Over his 6 years in WWE, Johnny Gargano has gone through a lot of character changes. I wanted to take a look at he career of my favorite wrestler, and see how he's grown as a character over the years.
It's no secret that Johnny Gargano is my favorite wrestler. Having followed his career for so many years now, I have loved everything he's done and he has been such a big part of my life. From his incredible show-stealing matches to loveable characters, Gargano has been a cornerstone of the NXT brand. You can't look at NXT without Gargano's name coming up, he's become the de facto face of the brand over the last few years, and for good reason. During his nearly 6 years wrestling with the company, Gargano has grown and changed, going through so many different characters and constantly reinventing himself. Gargano's career can be tracked by looking at one thing: the Johnny Gargano way of doing things. I want to take a look at Johnny's NXT career and track his character's growth over the years, from indie cameo to father of the year!
A man with many nicknames (The Bee's Knees, The Cat's Pajamas, The Whole Shebang, All Heart, Johnny Wrestling) would make his NXT debut on Sept. 9, 2015, in that year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Teaming with Tommaso Ciampa Gargano and Ciampa would beat the team of Breeze and Dempsey to advance to the next round of the tournament in a shock upset. While they would end up losing their next match to Baron Corbin and Rhyno, the duo immediately made their mark on the brand connecting with the crowd as an up-and-coming team. These early NXT days for Gargano were very interesting because he wasn't actually signed to a contract with WWE at first. He was still working indie shows with other companies at the time which was a very rare thing for talent at the time. He'd work on and off with Ciampa as a team in NXT, but they hadn't been fully committed to the team yet and he'd still been wrestling as a singles competitor wrestling the likes of Apollo Crews and Samoa Joe. We didn't get to spend a lot of time with Gargano back then so we never really got a proper chance to learn more about him, but we got to see bits and pieces of Johnny Wrestling here and there. In 2016 during the Cruiserweight Classic, Gargano would fight Ciampa in one of the biggest matches of the entire tournament in the first round. This match just showed how much potential there was in Gargano as a singles wrestler, and it also showed how much chemistry he has with his tag team partner. Shortly after the CWC ended, Gargano would sign a full-time contract with WWE and we would finally get to see him in the spotlight.
Now that they were both signed and could be featured more and more on NXT, Gargano and Ciampa soon began to take over the tag team division. Gaining more and more momentum, the duo would eventually challenge for the titles at Takeover: Brooklyn II, facing The Revival. While they would come up short that night, they gained something else. Before the match, Gargano and Ciampa would officially dub themselves DIY. This wasn't just a name for them, it represented the story of their careers. They had always done things their own way no matter what anyone else had told them. They got here on their own, they did it themselves. This inspirational moniker would represent the two, unifying them and cementing them as a proper tag team. It wasn't long before they were challenging for the titles again though, they got their rematch against The Revival at Takeover: Toronto in a 2/3 falls match. In one of my favorite matches and moments in wrestling history, DIY would make both members of The Revival tap out at the same time to finally win the tag titles. Two underdogs that weren't even signed to the company that time last year had reached the top of the mountain together, doing it their way. The team would go on to hold the title for 69 days, touring the world and defeating the likes of The Revival, Tajiri & Tozawa, and TM61. It wasn't until the dominant team of the Authors of Pain had set their sights on the titles that DIY had met their match, thus losing the titles at Takeover: San Antonio. DIY would have one final chance to reclaim the tag titles at Takeover: Chicago, where they would be unsuccessful and it would make the lowest point for the team. After the match, Ciampa would brutally turn on Gargano claiming that it was his moment, disbanding the team and making a lifelong rival out of Gargano.
