Former WWE NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano recently spoke with WKYC in Cleveland. During the interview, he talked about NXT’s position as a brand in WWE, which led to him comparing the yellow brand to the NFL team, Cleveland Browns.
“I think NXT is kind of like the Cleveland, Ohio of professional wrestling. We’re that underdog whose hungry, who’s always out to prove people wrong, and that’s kind of what our locker room represents. We’ve got a bunch of guys who have been traveling around the world for over 10 years, scratching and clawing, fighting, just trying to live their dream, just trying to prove people wrong, just trying to show that we belong, and that’s kind of the essence of NXT. We’re young, we’re hungry and we’re ready to show the world that we’re the best at what we do. We’re kind of like the Cleveland Browns right now.”
Gargano also talked about taking pride in being called Mr. TakeOver in a similar role to WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels being called ‘Mr. Wrestlemania’ by his peers.
“I was on Raw (Monday) night on a red carpet with Shawn Michaels for Ric Flair’s 70th birthday party, and we were talking about how he is ‘Mr. WrestleMania.’ He’s Mr. WrestleMania, and I’m Mr. TakeOver,’ and I take great pride in being ‘Mr. TakeOver.’
“It’s something that’s not pressure. It’s not something that’s too big. It’s something that I see and every, single TakeOver, I’m like, ‘I’m going to give the people something they never forget, and yeah, NXT, man, it holds a special place in my heart.”
