CarrieLynn D. Reinhard, Dickinson State University
Professional wrestling, as an area of popular culture, is comprised of interesting tensions ripe for academic analysis. On the one hand, professional wrestling can be criticized for glorifying violence and having a problematic history. On the other hand, existing as a “masculine melodrama” suggests it provides a safe space for men and more traditional masculinities to express emotions like love and joy, fear and sadness, without rebuke. Indeed, whether as wrestler or as fan, professional wrestling is built on emotional exchanges as much as physical grappling to produce its stories or kayfabe. Wrestlers need to be both athletes and storytellers to connect with the crowd, live or televised, and convince the audience that what they are witnessing is real enough to invest in. Those connections are the focus of this paper, and the audience’s reactions to the wrestlers’ stories and performances provide insight into the co-construction of masculinity in professional wrestling and its fandom.
Mainly, my argument is that kayfabe aligns professional wrestling with other forms of fictional storytelling, meaning that how people react to those narratives would have some similarity to have people react to pro-wrestling narratives. And, if there is a script, then there is an encoding occurring in those narratives that reflect specific ideological perspectives. In this article, the focus is on how World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE’s) NXT creates stories with wrestlers as actors like any other entertainment producer, and those stories contain certain ideas about the world as embodied through actors’ performances. In this analysis, focus is on presentation of masculinity, primarily, construction of safe space for homosocial or “brotherly” love between two men: Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. But, what does that mean for fans?
For this paper, I conducted an analysis with the encoding/decoding/recoding model (E/D/R model) that suggests for some fans, homosocial bonding is not enough. Since ideas are being encoded into those storylines, that means pro-wrestling fans — like any other type of fan — will decode what they see in those narratives and react to them in different ways (depending on their interpretive baggage). Some fans will also engage in transformative work to recode elements of those narratives to create their own stories, ones that may be more emotionally or cognitively fulfilling than the original canon. Such fanon, then, can contain depictions that are quite different from what was originally encoded, such as slash stories that turning canonical homosocial or antagonist relationships into homosexual relationships.
NXT’s Ciampa and Gargano
Introducing NXT. NXT began as the WWE’s NXT Redemption, which ran from 2010-2012. Created by WWE’s owner Vince McMahon and wrestler HHH (Paul Levesque), the goal was to give television time to WWE’s developmental territory or program, Florida Championship Wrestling. Formatted as a reality series, the conceit was to discover the next “breakout star.” The show ran February 23 to September 28, 2010 on Syfy, and then from October 5, 2010 to June 13, 2012 on WWE.com. Then, in June 2012, the program was revamped to a 1-hour taped professional wrestling show, similar to WWE’s flagship shows RAW and Smackdown. While still a developmental program, this new NXT taped episodes on Full Sail University to provide new wrestlers a chance to develop their characters, their in-ring work, and their promo skills in front of a live audience. The hope was to develop new talent who could move on to the “main roster” of WWE’s flagship shows.
This revamped series streamed on Hulu until February 19, 2014, when WWE moved it to their new streaming app, the WWE Network. NXT received praise for quality wrestling and captivating storylines, and this is the period in which Ciampa and Gargano emerged. Both men had previous experience, or “cut their teeth,” wrestling in the “indies” or non-WWE promotions, but their time at NXT catapulted them to superstardom. This arrangement with the proprietary app lasted until September 11, 2019, when the series was again revamped into a two-hour live series to compete with the flagship show, Dynamite, for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). To compete, the series aired on USA Network from September 18, 2019, to September 24, 2024. Since October 1, 2024, the series has been broadcast on The CW. While still primarily serving as developmental, main roster wrestlers will sometimes appear to help build audience.
Introducing Ciampa. Tommaso Ciampa (Tommaso Whitney) began wrestling in Massachusetts in January 2005. He signed a developmental contract with WWE in February 2007 and was sent to an earlier developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. While he tried different gimmicks, he was released in August 2007. He spent years touring various indies, such as Ring of Honor (ROH), only to return to WWE via NXT on September 2, 2015, as part of the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to honor legend Dusty Rhodes, who had worked in WWE developmental with NXT wrestlers. He did not officially sign (or, re-sign) until the spring of 2016, when he agreed to a “Tier 2” contract that allowed him to still compete on the indies. That summer, he competed in NXT’s inaugural Cruiserweight Classic, which cemented the promotion’s interest in him, as he signed an exclusive contract that fall.
That fall also saw the formation of tag-team #DIY, formalizing the burgeoning relationship with Johnny Gargano. They became tag-team champions on November 19, 2016, and lost the titles on January 28, 2017. After losing an attempt to recapture the titles on May 20, 2017, Ciampa turned on his partner, attacking Gargano after the match and becoming a “heel” or villain. This turn was meant to cover an ACL injury Ciampa suffered during the match. Ciampa returned on January 27, 2018 to again attack Gargano, ultimately costing the latter his North American Championship. This loss also forced Gargano to leave NXT, although Gargano was later reinstated to the roster after defeating Ciampa in an unsanctioned match on April 7, 2018. The duo continued their fighting, and Ciampa even won the NXT Championship on July 25, 2018, because of Gargano’s interference in the match. At this time, touting his championship belt “Goldie,” Ciampa was the “face” or hero with Gargano the heel.
Both mean tagged on RAW and Smackdown in February 2019, but Ciampa had to vacate the championship the next month due to a neck injury. This serious injury meant WWE had to scrap plans to renew their feud on the main roster while Ciampa had surgery. He returned October 2, 2019, and Gargano continued as the heel, costing Ciampa a chance at “Goldie” February 18, 2020. Once the COVID pandemic shut down professional wrestling from having live audiences, the duo had a “No Holds Barred” taped match that aired on April 8, 2020, that Gargano won thanks to interference from his wife, fellow NXT wrestler Candice LaRae (Candice Dawson). Ciampa was then officially “called up” to RAW on April 11, 2020. On October 2, 2023, he was reunited with Gargano, who saved him from a beatdown by the faction Imperium.
Introducing Gargano. Johnny Gargano also began wrestling in 2005 for his hometown Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling. Like Ciampa, he also worked for various indies: ROH, DragonGate USA, Chikara, Evolve, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. While his and Ciampa’s paths crossed, they were never an official tag team on the indies. Gargano participated in the WWE tryout camp in June 2015, and he debuted on NXT alongside Ciampa in a promo for the Dusty Rhodes Classic where neither man said anything nor even interacted with each other. The men wrestled together in the Classic, surviving the first round only of the tournament. Like Ciampa, he also wrestled as a single on NXT and signed a Tier 2 contract in April 2016. He signed an exclusive contract in July 2016. Until April 2020, his primary stories and character work in NXT involved Ciampa.
Longtime girlfriend and indies wrestler LaRae, whom he married in September 2016, premiered in the WWE universe for the 2017 Mae Young Classic, and she later debuted in NXT in early 2018. Gargano did appear in the 2019 Royal Rumble match, and he won the NXT Championship on April 15, 2019, becoming NXT’s first Triple Crown Champion. Ciampa and LaRae even joined him on stage to celebrate his victory. A brief reunion with Ciampa in October 2019 was sidelined when Gargano went out with a neck injury. When he returned, he reteamed with Ciampa, only to cost Ciampa the NXT Championship on February 16, 2020. Gargano let his contract expire in December 2021 as he and LeRae had a child. Gargano even gave a farewell promo on December 9, 2021, suggesting he was leaving WWE entirely. While he returned to WWE on August 22, 2022, a shoulder injury put a reunion with Ciampa on hold until that October. After being drafted to Smackdown, the reunited #DIY won the WWE Tag Team Championship on July 12, 2024.
As hopefully clear, introducing these men – or, at least, the characters they play in the WWE televisual shared universe – also involves presenting the basic storyline. This storyline of two men who fought for each other as tag-team partners only to have a falling out is a common trope in professional wrestling. The storyline has standard emotional beats of rooting for underdogs to jeering the villain to relishing each man’s redemption during their reunion. But this basic storyline has additional information encoded into it through both wrestlers’ performances in NXT-sanctioned spaces. The next section introduces the encoding-decoding-recoding model to present the analysis conducted to understand how fans responded to this storyline and character work.
E/D/R Model
Across the variety of media studies that have been conducted throughout history and across types of media products, research has focused on the encoding, decoding and recoding of media products. Each foci is discussed below and then it will be explained how the model applies to this study. The E/D/R model resulted from my surveying the breadth of media studies from both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This model organizes this wealth of research and discusses the commonalities between different theoretical and methodological approaches. I did not originate the terms and have only appropriated from other scholars (ex. Hall, 1973/1993; Hinds, 1996; Steele & Brown, 1995) to show their relationships with one another.
Figure 1. E/D/R Model
Encoding. Encoding studies are concerned with the production of a message and how various factors can impact this production. Encoding, whether in face-to-face or mediated communication, is the process by which some text comes to acquire some meaning(s), and, in the cases of mediated communication, how some medium is selected to transmit the text. As the process deals with meaning and the decision of how best to relay that meaning, a number of factors could impact it, from sociocultural to economic. Encoding research proceeds by analyzing media products and methods of production to locate the media producer’s motivations for encoding; to uncover how these factors influenced decision-making processes, with or without the producer’s awareness of such influence. Producers, living within society/culture, create media texts that embody sociocultural memes. Ideologies, hegemony, assumptions of power, norms, and biases can all structure the encoding process, with or without the producers’ conscious intentions.