It wasn't all bad though, as out of the ashes of DIY Johnny Wrestling was finally born. After a two-month hiatus from the brand, Gargano made his long-awaited return. With Ciampa out on the shelf for the foreseeable future, Gargano was left confused, shocked, and lost with where he's to go from here. Looking towards the future of his singles career, Gargano said that "I need to be Johnny Gargano again... more importantly, I need to be Johnny Wrestling." Gargano had his sights set on singles action, wanting to establish himself as the workhorse of NXT, putting on must-see matches that the brand is synonymous with. At the very next show, Takeover: Brooklyn III, Gargano would look to gain some momentum by defeating Andrade "Cien" Almas who had been making waves with his new manager Zelina Vega. Right as it looked like Gargano would reign victorious after their hard-hitting show-stealing match, a distraction from Vega would cost him everything. She would throw a DIY shirt in just as Johnny was about to hit his superkick, which gave Almas enough time to capitalize. Gargano was clearly still haunted by his demons that he hadn't been able to vanquish yet. Over the next few months, Johnny would work his way up the card and prove not only to the WWE universe but to himself that he deserved his place on the brand. We'd learn more and more about Johnny as he continued to get more time to shine and build himself back up. Johnny Wrestling is all about being underestimated and an underdog, when the world tells you no and that you'll never make it, he is living proof that anyone can accomplish their dreams. He is going to just keep fighting despite any setback, his rebel heart will not take no for an answer and he will prove that he is the best in this ring and that he belongs in NXT. He was inspiring others and a beacon of hope for anyone. He would prove this and finally get himself his biggest match yet at Takeover: Philidelphia. Not only did he have another shot at the NXT championship, but he also had another shot at the now-champion Andrade "Cien" Almas. While he was able to put on what is regarded as one of the greatest matches in NXT history, he, unfortunately, came up short again. And as if the night wasn't bad enough, on his way out he was attacked by a returning Tommaso Ciampa to really make sure it was the worst night in Gargano's life.
Despite the devastating attack from Ciampa at Takeover, Gargano wouldn't be able to get his revenge just yet as Ciampa was nowhere to be seen. Gargano refocused his attention on the NXT championship and put it all on the line with one more shot at Almas in a career vs title match. This moment gave us a big look into Gargano's character, as we were able to see the passion that Gargano had for wrestling. He was willing to put his dream on the line just for one more fair chance at the NXT championship. Unfortunately, that match would be all but fair. After an elbow from Andrade accidentally took out the ref, Ciampa struck once again right as Gargano was about to make Andrade tap out. Johnny would end up losing the match because of that, and his career as well. It seemed that despite all the fight Gargano had in him, the odds were stacked too high against him and he was about to be woken up from his dream. NXT moved on without arguably their most popular star for the next few weeks. As Ciampa attempted for the third week in a row to celebrate Gargano's departure from the brand, he was once again drowned out by a frustrated crowd. He argued with the angry fans, ripping Gargano signs in protest, one fan happened to be Gargano himself, who jumped at the opportunity to finally get some sort of payback on his friend turned bitter enemy. After that attack, the stage was set for Takeover: New Orleans. Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match, if Gargano won he would get his job back. In one of, if not, my favorite matches of all time, Gargano was finally able to defeat his rival and earn back his dream. It was an incredibly emotional affair, and we could see how much passion Johnny had for this. Despite everything that had been thrown at him, he refused to give up. He had finally been able to conquer his past, and now he could try and focus on his future and finally achieve his dream. Gargano intended to put his past with Ciampa behind him and be the first to challenge for Aleister Black's NXT championship, but on the night that match was supposed to happen, Ciampa blindsided and hospitalized Gargano, proclaiming he would never be rid of him. The two would continue to fight as weeks went on and as Ciampa's attacks got more and more personal, dragging his wife Candice LeRae into the mix. The two were set for a rematch at Takeover: Chicago II, a fitting place for them to fight after Ciampa's betrayal one year ago at the same show. The attacks had clearly been getting to Gargano's head, as he was getting much more desperate and violent in this match letting his anger get the best of him. That would, unfortunately, cost him the match, marking a huge low point and a big change in Gargano's character.
