not sign with WWE, Gargano continued making appearances for NXT over the next few months. In Gargano's first televised NXT match he teamed with Tommaso Ciampa in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, defeating the team of Bull Dempsey and Tyler Breeze in their first round match on the September 9 episode. They were eliminated from the tournament by Baron Corbin and Rhyno on the September 16 episode. Gargano continued working for NXT in early 2016. On April 2, it was confirmed that Gargano had signed with WWE earlier in the week. Gargano's NXT contract was a so-called "Tier 2" contract, which allowed him to continue working independent dates alongside his now regular NXT bookings. On June 23, Gargano entered the Cruiserweight Classic tournament, defeating his tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa the first round. On July 14, Gargano was eliminated from the tournament by T.J. Perkins. On July 21, it was reported that Gargano was signing a new full-time NXT deal, which would prevent him from taking further independent bookings. On August 20 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Gargano and Ciampa unsuccessfully challenged The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) for the NXT Tag Team Championship. Gargano and Ciampa, now billed collectively as "DIY" (often stylized as #DIY), received another title shot in a two-out-of-three falls match on November 19 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, where they defeated The Revival to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. DIY went on to successfully defend their championships against the team of Tajiri and Akira Tozawa and TM61 in Japan and Australia, respectively. At NXT TakeOver: San Antonio on January 28, 2017, they lost the titles to The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar). They received their rematch on the March 1 episode of NXT, which ended in a no contest after The Revival interfered and attacked both teams. This led to a triple threat elimination match between all three teams for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Orlando on April 1, which DIY lost after being the first team eliminated. On May 20 at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, DIY once again faced The Authors of Pain in the first-ever ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championship, which they lost. After the match, Ciampa turned on Gargano to end the partnership between the two. Their feud continued when Gargano faced Andrade Cien Almas at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, but he