Personal Information
Full Name | John Anthony Nicholas Gargano |
Date of Birth | August 14, 1987 |
Nationality | American |
Birth Place | Cleveland suburb, Lakewood, Ohio |
Height | 5ft 10in |
Weight | 199 lb (90 kg) |
Current Team(s) | |
Theme Song | Rebel Heart |
Debut | October 2, 2005 |
Nickname | The Heart and Soul of NXT |
Family | Candice LeRae (m. 2016) |
Johnny Gargano Videos
Johnny Gargano: A Brief Biography
John Anthony Nicholas Gargano is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in WWE and on the independent circuit as Johnny Gargano. He is a former NXT, North American, and Tag Team Champion.
Personal Life
John Anthony Nicholas Gargano aka Johnny Gargano was born on 14th of August, 1987 in Cleveland. Gargano was wrestling in the ring since eight. While studying in St. Edward High School, Johnny used to wrestler at the back of his father's catering buisness.
Johnny Gargano is married to Candice LeRae since 2016. Both teamed numerous times during their NXT run.
Professional Wrestling Debut
Independent Circuit (2005-2015)
In 2005, Gargano made his professional wrestling debut at CAPW. Gargano has wrestled as an enhancement talent for the first few years of his career. He rose to claim when he was featured on Chikara, Dragon Gate, and Evolve. Gargano has wrestled for over half a dozen wrestling promotions on the independent circuit and won several championships. During his time on the independent circuit, he has had major feuds with Adam Cole, Akira Tozawa, The Young Bucks, Roderick Strong, and many more.
WWE (2016-2022)
DIY, Ciampa, and NXT Champion (2016-2019)
In 2016, they signed Gargano with WWE and, while working for NXT, he worked a few matches on the independent circuit. In June, he entered the CWC and lost in the second round. At TakeOver Brooklyn II, Gargano and Ciampa lost to The Revival. The matches and chemistry between the two teams made them quite popular. At TakeOver Toronto, DIY defeated The Revival to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.
In 2017, the team spent their time trying to recapture the titles from AOP. In May, Ciampa was injured but competed in a ladder match with Gargano for the titles. After the match, Ciampa turned on Gargano and took some time off. Gargano began working as a singles wrestler where he faced Andrade and lost.
In 2018, he faced Andrade for the NXT Championship at TakeOver Philadelphia and lost. The match received 5 stars from Dave Meltzer. After Ciampa's return, Gargano and Ciampa continued their feud. At TakeOver New Orleans, Gargano defeated Ciampa and At TakeOver Chicago II, Ciampa defeated Gargano. The last match of the year took place at TakeOver Brooklyn IV, where Ciampa retained his NXT Championship by defeating Gargano.
In 2019, Ciampa was injured and vacated the NXT Championship. They teased a partnership between the two as Gargano won the North American Championship and they teamed up on the main roster. At TakeOver New York, Gargano defeated Cole to win the NXT Championship. At TakeOver XXV, Gargano lost the title to Adam Cole. Gargano failed to win the championship at TakeOver Toronto.
Finn Balor, and The Way (2019-2022)
After Toronto, Gargano continued his feud with The Undisputed Era with the help of Tommaso Ciampa. In October, Finn Balor returned to NXT and attacked Gargano. Balor took Gargano out for a few months before they finally faced each other. At TakeOver Portland, Gargano faced Balor and lost.
In 2020, Gargano turned heel and attacked Ciampa during his NXT Championship match at TakeOver Portland. The two began feuding and faced each other in a cinematic match, which Gargano won. Gargano spent the first half of the year feuding with Ciampa and challenged Keith Lee for the North American Championship.
In October, he defeated Damien Priest to win the North American Championship with the help of Austin Theory. He formed a new stable called The Way, which had Candice LeRae, Indie Hartwell, and Austin Theory. Gargano won his third North American Championship by defeating Damien Priest and Leon Ruff at TakeOver WarGames.
In 2021, he defended the championship on TakeOver events and onLive tv. In May, he lost the title to Bronson Reed. After losing to Karrion Kross, Gargano began feuding with Dexter Lumis. In the end, Gargano gave Lumis and Hartwell his blessing during their love storyline.
After the rebirth of NXT 2.0, Gargano faced several young talents such as Carmello Hayes, Tony D'Angelo, Bron Breakker, and Grayson Waller. In 2022, he was attacked by Waller and written off television as he chose not to resign with the company.
On 22nd August, Johnny Gargano made his return to the promotion.
Championships and Accomplishments
Championship | Number of Times |
AIW Absolute Championship | 1 |
AIW Intense Championship | 2 |
Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas | 2 |
CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship | 1 |
Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship | 1 |
Evolve Tag Team Championship | 1 |
IWC Super Indy Championship | 1 |
IWC Tag Team Championship | 1 |
NXT Championship | 1 |
NXT North American Championship | 3 |
NXT Tag Team Championship | 1 |