Since his debut in NXT, we've seen Gargano grow as a person and we've gotten to know him more and more as the never say die underdog who will fight to achieve his dream. After Takeover: Chicago II, Gargano would be wrestling a much more aggressive and hard-hitting style. He began to be consumed by vengeance, willing to do anything it takes to beat Ciampa. Ciampa had moved on from Gargano though and had his sights set on Black's NXT championship, but Gargano refused to let that happen, especially not before he could win the title. During Black and Ciampa's all-important title match, it was Gargano's interference that would inadvertently cost Black the title, meaning that Ciampa was the NXT champion, and it was all Johnny's fault. This was all set to come to a head in a triple threat at Takeover: Brooklyn IV, that was until Aleister Black was mysteriously injured just days before that match. The match now set to be just between Gargano and Ciampa would be under Last Man Standing rules, and we once again saw Gargano at his most unstable. That would, once again, cost him the match as he went to end Ciampa with his own running knee before Ciampa would move out of the way sending Gargano careening down off the stage for the 10 count. Over the next few weeks, Gargano would become almost self-aware of the mistakes he had been making. He was costing himself countless opportunities all because he couldn't control his emotions after all the torment Ciampa put him through. This would reach a boiling point on the October 24th episode of NXT, where Aleister Black would demand answers from who attacked him over a month ago. In one of the most chaotic segments ever, it was shockingly revealed that Gargano had been the one who took out Black in an attempt to heighten his chances at the championship. Gargano promised that he was on a path towards "righting a wrong, fulfilling a promise, and ME... me being the one to defeat Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT championship." His desperation brought him down a dark path, where he was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish his childhood dream.
Gargano was set to settle the score with Black at Takeover: War Games. Wrestling at his most violent here, Gargano wasn't able to get the job done as he fell victim to two black mass kicks. After the match, Black said to have absolved Gargano of his sins that night, but Gargano wasn't done with the darkness just yet. He insisted on one more match with Black, saying that their rivalry isn't done until Gargano said so. Only this time, it would be contested in a steel cage match which Black agreed to, stating that Gargano was far beyond absolution at this point and needed to be annihilated. That match was vicious as ever but took a shocking turn as Ciampa stopped Black from escaping the cage to aid Gargano in getting the victory. They even did their tag team finisher together and met Black in the middle to secure the win for Gargano. It was shocking to see them on the same page again, as Ciampa began to manipulate his former enemy into joining him. At Ciampa's suggestion, Gargano went after the North American championship with the hopes of taking over the world with his former DIY partner and making sure that his 2019 was all about wins and championships. As Takeover: Phoenix got closer and closer, so did Ciampa and Gargano as they seemed to be working together once again. When it finally came time for Phoenix, Gargano was able to defeat Ricochet to win the North American championship all on his own, though the way he got to this point was questionable. The final image as Takeover faded to black saw Gargano and Ciampa standing side by side with their titles in hand, fulfilling their promise of taking over the world together, a dark day in Gargano's past. Unfortunately, Gargano's reign would come to an end rather quickly. He would go on to lose it only 3 weeks later after losing control of his temper once again in the match, seeing his dream fall out of his hands rather quickly. It wasn't long until Ciampa was back manipulating Gargano once again, saying that Gargano was at his best when he was at Ciampa's side and that they should enter the Dusty Tag Team Classic together so they could be tag champs, an echo of how it all started for them. Gargano shockingly agreed, reuniting DIY - but it wouldn't last long. The duo would be eliminated, losing to the team of Black and Ricochet after Gargano hurt his knee late into the match, meaning Ciampa had to go at it alone. After the match, Ciampa went to attack Gargano the same way he had 2 years ago by throwing him into the tron. Only this time Gargano was ready for it, revealing that his knee was never hurt and that he knew what he was doing the entire time. He planned this all out so that he could get closer to Ciampa, and then strike when he least expected it. He might have gone to some dark places, but Johnny Wrestling was finally back and made it known that he was coming for that NXT Championship at Takeover: New York.
While Gargano was back in full force doing better than ever, Ciampa had been injured in the attack and would be out on the shelf for the foreseeable future. While it wasn't exactly how Gargano had envisioned winning the title, his goals were still the same. It was determined in a fatal-5-way that Gargano would be facing Adam Cole for the vacant NXT championship. Over the last few years, Gargano had earned himself the nickname of Johnny Takeover thanks to his show-stealing performances and streak wrestling on the shows. It was a badge of honor he wore, symbolizing his passion for wrestling and that never say die attitude he had become famous for. Cole had mocked Gargano for his less than stellar win/loss ratio at Takeover and insulted him for being himself and not having what it takes to be champion. Gargano countered, saying that while his past hasn't been the greatest, all of those trials and tribulations have paved the way for the biggest match of his career. He wasn't going to let the fans down after all the support they had given him, and he was finally going to fulfill his destiny at Takeover to prove he has what it takes to win the big one. It was finally time for the biggest show in NXT's history, Takeover: New York. With years of buildup leading to this moment, Gargano and Cole clashed in a 2/3 falls match. In one of my favorite matches ever that I had the absolute pleasure of watching live, Gargano beat all the odds and was finally crowned as the NXT champion. It was the biggest feel-good moment in the brand's history, as Gargano was finally able to prove his naysayers wrong and accomplish the dream he had wanted more than anything. The era of Johnny Champion had officially begun. Unfortunately for Gargano, that era was quite disputed as Adam Cole was enraged at the outcome of their takeover match, and made sure he would be getting his rematch at Takeover: XXV. Gargano's reign would tragically be cut short that night as Cole managed to take the title from him. Unfortunately, Gargano was unable to bring back the NXT championship despite how personal things got between himself and Adam Cole. This period of his career marked a very interesting time for him.