Decoding. People, living within same/different society/culture, interpret media texts with varying degrees of accepting encoded memes. Decoding studies are concerned with people’s selection and interpretation of media products by individuals, and how a variety of factors can impact these two aspects of engaging with the media. Research on this focus comes from uses-and-effects and reception studies, including Hall’s (1973/1993) assertion that there are three main types of reception to a media text. The individual selects the media product, either willingly or by imposition, and interprets the features of the product to reconstruct the meaning(s) encoded in it. However, this transfer does not mean the encoder and decoder will match perfectly in their meaning-making – for Hall, the reception could range from in agreement, to negotiated, to oppositional (1973/1993). Determining the type of response comes from a number of factors, biological to psychological to sociocultural, that are argued for differences in how the decoder deconstructs the media product’s features to reconstruct some meaning from it.
Recoding. People use media texts in own lives to understand, reflect and/or challenge society/culture. Recoding studies are concerned with the utilization of media products to impact the real world through the lives of media users. This focus is classically divided as occurring through passive media effects or active media uses. Research here seeks to understand the processes of incorporation and application, whereby the meaning in the media product comes to inform and influence the individual, either with or without the individual’s awareness and acceptance. Through the individual’s behavior with others and society in general, if a threshold is reached, this meaning comes to circulate back to and influence the larger society and culture. This circular nature of recoding can be seen in economic terms, in the demand and supply of media product. But it can change sociocultural values, such as homosexuality in Western societies due to the popularity of gay celebrities and characters.
The most common notion of media impacts deals with passive media effects – from the fear of negative effects, such as sex and violence, to the possibility of positive effects, such as anti-smoking. Active media uses are still a media impact, but they occur when the user is actively aware of doing something because of his or her engaging with the media product, such as how the watching an environmental documentary inspires real-life conservation measures. An example comes from Jeanne Steele and Jane Brown’s work on the Media Practice Model (1995), where they demonstrated how teenagers have appropriated specific aspects from their media engagings to construct an identity. While this study focused more on the decoding processes, it also addressed utilizings as part of the individual’s engagings with gendered media.
Sometimes as a companion, sometimes as an implied result, recoding studies are often linked with decoding studies. Most media studies research is interested in how the media will impact the individual, and by extension that individual’s sociocultural environment. This is the foundation for the history of media effects research, both qualitative in critical/cultural reception studies and quantitative in media uses and effects research, as it continues to dominate public thought and academic concern. Encoding studies tend to be the beginning of this process, as they provide information about prevalence and type of media messages that require decoding and recoding analyses. Decoding studies provide information as to what mediates the relationship between exposure to the encoded messages and the resultant impacts on the recoding into everyday life.
In a sense, a person’s fandom is a process that can be elucidated with this model. The object of affection at the center of the fandom is encoded by its creators with a variety of signs and information, ideologically aligned or not. Fans then decode the object from their specific perspective, often within the framework of positive affect towards some aspect of the object. Of course, perhaps the most obvious aspect of fandom comes in recoding, as the fan in some way uses the object in their life, such as what Henry Jenkins identified as textual poaching. In a sense, this textual poaching represents a queering of the original object and, more importantly, the power dynamics behind it and the media ecosystem in which it exists.
Timeline Analyzed. This analysis focuses on the NXT emotional storyline that occurred as a multi-year, transmedia, three-act play. This storyline ran from September, 2015 to May 2020. Table 1 contains the different stages of the narrative as well as the timeframe in which these stages occurred. This table serves as the template for the E/D/R analysis shared in the subsequent section. The encoding analysis involved rewatching the matches and promos and noting any spoken or shown actions that comment on Ciampa and Gargano’s relationship. These matches also yielded information about the decoding of the live audience. For decoding and encoding, I focused on Archive of Our Own (AO3), which had the most such stories. Their decoding could be seen in how they commented on each other’s stories, making direct references to the matches, wrestlers, and storyline, all reflecting their decoding. These stories are presented in Table 2.
| Story Stage | Dates |
| Strangers Team Up | September 2015 – May 2016 |
| Cruiserweight Challenge | June 2016 |
| #DIY as Underdogs | August 2016 – April 2017 |
| Blackheart Turns Heel | May 2017 – December 2017 |
| Torturing Rebel Heart | January 2017 – November 2018 |
| Dark #DIY | December 2018 – March 2019 |
| Blackheart Black Out | April 2019 – September 2019 |
| Daddy Returns for Goldie | October 2019 – January 2020 |
| Face of the Brand | February 2020 – April 2020 |
| Going Separate Ways | May 2020 – May 2021 |
Table 1. Timeline Stages
| Title | Author | Publish | Words | Comments | Kudos | Hits | Type | Rating | Tags |
| I Can Be Your Hero | SapphoIsBurning | 12/24/16 | 5804 | 16 | 47 | 551 | M/M | T+ | Alternate Universe Superheroes/Superpowers, Teen Angst, Fluff, Mutual Pining |
| Eye of the Beholder | SapphoIsBurning | 12/24/16 | 1143 | 23 | 50 | 642 | M/M | T+ | Role-Playing Game, Fluff, Yuletide Treat |
| 5 Things That Never Happened to Tommaso Ciampa (and one thing that did) | Moonsault, orphan_account | 12/24/16 | 1213 | 22 | 62 | 664 | M/M | T+ | Yuletide Treat, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alternate History, Kayfabe Compliant |
| Nobody Will Do It For You… | Kentucky_Gentleman86 | 12/24/16 | 1076 | 13 | 44 | 737 | M/M | T+ | Yuletide Treat, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss, Sorry Not Sorry, these two Just Need to Kiss Okay |
| Apartment Wrestling | salamandelbrot | 12/25/16 | 1026 | 15 | 34 | 408 | F/M, M/M | NR | Fluff, Blood, Kayfabe Compliant |
| Moments of Doubt | RedLeaderfic | 12/31/16 | 1363 | 14 | 63 | 620 | M/M | G | moping, Kayfabe Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Yuletide Treat |
| Phone Tag | RedLeaderfic | 12/31/16 | 2747 | 8 | 53 | 558 | M/M | G | Communication Failure, Hurt/Comfort, Snuggling, Kayfabe Compliant |
| Goals | corneroffandom | 1/2/17 | 5512 | 6 | 25 | 698 | M/M | G | |
| Getting Into Character | SapphoIsBurning | 1/8/17 | 3088 | 8 | 65 | 1113 | M/M | E | Role-Playing Game, Anal Sex |
| Out For Blood | FunkyinFishnet | 1/24/17 | 4119 | 12 | 66 | 704 | M/M | M | Alternate Canon, Werewolves, Touching, Friends to Lovers, Male Slash, Angst, Hurt/Comfort |
| Going Nuclear | FunkyinFishnet | 2/19/17 | 2381 | 16 | 95 | 1419 | M/M | E | Male Slash, Friends to Lovers |
| Hurting | corneroffandom | 3/1/17 | 589 | 4 | 17 | 162 | Gen | G | |
| Raw | corneroffandom | 3/29/17 | 633 | 0 | 13 | 144 | Gen | G | |
| Pre-Event Jitters | corneroffandom | 4/3/17 | 2463 | 2 | 13 | 276 | Gen, M/M | G | |
| Speaker Louder | FunkyinFishnet | 4/12/17 | 2295 | 10 | 71 | 927 | M/M | M | Male Slash, Relationship(s), Past Verbal Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Angst |
| The Losers Club | TheGirlWithTheGlasses | 5/1/17 | 1310 | 4 | 27 | 348 | F/M, M/M | T+ | |
| Lawfully Yours | FunkyinFishnet | 5/22/17 | 3114 | 8 | 64 | 945 | M/M | M | Alternate Universe, Were-Creatures, Friends to Lovers, Relationship(s), Bonding, Mating Bond, Mating Bites |
| Our Moment | corneroffandom | 5/24/17 | 6007 | 4 | 55 | 778 | M/M | G | |
| The Only Claim That Matters | FunkyinFishnet | 6/13/17 | 1908 | 6 | 33 | 720 | M/M | M | Alternate Universe, Were-Creatures, Mating Bond, Hurt/Comfort |
