Leon Ruff admits the importance of defeating Johnny Gargano in WWE
Leon Ruff faced Johnny Gargano to win the NXT North American title. The WWE Superstar was recently interviewed by TalkSPORT where he opened up on the moment.
Leon Ruff on winning the WWE NXT North American title
Leon Ruff not only got to face Johnny Gargano, he defeated the man who had become the face of WWE NXT. As a result, at the young age of 24, Leon Ruff became a WWE NXT North American Champion in an amazing underdog moment.
"To be able to work with Johnny was honestly a dream come true. Because when I first discovered Johnny in the Cruiserweight Classic and I started to watch his indie stuff, that’s when I really started to know who Johnny Gargano was and the taste of the independent scene – this is right before I started wrestling."
"To find out who he is, start to study him and watching his matches – anything that he did – so going to have a match with him, I keep saying it’s a dream come true, but he is somebody that I still look up to. Every TakeOver I’ve watched of him, I always watched knowing I was going to be engulfed in the match. So to have a match with Johnny, it was great. Even when I watch it back, I get engulfed! It was a great experience."
Leon Ruff also talked about how he got his wrestling name, explaining how he got it from his grandfather.
"I’m named after my father and my grandfather. It’s not like I don’t like Dartanyon, but most people mispronounced it growing up and I always went by my middle name anyway. "
"But, Leon Ruff is my grandfather’s name, so that’s why I chose that name, it just felt right! My grandfather, a lot of people called him Ruff even though his name was Ruffin. It’s something I’ve always liked, so when it was time for me to buckle down and be serious about this I thought about the most serious guy I know – my grandfather."
Leon Ruff has overcome a lot of obstacles to reach WWE, and his win over Johnny Gargano remains one of the greatest underdog moments in WWE history.