Gargano would spend the next few months in limbo. Taking a short break after his last match against Cole, Gargano returned to the NXT brand proclaiming he wasn't going anywhere and that he was NXT 4 Life. After a vicious attack from Finn Balor though, Gargano would be on the shelf for the next 2 months. When he returned, he would finally be able to get his revenge on Balor at Takeover: Portland. At the same time, Gargano was once again forging a friendship with a now much kinder Tommaso Ciampa. They had even brought back DIY officially, as the two settled their differences with each other and were properly on the same page. That was until Takeover: Portland. After losing to Balor earlier on in the night, Gargano made an appearance during the Ciampa vs Cole match for the title to try and help his best friend and even the odds against the Undisputed Era. Gargano went to hand Ciampa the title to help him out until he looked into those eyes and saw a cold calculating look that he had only seen once before in Chicago. At that moment, Gargano decided to strike first and turn on Ciampa paranoid that it was going to happen to him soon, costing Ciampa the title. Gargano saw what the fans didn't, he knew Ciampa better than anyone and knew that the snake couldn't be trusted. Gargano and Ciampa were set to settle things with a final match between the two, one final beat in the heart of their undying feud. After a shocking appearance from Candice LeRae which lead to her low blowing her husband, it seemed like Ciampa had it won. That was until he received a low blow as well, with Gargano revealing that he had a cup on and this was all a part of their plan. This lead to the biggest change in Gargano's character yet. After years of fighting for the fans and lots of sacrifices, Gargano saw some of the fans turning on him a little bit. In came this new hot star in Adam Cole, and fans started losing interest in Gargano. He had even heard boos when making his entrances, and it didn't go unnoticed. His kindness was being taken advantage of, while others were fighting dirty and being rewarded for it. After countless failures and short reigns too, he needed to make a change in the way he did things. From here on out, he would be doing things "The Johnny Gargano Way". Joined by Candice LeRae who was also frustrated about how she had been treated by friends, putting their goals before her own time and time again, she was also looking to make a change. They were stronger together, and they planned on ruling NXT with a new focus on what it takes to succeed as the Power Couple of the brand.
Gargano and LeRae would spend the next few months fully embracing this new Johnny Gargano Way, doing whatever it takes to win. Both of them boasting new looks, new music, and new personalities to really cement the change. Gargano's once rebel heart has turned to black, while Candice's new poison pixie persona was much more aggressive. They would be interfering in each other's matches to secure wins for each other, and with their new attitudes, they were a force to be reckoned with. From time to time, we would get a peek into those new personalities and see the twisted darkness within them as we joined them for dinner. They would jump from cheerful and happy, to threatening and scary in an instant. The Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae of the past was gone, and in their place was a couple willing to do anything to take what they deserved. After one particularly messy dinner with the Gargano's where Tegan Nox and Candice got into a fight that ended with their TV getting smashed, they started getting messages from Indi Hartwell. She not only bought them a new TV but included footage of her saving Candice in a recent battle royal. It seemed like the Johnny Gargano Way was working too, as they would both have title matches at Halloween Havoc which brought a lot of change for the power couple. While LeRae wouldn't be able to capture the women's championship, Gargano dethroned Damian Priest with the help of the mysterious Ghostface to get his second North American championship reign. That also gave us perhaps the biggest character change in all of wrestling history where we learned about Johnny Gargano's love/hate relationship with wheels. A few weeks later on the same show where Gargano lost the North American title, Ghostface would return, this time aiding Candice LeRae in attacking then-rival Shotzi Blackheart. As LeRae captained her own team at War Games battling it out with Blackheart, Gargano was looking to win back the North American championship. Thanks to interference from multiple Ghostfaces, Gargano was able to reclaim the title and it was revealed that he was being helped by Austin Theory. The group of Gargano, LeRae, Hartwell, and Theory would go on to form NXT's newest faction "The Way". Gargano promised to show NXT the way, and he would be mentoring the two younger talents of the group to bring on the future of NXT and doing it the Johnny Gargano Way. They looked to be the most dominant faction in NXT history, and they were pretty successful as a group. Gargano went on to have the third-longest North American championship reign as Candice and Indi became the third ever women's tag team champions. The Way soon began to be the face of NXT, but they would begin to see some changes as time went on.