| Friends That Never Ache | Apgeeksout | 6/21/17 | 1958 | 16 | 47 | 657 | M/M | NR | Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort |
| Attack | corneroffandom | 6/24/17 | 1012 | 2 | 16 | 144 | Gen | G | |
| Every Inch | FunkyinFishnet | 6/27/17 | 2475 | 6 | 35 | 708 | F/F, M/M | G | Alternate Universe, Were-Creatures, Worry, Friendship, Relationship(s) |
| Gargano Reawakening | Enigma13 | 7/25/17 | 9582 | 12 | 23 | 520 | F/M | T+ | superhero au, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Lovers |
| The Eye of the Storm | Moonsault, orphan_account | 7/31/17 | 944 | 19 | 54 | 557 | M/M | G | Kayfabe Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Angst |
| Double Agency | Apgeeksout | 8/19/17 | 100 | 10 | 22 | 303 | M/M | G | Drabble, Treat, Alternate Universe – Spies & Secret Agents |
| Dance With Your Ghost | RedLeaderfic | 1/1/18 | 2262 | 16 | 54 | 480 | M/M | G | Dealing With Things Well, Angst, Fantsy Booking, Kayfabe Compliant, Post Chicago, Mentions of Candice |
| Traditions | corneroffandom | 1/8/18 | 12569 | 2 | 29 | 730 | F/F, F/M, M/M | G | |
| Everything Changes | corneroffandom | 4/7/18 | 4253 | 4 | 38 | 685 | F/M, M/M | G | |
| Gentle | corneroffandom | 5/29/18 | 592 | 2 | 14 | 123 | Gen | G | |
| Questions | corneroffandom | 6/16/18 | 5078 | 3 | 21 | 587 | F/M, M/M | G | |
| Do It Together | Apgeeksout | 6/17/18 | 1030 | 8 | 24 | 255 | M/M | Alternative Universe Superheroes/Superpowers | |
| But You’re Not Saying Anything | kiwiya | 7/19/18 | 7319 | 7 | 28 | 432 | M/M | T+ | Alternate Universe Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Kayfabe Divergence, Friends to Enemies, Enemies to Lovers |
| Bond of Three | youngbloodthekilljoy | 7/25/18 | 11259 | 34 | 119 | 1624 | M/M, Multi | T+ | Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics |
| Opposite Sides of the Coin | corneroffandom | 7/27/18 | 2008 | 4 | 36 | 397 | M/M | G | |
| To a Light Refusing to Go Out | ThatBohoFemme | 8/13/18 | 1247 | 2 | 16 | 281 | M/M | G | character death (kind of), Hospitals, Surgery recovery, Near Death Experiences, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Previous Johnny/Tommaso |
| come on and slam (and welcome to the jam) | TheGirlWithTheGlasses | 8/22/18 | 2332 | 6 | 36 | 695 | F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M | M | |
| A Lonely Person | BadassBAP | 11/25/18 | 5151 | 6 | 11 | 358 | M/M | M(NCR) | tommaso and johnny are around 20 here |
| Regretful Secrets | revolution_BAP | 12/7/18 | 4856 | 0 | 5 | 304 | M/M | M (NCR) | Bottom Johnny Gargano, Top Tommaso Ciampa |
| Crossing Lives | revolution_BAP | 12/9/18 | 6310 | 0 | 3 | 269 | M/M | M (NCR) | |
| Our Property | revolution_BAP | 12/13/18 | 3759 | 0 | 12 | 603 | M/M | M (NCR) | DIY, Kidnapping, Heist |
| 2019 New Years fic | corneroffandom | 1/3/19 | 9440 | 6 | 18 | 471 | F/F, Gen, M/M | G | |
| A Victory Cry | noctecat | 1/7/19 | 2477 | 6 | 19 | 201 | Gen | T+ | Hurt/Comfort |
| Target | corneroffandom | 1/26/19 | 5430 | 2 | 36 | 371 | M/M | G | |
| Don’t Care What Comes After | reason_says | 1/31/19 | 6008 | 5 | 26 | 626 | F/M, M/M | M | Manipulation, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Lovers to enemies to lovers, Reunions, Polyamory, Kayfabe Compliant |
| In One Piece | reason_says | 2/6/19 | 18789 | 16 | 27 | 628 | F/M, M/M | T+ | Polyamory Negotiations, Reunions, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Lovers to enemies to lovers, Kayfabe Compliant, Manipulation |
| Phoenix | reason_says | 2/7/19 | 1000 | 2 | 10 | 164 | F/M, M/M | G | Kayfabe Compliant |
| Living the Lie | BadassBAP | 2/16/19 | 5135 | 0 | 8 | 277 | M/M | (M (NCR) | there is a twist, tommaso is cold yet with heart |
| Call Ups | corneroffandom | 2/24/19 | 2266 | 4 | 36 | 445 | M/M | G | |
| Troubling Thoughts | viku123 | 3/14/19 | 2507 | 4 | 38 | 431 | M/M | E | Kayfabe Compliant |
| (Re)do it yourself | bohemianrazberry | 3/16/19 | 13055 | 6 | 63 | 943 | M/M | M | kinda a makeupfic, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Getting Back Together, lil bit of a, Gentle Dom, tommaso you feel, Dom/sub Undertones, smut in the second chapt, Blow Jobs, Face-Fucking, tommaso dealing w the spectrum of morality, Kayfabe Compliant |
| Just a Thing | DeepDisiresLonging | 3/22/19 | 1590 | 0 | 12 | 486 | F/M, Multi | E | Threesome, Degradation, Begging, Dirty Talk, Smut, Name-Calling, (Just Slut and Toy), implied further smut |
| Guilt | corneroffandom | 4/5/19 | 14959 | 2 | 6 | 167 | Gen | G | |
| Broke Your Throne | WrongRemedy | 4/6/19 | 1681 | 2 | 16 | 334 | M/M | E | Anal Sex, Topping from the Bottom, Kayfabe Compliant |
| Partnerships | corneroffandom | 4/7/19 | 4200 | 0 | 17 | 318 | Gen, M/M | G | |
| Keep Your Happy Ever After | WrongRemedy | 4/8/19 | 2915 | 4 | 29 | 445 | Multi | E | Sub!Johnny, Vaginal Sex, Cock Rings, Threesome, Kayfabe Compliant |
| Whispers in the Night | noctecat | 4/25/19 | 2034 | 2 | 25 | 360 | M/M | T+ | Community: wrestlingkink, Supernatural Elements |
| Chicago Is So Two Years Ago | reason_says | 5/20/19 | 3586 | 2 | 13 | 238 | Other | T+ | Post-Canon Fix-It, Partner Betrayal, Kayfabe Compliant, Eventual Happy Ending, Injury Recovery |
| 2019’s 25 Days of Fic | corneroffandom | 12/1/19 | 22131 | 8 | 22 | 475 | F/M, M/M, F/F, Gen | G | |
| 2020 New Years | corneroffandom | 1/24/20 | 17635 | 6 | 15 | 172 | F/F, Gen, M/M | G | |
| Missing You (A Package Deal) | noctecat | 2/6/20 | 3250 | 8 | 11 | 99 | M/M | T+ | Hurt/Comfort |
| He’s Right Behind Me, Isn’t He? | HMSquared | 7/14/20 | 468 | 3 | 10 | 420 | M/M | T+ | First Kiss, Inspired by Real Events, Public Display of Affection, Short & Sweet, Wrestling, NXT Takeover: New York, Alternate Universe — No Girlfriends/No Wives |
| Until I Feel Your Touch | SamoanSexGodReigns | 9/15/20 | 10384 | 1 | 15 | 442 | F/M, M/M | E | Non-Wrestling AU, Threesome, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Cunnilingus, Vaginal Sex, Anal Sex, Kinktober 2018, omg they were roommates, Do not post to another site, no beta we die like men |
| Don’t Fight Fate (You’ll Lose) | SamoanSexGodReigns | 11/10/20 | 10880 | 0 | 16 | 246 | F/M, M/M | E | Non-Wrestling AU, Alternate Universe – Supernatural Elements, Werewolves, Explicit Sexual Content, Scenting, Knotting, no beta we die like men, Do not post to another site, werewolf porn |
| Bring on 2021 | corneroffandom | 2/1/21 | 12116 | 6 | 8 | 161 | F/F, Gen, M/MMulti | NR | |
| Secret of Ciampa | GokuBlueGod3 | 3/5/21 | 9849 | 0 | 0 | 116 | Multi | NR | Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Mental Breakdown, Feelings, Best Friends, Crying, WWE NXT |
| Secret of Ciampa The truth Breaks (Season 2 ;)) | GokuBlueGod3 | 3/19/21 | 12791 | 1 | 3 | 94 | Multi | M | Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Crying, Guilt, Partner Betrayal, Best Friends, WWE NXT, Regret, Secrets, Stab in back, Revenge |
| IM NOT A AFTERTHOUGHT | GokuBlueGod3 | 3/28/21 | 3069 | 0 | 1 | 110 | F/M | M | WWE NXT, Hurt/Comfort, Replace, Afterthought, Confrontations, Relationship Advice, Crying, Truth, Break Up, Getting Back Together |
| Secret of Ciampa: Heart break | GokuBlueGod3 | 5/4/21 | 1033 | 0 | 1 | 15 | Multi | NR | Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-PTSD, Anxiety, Help, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, WWE NXT, takeover |
| Ciampa feelings | GokuBlueGod3 | 5/26/21 | 802 | 0 | 0 | 10 | F/M | M | Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Best Friends, Feelings, Anger, Express feelings, Heartbreak, WWE NXT |
Table 2. Ciampa/Gargano Fanfic on AO3
Analyzing the Timeline
Encoding Analysis. As seen in Table 2, along with the common encoding of predetermined matches, wrestlers Ciampa and Gargano began their physical touching with their first match. In the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, their new, unnamed tag team won, and the duo celebrated with hugs that included Gargano hugging Ciampa’s head to his chest. They lost the second match of the tournament and had scattered singles matches until returning as a team in April, after both signed the Tier 2 contract. Again, they demonstrated a level of affection through their physical touches, and commentary even suggested that Ciampa was more relaxed, less wild, not that he had been reunited with Gargano. On the indies, Ciampa was known as the Sicillian Psychopath and used “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads as his entrance music. While his NXT gimmick did not completely copy this character, his notoriety followed him into this ring, and likely intertextually influenced both the storyline’s encoding, decoding, and recoding.
