Johnny Gargano talks about a recent challenge he received from a wrestler, his future in wrestling and what he wants his lasting legacy to be.
While sitting down with Your Story with Mike Wexler, Johnny Gargano was asked to respond to a recent challenge. Over the weekend at a Game Changer Wrestling event, Blake Christian – who formerly wrestled for NXT as Trey Baxter – called out Gargano.
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“I don’t know, man,” Johnny Gargano replied. “Blake is a guy obviously I have known, he was in NXT for a bit as well. But Blake is a guy I’ve had my eye on for a very, very long time,” Gargano said. “I think he’s an incredibly talented young man. The fact that he uses the nickname All Heart, which I kind of had that nickname back in like 2005, but I am not going say that. And his song is, The Bomb Dot Com and a lot of people say sounds a lot like Rebel Heart, as well. But not anything here nor there.”
“But he is a guy that I think is immensely talented. If I come back and I do a few matches here or there on the indie scene, you know taking on Blake Christian in GCW, if the fans would like to see that. If you, the fans, would like to see me vs. Blake Christian in a GCW ring, let me know,” Johnny Gargano concluded. “I say it all the time and I do mean this, if you chant, ‘Johnny Wrestling,’ I will hear it. So, you never know what could happen.”
H/T To Wrestling Inc. For Transcription
Johnny Gargano’s Amazing NXT Tenure
Johnny Gargano started his WWE career in 2015 in NXT where he quickly became a standout within the brand. His team with Tommaso Ciampa, DIY, had some amazing matches especially against The Revival. However, once DIY broke up the feud and matches between Ciampa and Gargano are some of the best matches I’ve ever seen. Gargano then went on to have a very good singles run with-in NXT.
In December of 2021, Johnny Gargano wrestled his last NXT match as his contract expired on Dec. 10 of the month and he decided to not renew it. This has made him one of the hottest free agents in the wrestling world.
When asked where Gargano wants to wrestle next he said he isn’t sure yet and all options are still open in his head even returning to WWE.
“I mean all my options are open right now, I am very open about that,” Johnny Gargano said. “I don’t know what I want to do yet. It’s one of those things where I am kind of in a time period of my life where I am figuring that out. I am figuring out what my goal is, what lasting legacy I want to leave. I do have a lot of unfulfilled things in WWE that I still want to accomplish.
So, there is WWE, there’s AEW, there’s New Japan, there’s doing a run on the indie scene. There’s a lot of things that I am kind of debating, working at right now. I don’t know when and I don’t where I am going to return. But, I promise you when I do you all will know.”
One Of The Hottest Free Agents In The World
Despite being a smaller wrestler, Johnny Gargano proved to be one of the most reliable wrestlers in NXT and was the very best of telling a story within the match and the psychology of wrestling. Any of the major promotions would gain so much from having someone as good as Gargano.
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I would love to see Gargano return to WWE and achieve those unfulfilled goals he has. However, I would also like to see what he can do within AEW and wrestling the talent in their promotion. Maybe some rematches between him and Adam Cole.
Gargano was asked what he wants his lasting legacy to be since he mentioned it earlier.
“I feel like my story is very incomplete,” Gargano said. “My story is not done yet, as you know and I am very open about this, I hate all my own matches. I hate everything I do. If you’re asking a person who has self-confidence issues if he’s okay with his story, the answer is obviously going to be no.
I think my story is going to be hopefully much bigger than wrestling. At the end of the day, the most important thing to me is that people are going to remember that Johnny Gargano was a good professional wrestler. But an even better human being. I think that at the end of the day is going to be my lasting legacy.”
What a great lasting legacy to leave the world and the world of wrestling. So often in life those we idolize are immensely talented at their craft, but are also the worst person. It becomes hard to separate the art from the person.
It makes me proud to be a Gargano fan and a wrestling fan when we have people like this in the wrestling world.
Would you like to see Gargano face Blake Christian? Would you rather see Gargano go to AEW, IMPACT, NJPW or the indies? Do you think he will ever go back to WWE? Leave a comment below and on social media to let us know what you think Gargano’s lasting legacy will be from his NXT days.
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Sources: Your Story with Mike Wexler, Wrestling Inc.