The Way soon began to have a family dynamic on screen, and this new character allowed Johnny to be more comedic than serious. He'd still be working as a heel, but we got to see this different side of him as he was able to express his comedic side. It was a big change for Gargano, but it was one that really benefitted the position he was in. It also showed us just how much Gargano can reinvent himself and change, he could do anything he was asked and make sure whatever he was doing was the best it could be. We'd start to see a different side of them after they became entangled with the mysterious and sadistic Dexter Lumis. Gargano and LeRae would immediately be against Lumis and wanted to get as far away from him as possible, but Indi Hartwell became infatuated with him and thought that he was kinda hot. Even Theory, who had just been kidnapped by Lumis for weeks, thought that he was a good guy. Shocked at what they were hearing, Gargano and LeRae forced the Way to go to therapy to get all of this sorted out so they can be back on the same page again. Unfortunately for Gargano, that wouldn't work at all and Hartwell would only fall more in love with Lumis as time went on. This reached a boiling point when Gargano faced Lumis in a "love her or lose her" match, where if Gargano won Indi wouldn't be allowed to talk to Dexter anymore. Despite Gargano winning, true love won that night as Indi ran and kissed Dexter anyways. Desperate to keep their family together, Gargano let his adoptive daughter date Dexter and tried to make it work. He gave the silent sociopath Lumis another chance and tried to get to know him more and make sure that he wouldn't hurt his daughter. He and Candice even went as far as to spy on them on their dinner date. Things seemed to be speedily picking up between the two, and that was only confirmed when Indi proposed to Dexter in the middle of the ring one night. With the couple scheduled to get married only a few weeks later. Gargano would be forced to work with Lumis to ensure his daughter would be as happy as could be. During one of the best and funniest segments in NXT history, Gargano bonded with Lumis at his bachelor party. He realized that Dexter isn't so bad after all, giving him the thumbs up and officially sanctioning the wedding. That wedding would go on to be a surprisingly successful one too, with InDex tying the knot and The Way coming to a very natural conclusion.
As Candice became pregnant and Index was now officially a thing, Gargano had lost his way and was trying to figure out what's next. The months of buildup for that big wedding naturally transitioned Johnny back into a much kinder and nicer character again. Shades of the old Johnny Gargano began to come back through in his ring gear and personality. He focused his sights on in-ring action and to prove that he still is the face of the newly rebranded NXT 2.0 - and that meant going after the new North American champion Carmelo Hayes. Now on the same page as Lumis, the two began teaming and working together to take on Melo and Trick, even bringing them to Dexter's haunted house. The crowd was firmly behind him once more as he entered to a chorus of "Johnny Wrestling" chants, he wanted to go back to doing what he was put on this planet to do: wrestling. It seems like after all these years, Johnny's character has come full circle in a very natural way. He learned to trust again and realized that all he has to do is to be himself (can't be no one else). At 2021's War Games, Gargano wrestled his final match for the brand. He was once again fully Johnny Wrestling, even down to the return of his iconic Rebel Heart theme song. He was Gargano has been in NXT for a while now, and to combat that he always made sure to reinvent himself to stay interesting. Whether it was his initial rise to the top telling the story of good vs evil or parenting children, Gargano has had a very creative and successful career in NXT by continuously changing his character to stay interesting. Now that he's back doing the thing I fell in love with his character for, the future is bright as Johnny Wrestling looks to take over NXT once more.
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