An example of this encoding is perhaps the first major plot point in the story: their match in the opening round of the Cruiserweight Challenge. The June 23, 2016, match was bookended by video package and interview promos that furthered the story, as indicated in Table 2. The match itself contained several character and narrative building moments. The main event starts with a refusal to shake hands, and Ciampa mocking the “Johnny Wrestling” chant. Commentators Daniel Bryan (wrestler Bryan Danielson) and Mauro Ranello discuss Ciampa’s “Psycho Killer” history, referring to his vicious attacks. They continually present Gargano as an underdog, one that is under assault, weaker, and less intense. As Gargano continually kicks out from these attacks, Ciampa becomes increasingly frustrated. He slides down his knee pad to kick Gargano in the head, but hesitates, allowing Gargano to rest and superkick Ciampa. Ciampa retaliates with a lung blower, but another kick out leaves both spent on the mat – but Gargano reaches out for him nonetheless. The “This is awesome!” chant becomes “Fight forever!” as they resume. Bryan says how much it means to win this tournament if two friends are willing to beat up each other. Gargano finally wins with a pin, leaving Ciampa visibly upset in the middle of the ring. After the referee raises Gargano’s arm in victory, Ciampa refuses to make eye contact. Gargano extends his hand, but Ciampa walks away, shaking his head while Gargano collapses to mat, cross-legged. The crowd chants for him to go to Gargano. He stands on the apron, hits his own head, then returns to sit by Gargano. Ciampa grabs the other man’s head and hugs it to his chest while the crowd erupts. They finally make eye contact when he raises Gargano’s arm in victory. Gargano then hugs him. They shake hands, help each other up, and hug again, after which Gargano raises Ciampa’s arm in victory and crowd adoration. The rest is fandom history.
| Story Stage | Dates | Encoded Performances |
| Strangers Team Up | 9/2015 – 5/2016 | 9/9/15: hug after winning, keep arms around each other, Gargano hugging Ciampa’s head to his chest10/30: close to each other outside ring after loss4/13/16: commentators say they seem relaxed after being reunited, Ciampa encouraging Gargano5/25: Ciampa pats Gargano’s back, high-five after winning |
| Cruiserweight Challenge | 6/2016 | 6/1: pose together in corner6/23: promo saying thrust into tag team but clicked instantly, traveling and rooming together, depending on each other so bond grew, “we’re as good of friends as you can get at this point,” Gargano talks to him more than own fiancée, Ciampa on how hit family harder than others6/23: first round of Cruiserweight challenge, Ciampa as “Psycho Killer” and Gargano as underdog, Ciampa upset over losing but still pulls Gargano’s head to chest for hug6/23: after match interview, Gargano says Ciampa still best friend and asks if had to hit so hard, Ciampa says “Johnny Wrestling” before walking off, Gargano laughs and says “that means he loves me” |
| #DIY as Underdogs | 8/2016 – 4/2017 | 8/20: TakeOver: Brooklyn II, for tag-team championship, Ciampa gives Gargano the #DIY shirt and says they do things their way, tells Regal backstage he chooses Gargano every day, Ciampa pulls Gargano to him when they first enter as #DIY, commentary calls them long-time friends who know each other well, trick finish leaves them thinking they won so they hug, after learning they are heartbroken, Ciampa comforts Gargano with a hug, helps Gargano up and keeps his hand on his partner’s back as they thank the crowd, outside the ring Gargano apologizes but Ciampa just pulls Gargano’s head to his chest for a hug 10/26-11/9: 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag-Team Classic, not much happens outside Ciampa saving Gargano11/19: TakeOver: Toronto, for tag-team championships, 2-3 falls, to psych up Ciampa grabs Gargano’s head to touch foreheads and massages Gargano’s shoulders, after tying again foreheads touch, after winning Ciampa hugs Gargano, they hug and roll on mat, arms around each other as they help each other up, Ciampa keeps arm around partner, Gargano puts head on Ciampa’s shoulder, Ciampa rustles others hair, Gargano hugs Ciampa as they start up the ramp, walk up ramp with arms around each other11/23: they go into crowd to celebrate12/16: Ciampa manages Gargano’s shoulders before match starts1/4/17: after winning Ciampa puts arm around Gargano’s shoulders and pulls him into hug, Gargano puts arm around Ciampa’s neck to embrace as hold their titles, Ciampa pats Gargano’s face as they leave1/11: Ciampa saves beat up Gargano 1/28: TakeOver: San Antonio lose titles, both in pain but not together3/1: titles rematch lost, both in pain outside ring but close together4/1: TakeOver: Orlando, triple threat, Gargano being beat up, Ciampa eliminated |
| Blackheart Turns Heel | 5/2017 – 12/2017 | 5/20: TakeOver: Chicago promo, both say they were not supposed to be here but did it their way, showing solidarity in victory and defeat5/20: ladder match, Authors of Pain about to hit Ciampa in face with ladder but Gargano pushes him away to take the hit, commentary says to “save a friend,” Ciampa crawls to check on him and grabs his hair, Ciampa could go up ladder but helps up Gargano who grabs Ciampa’s head, they climb ladders together and when Gargano falters Ciampa helps, but they are defeated, after loss they sit close together, Ciampa places hand on Gargano’s leg then inches closer to place arm around his shoulders, Gargano places arm around Ciampa as they help each other up, they briefly embrace before going up the ramp, at top of ramp they stand with arms around each other to look at the crowd, Ciampa brings Gargano’s head in then quickly pivots them and runs Gargano into the lighted entranceway, Ciampa cold expression as knees Gargano’s face, Ciampa looks down as Gargano reaches for him and crawls into Ciampa’s lamp as they make eye contact, annoyed Ciampa pulls Gargano up and powerbombs him on the announce table, Ciampa stands over Gargano with his partner’s chin in his hand and stares coldly as Gargano puts his hand on Ciampa’s stomach, Ciampa puts Gargano into a fireman’s carry and plunges him through an equipment chest below stage, Gargano motionless as Cimapa sits on the announcer’s table and looks down at Gargano5/24: NXT, Ciampa on crutches, says needs ACL surgery but will return, Gargano then competes in singles until Ciampa’s return |
| Torturing Rebel Heart | 1/2018 – 11/2018 | 1/27/18: TakeOver: Philadelphia match of Gargano vs Almas, Ciampa returns and attacks Gargano from behind with crutch2/21: Gargano loses to Almas due to Ciampa interference and stipulated to leave NXT, commentary calls Ciampa “Sicilian psychopath,” Ciampa smiles and waves good-bye2/28: Ciampa takes fan’s Gargano sign and rips it up and hits it with a crutch, Ciampa says Gargano’s gone, does same routine on following NXT episodes until Gargano surprises him by being in the crowd and beats him up4/7: TakeOver: New Orleans, promo where Gargano asks why his brother and best friend did this, Ciampa says Gargano was selfish4/7: unsanctioned match, commentary calls them best friends turned bitter enemies, commentary calls Ciampa a “sadistic son of a bitch”, arms around each other as lay on ground resting, Ciampa up first and Gargano uses Ciampa’s knee brace to pull himself up, Gargano puts his head on Ciampa’s stomach and Ciampa grabs his chin and pulls him up, Gargano’s hands go to Ciampa’s face but he says “this is my moment” and Gargano decks him, Gargano removes Ciampa’s knee brace and hits Ciampa’s surgically repaired knee with it, Gargano breaks the crutch but hesitates hitting Ciampa with it, Gargano goes to sit by Ciampa but he swings the brace at Gargano who ducks but uses the brace to make Ciampa submit4/25: Ciampa attacks Gargano during his return6/16: TakeOver: Chicago II: Chicago street fight involves Ciampa forcibly removing Gargano’s wedding ring and throwing it into the crowd7/25: Ciampa wins NXT Championship due to Gargano’s interference8/18: TakeOver: Brooklyn IV: triple threat becomes last man standing for NXT Championship after someone attacks Black10/24: revealed that Gargano attacked Black11/17: Ciampa versus Dream, but Gargano returns having been “absolved of sins” by Black |
| Dark #DIY | 12/2018 – 3/2019 | 12/19: Black versus Gargano in steel cage with Ciampa’s assist1/23/19: Ciampa helps Gargano beat Ricochet, Gargano helps Ciampa beat Black, they leave together and Ciampa tries to shake Gargano’s hand but he is interrupted by Le Rae1/26: TakeOver: Phoenix, both win their own matchs, Ciampa waiting on stage when Gargano done, stand side-by-side holding their belts, during off-air brawl Ciampa retaliates when Dream slaps Gargano2/3: Halftime Heat, Ciampa and Gargano team with Cole to take on Black, Dream, and RicochetFebruary appearances on Raw, Smackdown: Ciampa refers to them as “we” and Gargano reflects on irony that they were at war last year2/20: NXT, Gargano refuses Ciampa’s help and loses title3/6: Ciampa and Gargano team in Dusty Rhodes Classic3/13: Gargano turns against Ciampa costing them win |
| Blackheart Black Out | 4/2019 – 9/2019 | Ciampa relinquishes title he calls “Goldie” for his daughter, out for neck surgery |
| Daddy Returns for Goldie | 10/2019 – 1/2020 | 10/23: Ciampa and Gargano team up against Undisputed Era, then Gargano out with neck injury1/25/20: Worlds Collide, old DIY entrance, commentary calls them flagbearers who have not teamed together in ten months, after successful move they both sit on apron to clap and backslap themselves (started as Ciampa mocking crowd), then Ciampa pulls Gargano into hug, Ciampa helping Gargano, Gargano helps Ciampa up with Ciampa’s arm around Gargano’s shoulders, Gargano massages Ciampa’s neck and grabs smiling face to his, Ciampa puts hand on Gargano’s shoulder as they smile and celebrate win |
| Face of the Brand | 2/2020 – 4/2020 | 2/16: TakeOver: Portland, Ciampa loses NXT Championship because of Gargano attacking him2/20: NXT, Gargano gets heel heat from crowd3/11: NXT, Ciampa attacks Gargano in WWE Performance Center3/18: pandemic NXT, video package of Triple HHH introducing them as best of friends but maybe better enemies, interview Gargano saying wrestled together little in indies but tryouts brought them together, Gargano says paired together with no reason just happenstance or destiny, Ciampa agrees happenstance put them into room together and shared same rental car, Ciampa saying had instant chemistry with Gargano, Ciampa requested Cruiserweight match and felt electricity, Ciampa lived with Gargano and Le Rae in Orlando, living and traveling together made them closer, but Ciampa felt jealousy and attacked Gargano, Gargano had hoped his friend was coming back but turned when thought Ciampa would betray him again3/25: Triple HHH says rivalry has gone too far, calls both to ring, Gargano regrets not being the one to break Ciampa’s neck, Ciampa says one final match to determine who is the face of NXT, Gargano says will show world what monster Ciampa is |
| Going Separate Ways | 4/2020 – 5/2021 | 4/8: NXT filmed final match between Ciampa and Gargano in NXT |
Table 2. Timeline Analysis with Encoding
From that moment, the intensity of their story increased. As the years and story progressed, the story continued to present these elements. Their performances in-ring included intense eye contact, hugging, arms around each other, cradling head to chest, and rustling hair. Commentator rhetoric included discussing their reunion, chemistry, being long-time friends, and having a Cinderella story. The rhetoric of their promos involved referring them to being good friends, then brothers, family, and even having love for each other. Of course, all of this rhetoric is meant to persuade the audience of their closeness so that any eventual turn would have a strong emotional resonance with the audience. Such is common storytelling tactics in professional wrestling. But the level and amount of physical intimacy extends the common language of a tag-team as brothers into something heightened. It is not surprising, then, that the fans reacted to these men in very emotional ways, such as intense cheers and boos, depending on the point in the storyline. More interestingly, however, are how the slash fanfics reflect the emotional nature of their performances and the storyline.
