been used in the women’s division since coming to WWE, Candice LeRae is an 18-year veteran of the squared circle with a massive history of intergender wrestling on the independent scene.

Few could forget her work in PWG against The Young Bucks and others, including the bloody Guerrilla Warfare Match with Joey Ryan at her side as World’s Cutest Tag Team.

Candice LeRae can absolutely hold her own with every competitor in WWE NXT, male or female. Thus, the next chapter is clear. Ciampa can’t do anything else with Johnny Gargano, but he could look for vengeance against Candice LeRae.

While Ciampa may be inclined not to seek that vengeance, if there’s anything Candice LeRae can learn from Johnny Gargano it’s how to push Tommaso Ciampa over the edge. All it takes is a little nudge, and Ciampa will lose control once again, hopefully providing us with the intergender five star classic that WWE has the capability of producing.