NXT Championship
At the next NXT event, , Gargano failed to capture the NXT Championship from Andrade "Cien" Almas. After the match, Ciampa returned to attack Gargano from behind with a crutch. Gargano's match with Almas at TakeOver: Philadelphia was highly acclaimed, earning five stars from Wrestling Observer Newsletter journalist Dave Meltzer, making it the first match in NXT history to receive a five-star rating, as well as WWE's sixth overall and the first one since John Cena vs. CM Punk at the 2011 Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Gargano faced Almas for the NXT Championship again on the February 21 episode of "NXT", where Gargano failed to win the title after interference from Tommaso Ciampa, thus forcing him to (kayfabe) leave NXT. At , he defeated Ciampa in an unsanctioned match to be reinstated to NXT. Dave Meltzer would award this match five-stars, this being the third for NXT (following the NXT North American Championship ladder match earlier that night), and the second for Gargano in less than three months. On the April 25 episode of "NXT", Gargano was once again attacked by Ciampa while he was making his entrance for his NXT Championship match against Aleister Black, leading to a Chicago Street Fight was scheduled between them at , which Ciampa won.