Decoding Analysis. Table 3 adds a decoding analysis to the encoding analysis. Again, form the beginning, Ciampa and Gargano were able to receive strong reactions from the live NXT crowds with cheers for DIY and boos for Blackheart – until he won and celebrated “Goldie,” a reference to his recently born daughter. Additionally, the reactions of the AO3 fanfic writers hint at the interpretations of the NXT storyline that prompted their own recoding. For example, after becoming the official tag team #DIY, on the August 31, 2016, episode, Ciampa was attacked without Gargano around. After this happened, a fan wrote a story, “Phone Tag,” that depicts them arguing about their relationship with each other and ending up spooning in bed. One reader’s response: “Awwww. ❤ I love how much they both want to look out for each other but are just having a hard time.” These comments do more than provide feedback to the fanfic authors; the comments also sometimes present their decoding of the events in the kayfabe storyline, and they are responding to fanfic plotpoints that appear to either reflect their own interpretations or present what they had wished occurred in the kayfabe storyline. And, as seen in the table below, Ciampa’s heel turn generated a lot of anguished fan responses.
| Story Stage | Dates | Encoded Performances | Decoded Reactions |
| Strangers Team Up | 9/2015 – 5/2016 | 9/9/15: Hug after winning, keep arms around each other, Gargano hugging Ciampa’s head to his chest9/16/15: commentators mention their chemistry, Ciampa checks on Gargano after loss10/30/15: close to each other outside ring after loss4/13/16: commentators say they seem relaxed after being reunited, Ciampa encouraging Gargano5/25/16: Ciampa pats Gargano’s back, high-five after winning | 9/9/15: hot tag from Ciampa to Gargano9/16/15: getting crowd support when requested 10/30/15: lots of crowd support4/13/16: lots of crowd support, quiet attention 5/25/16: crowd pops excitedly at their entrance |
| Cruiserweight Challenge | 6/2016 | 6/1: pose together in corner6/23: promo saying thrust into tag team but clicked instantly, traveling and rooming together, depending on each other so bond grew, “we’re as good of friends as you can get at this point,” Gargano talks to him more than own fiancée, Ciampa on how hit family harder than others6/23: first round of Cruiserweight challenge, Ciampa as “Psycho Killer” and Gargano as underdog, Ciampa upset over losing but still pulls Gargano’s head to chest for hug6/23: after match interview, Gargano says Ciampa still best friend and asks if had to hit so hard, Ciampa says “Johnny Wrestling” before walking off, Gargano laughs and says “that means he loves me” | 6/1: crowd support, hot tag to Gargano 6/23: “This is awesome” chant, ” Fight forever” chant |
| #DIY as Underdogs | 8/2016 – 4/2017 | 8/20: TakeOver: Brooklyn II, for tag-team championship, Ciampa gives Gargano the #DIY shirt and says they do things their way, tells Regal backstage he chooses Gargano every day, Ciampa pulls Gargano to him when they first enter as #DIY, commentary calls them long-time friends who know each other well, trick finish leaves them thinking they won so they hug, after learning they are heart broken, Ciampa comforts Gargano with a hug, helps Gargano up and keeps his hand on his partner’s back as they thank the crowd, outside the ring Gargano apologizes but Ciampa just pulls Gargano’s head to his chest for a hug 10/26-11/9: 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag-Team Classic, not much happens outside crowd support and Ciampa saving Gargano11/19: TakeOver: Toronto, for tag-team championships, 2-3 falls, to psych up Ciampa grabs Gargano’s head to touch foreheads and massages Gargano’s shoulders, after tying again foreheads touch, after winning Ciampa hugs Gargano, they hug and roll on mat, arms around each other as they help each other up, Ciampa keeps arm around partner, Gargano puts head on Ciampa’s shoulder, Ciampa rustles others hair, Gargano hugs Ciampa as they start up the ramp, walk up ramp with arms around each other11/23: they go into crowd to celebrate12/16: Ciampa manages Gargano’s shoulders before match starts1/4/17: after winning Ciampa puts arm around Gargano’s shoulders and pulls him into hug, Gargano puts arm around Ciampa’s neck to embrace as hold their titles, Ciampa pats Gargano’s face as they leave1/11: Ciampa saves beat up Gargano 1/28: TakeOver: San Antonio lose titles, both in pain but not together3/1: titles rematch lost, both in pain outside ring but this time close to each other4/1: TakeOver: Orlando, triple threat, Ciampa eliminated | 8/20: crowd loudly supporting with “Let’s go Ciampa! Johnny Wrestling”chant, crowd explodes to thinking they won 10/26-11/9: loud crowd support 11/19: loud “This is awesome” chants 11/23: crowd chants “You deserve it” 12/26: “Geez, but the Brooklyn one was painful, probably because that was the one so many of us expected.” (Chasesstarlight, “5 Things…”)12/26: “There can never be too much post-CWC [hurt/comfort], right?” (RedLeaderfic, “Momens of Doubt”)1/1/17: “They are so adorable, it’s just not fair. :D” (salamandelbrot, “Apartment Wrestling”)1/4: “The relationship progression is one of the things I love most between these two.” (Lanternhill, “Phone Tag”) 1/11: hot tag to Ciampa1/17: “I’m not opposed to Ciampa turning on Johnny one day, but I hope that day is far off!” (Lanternhill, “5 Things…”)1/24: “…they make a great team in and out of the ring.” (AnnGraham, “Attack”)1/28: hot tag to Ciampa, crowd investment deflated when they lose4/1: crowd behind them, hot tagb to Ciampa, crowd chants “bullshit” and “DIY” when they leave |
| Blackheart Turns Heel | 5/2017 – 12/2017 | 5/20: TakeOver: Chicago promo, both say they were not supposed to be here but did it their way, showing solidarity in victory and defeat5/20: ladder match, Authors of Pain about to hit Ciampa in face with ladder but Gargano pushes him away to take the hit, commentary says to “save a friend,” Ciampa crawls to check on him and grabs his hair, Ciampa could go up ladder but helps up Gargano who grabs Ciampa’s head, they climb ladders together and when Gargano falters Ciampa helps, but they are defeated, after loss they sit close together, Ciampa places hand on Gargano’s leg then inches closer to place arm around his shoulders, Gargano places arm around Ciampa as they help each other up to standing ovation and chants, they briefly embrace before going up the ramp, at top of ramp they stand with arms around each other to look at the crowd, Ciampa brings Gargano’s head in then quickly pivots them and runs Gargano into the lighted entranceway, Ciampa cold expression as knees Gargano’s face, Ciampa looks down as Gargano reaches for him and crawls into Ciampa’s lamp as they make eye contact, annoyed Ciampa pulls Gargano up and powerbombs him on the announce table, Ciampa stands over Gargano with his partner’s chin in his hand and stares coldly as Gargano puts his hand on Ciampa’s stomach, Ciampa puts Gargano into a fireman’s carry and plunges him through an equipment chest below stage, Gargano motionless as Cimapa sits on the announcer’s table and looks down at Gargano5/24: NXT, Ciampa on crutches, says needs ACL surgery but will return, crowd booing strongly, Gargano then competes in singles until Ciampa’s return | 5/20: crowd chanting for “DIY,” crowd boos Ciampa heel turn, crowd chants “Fuck you Ciampa,” crowd chants “Asshole” at end5/24: “It’s exactly what I needed after Chicago, after they broke my heart…” (Everdark, “Our Moment”)6/25: “Aw, boys. See how things can work out if you TALK TO EACH OTHER?” (RedLeaderfic, “Friends That…”)6/28: “A good boy is pretty much the best description of Johnny ever.” (badwolf, “Every Inch”)6/28: “…this is the universe I will choose to live in while I am still in denial about the breakup of DIY.” (PurpleSpider, “Friends That…”)7/1: “Pssh, who wants to talk about feelings when you could attempt murder live on WWE Network instead? /0\” (APgeeksout, “Friends That…”7/6: “i’m just gonna close my eyes and pretend this is actually what happened on the day that shall not be named.” (Alex_Heartzz001, “Friends That…”7/13: “I’m so glad you captured the backstage segments we didn’t get to see in this wonder and canonical– thing that–totally–*sob*–happened!” (Mithen, “Friends That…”8/8: “EVERYTHING about Chicago was about control and Tommaso trying to create some when he felt everything slipping through his fingers, no matter how objectively bonkers that seems to anyone not in Tommaso’s head, and this is such a perfect encapsulation of that.” (RedLeaderfic, “Eye of the Storm”)8/24: “Tommaso and Johnny are breaking my heart lately (come back and break it in person, Tommaso!)…” (orphan_account, “Eye of the Storm”8/27: “Johnny better never tag team again, is all I’m saying. I don’t think I could bear it is Tommaso did end up replaced! (okay, he’s allowed to tag if it leads to more angst about Tommaso, that would be okay…)” (orphan_account, “Eye of the Storm”)9/9: “Gah, [Ciampa’s] so deliciously messy right now, and that’s just based on his Twitter feed! I cannot wait to have him back, being delusional and self-sabotaging like all good heels…” (Moonsault, “Eye of the Storm”10/16: “Just keep telling yourself that every time [Ciampa’s] a heart-destroying monster on twitter, it’s really a coded love confession. /0\” (APgeeksout, “Double Agency”)11/4: “I was just watching this week’s NXT, and Johnny’s face at the end of his match… So much emotion, that air of emotional tension building on unresolved issues and uncertain sense of identity… Good grief, when Tomasso comes back it’s all coming to a head and it’s gonna be thermonuclear.” (OracleNorn, “Eye of the Storm”) |
| Torturing Rebel Heart | 1/2018 – 11/2018 | 1/27/18: TakeOver: Philadelphia match of Gargano vs Almas, Ciampa returns and attacks Gargano from behind with crutch2/21: Gargano loses to Almas due to Ciampa interference and stipulated to leave NXT, commentary calls Ciampa “Sicilian psychopath”,Ciampa smiles and waves good-bye2/28: Ciampa takes fan’s Gargano sign and rips it up and hits it with a crutch, Ciampa says Gargano’s gone, does same routine on following NXT episodes until Gargano surprises him by being in the crowd and beats him up4/7: TakeOver: New Orleans, promo where Gargano asks why his brother and best friend did this, Ciampa says Gargano was selfish4/7: unsanctioned match, commentary calls them best friends turned bitter enemies, commentary calls Ciampa a “sadistic son of a bitch,” arms around each other as lay on ground resting, Ciampa up first and Gargano uses Ciampa’s knee brace to pull himself up, Gargano puts his head on Ciampa’s stomach and Ciampa grabs his chin and pulls him up, Gargano’s hands go to Ciampa’s face but he says “this is my moment” and Gargano decks him, Gargano removes Ciampa’s knee brace and hits Ciampa’s surgically repaired knee with it, Gargano breaks the crutch but hesitates hitting Ciampa with it, Gargano goes to sit by Ciampa but he swings the brace at Gargano who ducks but uses the brace to make Ciampa submit4/25: Ciampa attacks Gargano during his return6/16: TakeOver: Chicago II: Chicago street fight involves Ciampa forcibly removing Gargano’s wedding ring and throwing it into the crowd7/25: Ciampa wins NXT Championship due to Gargano’s interference8/18: TakeOver: Brooklyn IV: triple threat becomes last man standing for NXT Championship after someone attacks Black10/24: revealed that Gargano attacked Black11/17: Ciampa versus Dream, but Gargano returns having been “absolved of sins” by Black | 1/27/18: crowd loudly applauses to see Ciampa return but then boos and chants “Asshole”2/9: “Excellent fic but ROUGH to come back to. God bless you, Johnny Wrestling.” (TheCinematicReveal ThatBatmanIsDead, “Going Nuclear”)2/21: crowd stunned but chants “Thank you Johnny” 2/28: Ciampa enters without music, just crowd boos 4/7: Ciampa again enters without music just crowd boos and chants of “asshole” and “Fuck you Ciampa,” loud cheer for Gagano’s entrance, Gargano powerbombs Ciampa to concrete and crowd chants “You deserve it” 8/26: “I hardly know how to deal with how Johnny keeps veering closer to comic book villainy himself!” (APgeeksout, “Do It Together”) |
| Dark #DIY | 12/2018 – 3/2019 | 12/19: Black versus Gargano in steel cage with Ciampa’s assist1/23/19: Ciampa helps Gargano beat Ricochet, Gargano helps Ciampa beat Black, they leave together and Ciampa tries to shake Gargano’s hand but he is interrupted by Le Rae1/26: TakeOver: Phoenix, both win their own matchs, Ciampa waiting on stage when Gargano done, stand side-by-side holding their belts, during off-air brawl Ciampa retaliates when Dream slaps Gargano2/3: Halftime Heat, Ciampa and Gargano team with Cole to take on Black, Dream, and RicochetFebruary appearances on Raw, Smackdown: Ciampa refers to them as “we” and Gargano reflects on how funny that they were at war last year2/20: NXT, Gargano refuses Ciampa’s help and loses title3/6: Ciampa and Gargano team in Dusty Rhodes Classic3/13: Gargano turns against Ciampa costing them win | 3/14: “They are such a criminally underutilized pairing! I mean come on, the tension on screen is ridiculous!” (unknown, “Troubling Thoughts” |
| Blackheart Black Out | 4/2019 – 9/2019 | Ciampa relinquishes title he calls “Goldie” for his daughter, out for neck surgery | 9/19: returns to crowd cheers |
| Daddy Returns for Goldie | 10/2019 – 1/2020 | 10/23: Ciampa and Gargano team up against Undisputed Era, then Gargano out with neck injury1/25/20: Worlds Collide, old DIY entrance, commentary calls them flagbearers who have not teamed together in ten months, after successful move they both sit on apron to clap and backslap themselves (started as Ciampa mocking crowd), then Ciampa pulls Gargano into hug, Ciampa helping Gargano, Gargano helps Ciampa up with Ciampa’s arm around Gargano’s shoulders, Gargano massages Ciampa’s neck and grabs smiling face to his, Ciampa puts hand on Gargano’s shoulder as they smile and celebrate win | 1/25/20: hot tag to Ciampa who gets “Daddy’s Home” chants |
| Face of the Brand | 2/2020 – 4/2020 | 2/16: TakeOver: Portland, Ciampa loses NXT Championship because of Gargano attacking him3/11: NXT, Ciampa attacks Gargano in WWE Performance Center3/18: pandemic NXT, video package of Triple HHH introducing them as best of friends but maybe better enemies, interview Gargano saying wrestled together little in indies but tryouts brought them together, Gargano says paired together with no reason just happenstance or destiny, Ciampa agrees happenstance put them into room together and shared same rental car, Ciampa saying had instant chemistry with Gargano, Ciampa requested Cruiserweight match and felt electricity, Ciampa lived with Gargano and Le Rae in Orlando, living and traveling together made them closer, but Ciampa felt jealousy and attacked Gargano, Gargano had hoped his friend was coming back but turned when thought Ciampa would betray him again3/25: Triple HHH says rivalry has gone too far, calls both to ring, Gargano regrets not being the one to break Ciampa’s neck, Ciampa says one final match to determine who is the face of NXT, Gargano says will show world what monster Ciampa is | 2/15: “Their interactions changing from like love to hate from one second to another with no external explanation, just like none has been given in kayfabe, but justified by people being complicated and relationships being difficult?” (namajague, “Missing You”)2/16: “I really do think the two of them have an incredibly complicated dynamic between their characters, across their various iterations as face, heel, partners, rivals, and it’s one that, to me, is incredibly interesting to explore in writing.” (noctecat, “Missing You.”)2/17: “Aw, this is really the heart of their relationship, isn’t it? Tragic sometimes, but always beautiful and now inseparable.” (APgeeksout, “Missing You”)“One of my favorite things in wrestling is that these characters always seem to find each other time and time again.” (ThatBohoFemme, “Missing You”)2/20: NXT, Gargano gets heel heat from crowd |
| Going Separate Ways | 5/2020 – 5/2021 | 4/8: NXT filmed final match between Ciampa and Gargano in NXT |
Table 3. Timeline Analysis with Encoding and Decoding
Slash fanfic or shipping fanfic where produce stories with favorite personas – can be way to work through elements of canon
One AO3: 43 stories, 13 with Mature rating. Slash stories tend to portray. Gargano as sweet, innocent, emotional, feminine, submissive, bottom. Ciampa as stoic, bitter, pained, aggressive, dominant, top.
Recording Analysis. Table 4 brings in the recoding analysis by looking at the AO3 fanfic. As of May 30th, 2021, I found 69 stories that shipped these characters. Across these stories, there were 446 comments, 2041 kudos, and 32,391 hits. The most common tags were: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Alternate Universe, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Kayfabe Compliant, Threesome (usually with Candice LeRae), and First Kiss. In the stories, Ciampa usually instigates sex, which seems to align with being instigator of touching in ring after matches. Overall, Gargano is portrayed as sweet, innocent, emotional, feminine, submissive, and a bottom. Ciampa is portrayed as stoic, bitter, pained, aggressive, dominant, and a top.
Furthermore, the stories appear to do two main things. First, these stories deepen their kayfabe relationship. The “Phone Tag” story mentioned above appears to have done that. Second, these stories to restore their kayfabe relationship. For example, the story “(Re)do It Yourself,” attempts to rebuild Ciampa/Gargano assumed “marriage” after the heel turn betrayal. From the author: “now as im posting this ciampa is getting neck surgery and i am crying 
im just gonna pretend that real life and the main roster fuck ups don’t exist and that weird heel diy is still on nxt and thriving i love them so much my heart is so full of love for those boys :’)” The comments to the authors also demonstrate fan recording. In response to Moonsault and orphan_account’s “5 Things That Never Happened to Tommaso Ciampa (and one thing that did)” published on December 16, 2016, APgeeksout reflects on the fanfic and relates it to the kayfabe storyline: “I especially love that, even in that moment, Tommaso’s aware of all the other decisions that could have led them someplace else, in light of the promo he cut this summer about how families don’t get to choose each other and he keeps choosing Johnny. <3.” To the same story, another fan indicates their interpretation of the Ciampa/Gargano relationship: “To see [Ciampa’s] loneliness so much that it’s all but palpable. His self doubt, his anger, his hurt…and then how it transforms into something better under the loving and patient hand of Johnny” (phoenixjustice, 1/4/17, italics in original). Several days later, the fan expanded on their interpretation: “It’s why I’m glad [Ciampa] has someone like Johnny to help balance him out. Johnny is the slow to anger kinda guy, whereas Tommaso is the hothead who gets angry much more quickly (he’s also SUPER protective over Johnny. That’s THE trigger button that you do NOT want to push with him. […] You do NOT hurt their boyfriends. XD).” Fans respond to the encoded message of Ciampa’s hot tags with their decoding to explain those actions as being protective and recode it into stories that explore, explain, play with, and expand upon their interpretations.
| Story Stage | Dates | Encoded Performances | Decoded Reactions | Recoded Fanfics |
| Strangers Team Up | 9/2015 – 5/2016 | 9/9/15: Hug after winning, keep arms around each other, Gargano hugging Ciampa’s head to his chest9/16/15: commentators mention their chemistry, Ciampa checks on Gargano after loss10/30/15: close to each other outside ring after loss4/13/16: commentators say they seem relaxed after being reunited, Ciampa encouraging Gargano5/25/16: Ciampa pats Gargano’s back, high-five after winning | 9/9/15: hot tag from Ciampa to Gargano 9/16/15: getting crowd support when requested 10/30/15: lots of crowd support4/13/16: lots of crowd support, quiet attention 5/25/16: crowd pops excitedly at their entrance | 0 fanfics |
| Cruiserweight Challenge | 6/2016 | 6/1: pose together in corner6/23: promo saying thrust into tag team but clicked instantly, traveling and rooming together, depending on each other so bond grew, “we’re as good of friends as you can get at this point,” Gargano talks to him more than own fiancée, Ciampa on how hit family harder than others6/23: first round of Cruiserweight challenge, Ciampa as “Psycho Killer” and Gargano as underdog, Ciampa upset over losing but still pulls Gargano’s head to chest for hug6/23: after match interview, Gargano says Ciampa still best friend and asks if had to hit so hard, Ciampa says “Johnny Wrestling” before walking off, Gargano laughs and says “that means he loves me” | 6/1: crowd support, hot tag to Gargano 6/23: “This is awesome” chant, “Fight forever” chant | 0 fanfics |
| #DIY as Underdogs | 8/2016 – 4/2017 | 8/20: TakeOver: Brooklyn II, for tag-team championship, Ciampa gives Gargano the #DIY shirt and says they do things their way, tells Regal backstage he chooses Gargano every day, Ciampa pulls Gargano to him when they first enter as #DIY, commentary calls them long-time friends who know each other well, trick finish leaves them thinking they won so they hug, after learning they are heart broken, Ciampa comforts Gargano with a hug, helps Gargano up and keeps his hand on his partner’s back as they thank the crowd, outside the ring Gargano apologizes but Ciampa just pulls Gargano’s head to his chest for a hug 10/26-11/9: 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag-Team Classic, not much happens outside crowd support and Ciampa saving Gargano11/19: TakeOver: Toronto, for tag-team championships, 2-3 falls, to psych up Ciampa grabs Gargano’s head to touch foreheads and massages Gargano’s shoulders, after tying again foreheads touch, after winning Ciampa hugs Gargano, they hug and roll on mat, arms around each other as they help each other up, Ciampa keeps arm around partner, Gargano puts head on Ciampa’s shoulder, Ciampa rustles others hair, Gargano hugs Ciampa as they start up the ramp, walk up ramp with arms around each other11/23: they go into crowd to celebrate12/16: Ciampa manages Gargano’s shoulders before match starts1/4/17: after winning Ciampa puts arm around Gargano’s shoulders and pulls him into hug, Gargano puts arm around Ciampa’s neck to embrace as hold their titles, Ciampa pats Gargano’s face as they leave1/11: Ciampa saves beat up Gargano 1/28: TakeOver: San Antonio lose titles, both in pain but not together3/1: titles rematch lost, both in pain outside ring but this time close to each other4/1: TakeOver: Orlando, triple threat, Ciampa eliminated | 8/20: crowd loudly supporting with “Let’s go Ciampa! Johnny Wrestling”chant, crowd explodes to thinking they won 10/26-11/9: loud crowd support 11/19: loud “This is awesome” chants 11/23: crowd chants “You deserve it” 1/11: hot tag to Ciampa1/28: hot tag to Ciampa, crowd investment deflated when they lose 4/1: crowd behind them, hot tag to Ciampa, crowd chants “bullshit” and “DIY” when they leave | 15 fanficsAll M/MRatings: T+ or GTags: Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, AU, Kayfabe Compliant 2/4: “Also, they’re just such a sweet pairing and their dynamic lends itself well to these [werewolf] tropes. […] Really I have a lot of AU headcanons where someone hurts Johnny and gets wrecked by Tommaso.” (SapphoIsBurning, “Out for Blood”) |
| Blackheart Turns Heel | 5/2017 – 12/2017 | 5/20: TakeOver: Chicago promo, both say they were not supposed to be here but did it their way, showing solidarity in victory and defeat5/20: ladder match, Authors of Pain about to hit Ciampa in face with ladder but Gargano pushes him away to take the hit, commentary says to “save a friend,” Ciampa crawls to check on him and grabs his hair, Ciampa could go up ladder but helps up Gargano who grabs Ciampa’s head, they climb ladders together and when Gargano falters Ciampa helps, but they are defeated, after loss they sit close together, Ciampa places hand on Gargano’s leg then inches closer to place arm around his shoulders, Gargano places arm around Ciampa as they help each other up to standing ovation and chants, they briefly embrace before going up the ramp, at top of ramp they stand with arms around each other to look at the crowd, Ciampa brings Gargano’s head in then quickly pivots them and runs Gargano into the lighted entranceway, Ciampa cold expression as knees Gargano’s face, Ciampa looks down as Gargano reaches for him and crawls into Ciampa’s lamp as they make eye contact, annoyed Ciampa pulls Gargano up and powerbombs him on the announce table, Ciampa stands over Gargano with his partner’s chin in his hand and stares coldly as Gargano puts his hand on Ciampa’s stomach, Ciampa puts Gargano into a fireman’s carry and plunges him through an equipment chest below stage, Gargano motionless as Cimapa sits on the announcer’s table and looks down at Gargano5/24: NXT, Ciampa on crutches, says needs ACL surgery but will return, crowd booing strongly, Gargano then competes in singles until Ciampa’s return | 5/20: crowd chanting for “DIY,” crowd boos Ciampa heel turn, crowd chants “Fuck you Ciampa,” crowd chants “Asshole” at end | 10 fanfics7 M/MRatings: 2MTags: AU, Mating Bond, Were-Creatures, Hurt/Comfort 5/24: “It was a bit of therapy for me to write it, so I’m glad if it helps people to read as well.” (corneroffandom, “Our Moment”)6/14: “I would like to thank you for the supply of Tommaso and Johnny fics. They are helping me cope in these dark times.” (Sonja johnson, “Only Claim…”)8/29: “I haven’t been able to bring myself to write post-breakup Tommaso yet but this kind of self deception and angst is what I aspire to.” (SapphoIsBurning, “Eye of the Storm”) |
| Torturing Rebel Heart | 1/2018 – 11/2018 | 1/27/18: TakeOver: Philadelphia match of Gargano vs Almas, Ciampa returns and attacks Gargano from behind with crutch2/21: Gargano loses to Almas due to Ciampa interference and stipulated to leave NXT, commentary calls Ciampa “Sicilian psychopath”,Ciampa smiles and waves good-bye2/28: Ciampa takes fan’s Gargano sign and rips it up and hits it with a crutch, Ciampa says Gargano’s gone, does same routine on following NXT episodes until Gargano surprises him by being in the crowd and beats him up4/7: TakeOver: New Orleans, promo where Gargano asks why his brother and best friend did this, Ciampa says Gargano was selfish4/7: unsanctioned match, commentary calls them best friends turned bitter enemies, commentary calls Ciampa a “sadistic son of a bitch,” arms around each other as lay on ground resting, Ciampa up first and Gargano uses Ciampa’s knee brace to pull himself up, Gargano puts his head on Ciampa’s stomach and Ciampa grabs his chin and pulls him up, Gargano’s hands go to Ciampa’s face but he says “this is my moment” and Gargano decks him, Gargano removes Ciampa’s knee brace and hits Ciampa’s surgically repaired knee with it, Gargano breaks the crutch but hesitates hitting Ciampa with it, Gargano goes to sit by Ciampa but he swings the brace at Gargano who ducks but uses the brace to make Ciampa submit4/25: Ciampa attacks Gargano during his return6/16: TakeOver: Chicago II: Chicago street fight involves Ciampa forcibly removing Gargano’s wedding ring and throwing it into the crowd7/25: Ciampa wins NXT Championship due to Gargano’s interference8/18: TakeOver: Brooklyn IV: triple threat becomes last man standing for NXT Championship after someone attacks Black10/24: revealed that Gargano attacked Black11/17: Ciampa versus Dream, but Gargano returns having been “absolved of sins” by Black | 1/27/18: crowd loudly applauses to see Ciampa return but then boos and chants “Asshole” 2/21: crowd stunned but chants “Thank you Johnny” 2/28: Ciampa enters without music, just crowd boos 4/7: Ciampa again enters without music just crowd boos and chants of “asshole” and “Fuck you Ciampa,” loud cheer for Gagano’s entrance, Gargano powerbombs Ciampa to concrete and crowd chants “You deserve it” | 12 fanfics11 M/MRatings: 1M, 1M(RNC)Tags: Friends to Enemies, Enemies to Lovers, AU, Kayfabe Divergence |
| Dark #DIY | 12/2018 – 3/2019 | 12/19: Black versus Gargano in steel cage with Ciampa’s assist1/23/19: Ciampa helps Gargano beat Ricochet, Gargano helps Ciampa beat Black, they leave together and Ciampa tries to shake Gargano’s hand but he is interrupted by Le Rae1/26: TakeOver: Phoenix, both win their own matchs, Ciampa waiting on stage when Gargano done, stand side-by-side holding their belts, during off-air brawl Ciampa retaliates when Dream slaps Gargano2/3: Halftime Heat, Ciampa and Gargano team with Cole to take on Black, Dream, and RicochetFebruary appearances on Raw, Smackdown: Ciampa refers to them as “we” and Gargano reflects on how funny that they were at war last year2/20: NXT, Gargano refuses Ciampa’s help and loses title3/6: Ciampa and Gargano team in Dusty Rhodes Classic3/13: Gargano turns against Ciampa costing them win | 14 fanfics11 M/MRatings 2 E, 2 M(RNC), 2MTags: Hurt/Comfort, Kayfabe Compliant, Friends to Enemies to Lovers 3/16: “…ciampa is getting neck surgery and i am crying Im just gonna pretend that real life and the main roster don’t exist and that weird heel diy is still on nxt and thriving i love them so much my heart is so full of love for those boys:’)” (bohemianrazberry, “(Re)do it yourself”) | |
| Blackheart Black Out | 4/2019 – 9/2019 | Ciampa relinquishes title he calls “Goldie” for his daughter, out for neck surgery | returns to crowd cheers | 6 fanfics3 M/M2ETags: Kayfabe Compliant |
| Daddy Returns for Goldie | 10/2019 – 1/2020 | 10/23: Ciampa and Gargano team up against Undisputed Era, then Gargano out with neck injury1/25/20: Worlds Collide, old DIY entrance, commentary calls them flagbearers who have not teamed together in ten months, after successful move they both sit on apron to clap and backslap themselves (started as Ciampa mocking crowd), then Ciampa pulls Gargano into hug, Ciampa helping Gargano, Gargano helps Ciampa up with Ciampa’s arm around Gargano’s shoulders, Gargano massages Ciampa’s neck and grabs smiling face to his, Ciampa puts hand on Gargano’s shoulder as they smile and celebrate win | 1/25/20: hot tag to Ciampa who gets “Daddy’s Home” chants | 2 fanficsBoth M/MRatings: both G |
| Face of the Brand | 2/2020 – 4/2020 | 2/16: TakeOver: Portland, Ciampa loses NXT Championship because of Gargano attacking him3/11: NXT, Ciampa attacks Gargano in WWE Performance Center3/18: pandemic NXT, video package of Triple HHH introducing them as best of friends but maybe better enemies, interview Gargano saying wrestled together little in indies but tryouts brought them together, Gargano says paired together with no reason just happenstance or destiny, Ciampa agrees happenstance put them into room together and shared same rental car, Ciampa saying had instant chemistry with Gargano, Ciampa requested Cruiserweight match and felt electricity, Ciampa lived with Gargano and Le Rae in Orlando, living and traveling together made them closer, but Ciampa felt jealousy and attacked Gargano, Gargano had hoped his friend was coming back but turned when thought Ciampa would betray him again3/25: Triple HHH says rivalry has gone too far, calls both to ring, Gargano regrets not being the one to break Ciampa’s neck, Ciampa says one final match to determine who is the face of NXT, Gargano says will show world what monster Ciampa is | 2/20: NXT, Gargano gets heel heat from crowd | 1 fanficM/MT+Tag: Hurt/Comfort |
| Going Separate Ways | 5/2020 – 5/2021 | 4/8: NXT filmed final match between Ciampa and Gargano in NXT | 9 fanfics4 M/MRatings: 2E, 3M, 3NRTags: AU, Werewolves, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health, Best Friends, Feelings 11/10: “Tommaso Ciampa is a werewolf. I accept no other reality.” (SamoanSexGodReigns, “Don’t Fight Fate”) |
Table 4. Timeline Analysis with Encoding, Decoding, and Recoding
Overall, fans published 63 stories during this time period. The #DIY as Underdogs stage seemingly built the narrative foundation via emotional cues, and this time period saw 16 fanfics published. During the Blackheart Turns Heel to Dark #DIY stages, fans published 36 stories, and the majority attempted to reconcile their relationship after the betrayal and breakup. Then, from Blackheart Black Out to Going Separate Ways stages, 12 stories seemed less interested in Gargano as an aggressor. The majority of the fanfic appears written during the periods when they were teaming as faces or heels. This amount of recoding suggests higher fan engagement, as the encoding provided the fans with gaps in the storyline that their decoding could then inform their recoding.
Queering via AU Fanfic
Encoding sees homosocial relationship that challenges gender stereotypes and heightens melodrama. Decoding involves emotional reations to emotional story cues. Recoding operates as relationship maintenance. Alternate universe fan fiction as expanding homosocial relationship to homosexual one to explain and repair story as presented. Negotiating their reaction to the story through textual poaching. More than just negotiating: filling in the gaps of the story with their own explanation for emotional performance.
Fanfic not recoding the story but the emotions of the stories. Those emotions play a role in how fans decode the stories. For fans, emotional reactions important to maintenance of kayfabe, and the Ciampa/Gargano storyline has encoded strong emotional beats. Pre-break-up, decoded their bond. Post-break-up, recoding tries to reconcile pair. In recoding, being faith to story’s facts not as important as exploring emotional subtext. First, explain homosocial, nonstereotypical relationship and heightened masculine melodrama. Second, repair bonds of broken relationship already assumed to be more than platonic.
E/D/R model analysis suggests support for NXT displaying non-traditional pro-wrestling relationship. Recoding fanfic to support development of relationship and repairing relationship. Also shows where NXT’s storytelling slips. From beginning, encoding and recoding position Ciampa as more aggressive, but NXT trying to turn Gargano into aggressor – thereby creating disconnect between established encoding – did not align with fans’ fanon and expectations. Stories post-Gargano heel turn retain focus on Ciampa as aggressor.
Conclusion
Whether they were friends or foes, Gargano and Ciampa’s performances inside the ring involved a level and type of physicality less common in WWE matches. Other than just the technical skill of their movesets or their willingness to risk their bodies, the men embraced one another repeatedly in emotional displays of solidarity, joy, and pain. Commentators highlighted their emotional in-ring performances, remaking on their ability to tell stories almost completely through expression and gesture. And the men’s social media accounts, especially when they were #DIY and when Ciampa turned, furthered this storyline, creating a transmedia experience that added to the kayfabe that these two men were more than friends.
E/D/R model application to fan studies as possible means to understand relationship between text and reception.
Fans pushing queering as coping strategy. What appears to be happening is that NXT encoded into their storyline a level and type of homosocial relationship that challenges gender stereotypes in professional wrestling. The fans, then, have emotional decoding reactions to the emotional story cues. What they recode through their slash fanfic are homosexual relationships that serve two purposes: first, to explain the nonstereotypical homosocial relationship; second, to repair the bonds of the broken relationship between Gargano and Ciampa. In this way, their recording operates as a form of relationship maintenance that helps establish why these two men — originally positioned as strangers to each other — acted as they did and also helps the wrestlers — and their fans — work through the tensions to hopefully reunite the wrestlers and thereby give them a happy ending.
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