During a recent interview with Pwinsider, WWE NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano commented on his decision to remain with NXT instead of moving to either RAW or SmackDown! Live, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On staying with NXT: “Yeah, you said it yourself. Every little kid’s dream is to be on Raw and SmackDown. It was my dream, too. But dreams change, goals change. I love this place, and I’ve said that time and time again, and it sounds like it’s such a corporate answer, but it’s just true. I love everything about NXT. Everything about NXT is what made me want to be a professional wrestler, and I just found that here and it wasn’t something I wanted to give up. Like you said, I was on Raw and SmackDown, I got a little taste of that, but that was never a permanent thing. That was never like, “Oh, there I am now.” It was a little taste. But I thought there was so much left for me to do here in NXT, there was so much unfinished business. I hadn’t won the NXT championship yet, and for me that was always my goal. The minute I stepped in this building, I was like, “I want to be the NXT champion,” because that’s the unattainable goal. And I saw that and I was like, “Okay, well I was told no at my tryout, I was told I’d never be here. Well I’m going to be on the face of this company and do whatever I can to take it to places it’s never seen before.” Because I believe in myself as a performer, and for me, I had a feeling the USA Network thing was coming. I think we all had an idea that maybe NXT would be getting TV eventually, because it has been in the works for a very, very long time. And I didn’t want to leave when I felt… Like I built this place up. So I gave my heart to this place, and I felt like it was on the cusp of reaching that next level. And I was like, “I’m going to leave right when we’re on the cusp? I’m going to Raw and SmackDown right when we’re on the cusp?” I’ve done so many interviews now where I’ve said, “NXT is the main roster. It’s Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.” How does that look for me to say, “You know what? I’m going to abandon NXT, I’m going to go over to Raw and SmackDown now.” For me, it did not feel right to abandon this place, to leave this place, and I wanted to change the perception of NXT. I don’t want people to look at NXT and see our performers and say like, “Okay, that’s him now, he’s only like that for a little bit, but when he gets up to Raw and SmackDown, he’s going to be whatever, we’re going to totally change him so I’m not going to get invested in him.” No. I want you to watch NXT, and watch these characters change in NXT and grow in NXT, and watch these long term stories in NXT. I wanted to change the fact that you look at someone and say, “That guy’s going to get called up soon.” No, like no. You look at them and you say, “That’s one of my favorite wrestlers in NXT, my favorite wrestlers in the world and he’s not going anywhere.” I think that’s a cool thing now.”
On his advice to those who get turned down by companies: “Yeah, I accepted a long, long time ago that I’m never going to be the guy you look at and you say, “That’s the guy. That’s him.” I’m never going to walk in a room and you’d be like, “That’s the top guy right there. That’s who we got to put our money behind.” I will never be that guy. I am always the second choice. I am always the third choice, fourth choice, fifth choice. I’m always the last ditch effort. But when I get that opportunity and when you open that door a little bit for me, I’m going to kick that door in. And I’ve accepted that’s just who I am. Like I said, that was my story in Evolve. That’s my story throughout my whole life, honestly. People told me I never even be a professional wrestler and I said, “You know what? I am. I’m going to do whatever I can.” And that just comes down to working hard and I believe just trying to be a good person, just be a good human because I think that does matter in this industry. My advice, because I go back to EVOLVE now and I help out. I want to do the meet and greets and stuff in different towns. I actually help Gabe and I get to produce matches and help out new talents who maybe don’t have that chance to work with a top indie guy because a lot of us are gone now or a lot of us in different places or we’re not working indies anymore. So to be able to go back to EVOLVE and help like a Josh Briggs, to help an Austin Theory before he was here… I mean I help him here now but to help an Anthony Green, to help a Brandy Lauren, to help them try to find themselves, I think that is the coolest thing that I’m able to do now. My advice to all of them is just never lose that inner wrestling fan. Never lose that passion. Because things get tough. Things get hard. But you’ve always got to remember why you started doing this. You always got to remember who you are. Because the minute you start looking at it as “I’m a wrestler now. I’m not a Mark. I’m not this, I’m not that.” You got to always remember the wrestling fan in you and also just stay the course. Honestly stay the course. Because like you said, I’m living proof. If you work hard enough for long enough, good things will happen.”
On working with Tommaso Ciampa in front of a larger audience: “A much larger audience. Yeah, I know. It’s nuts man. Like I said, this is what me and Tommaso dreamed of a long, long time ago. Because not only was I told no on my tryout, Tommaso was also told no at his tryout. We were told no together. We were sharing a hotel room that whole tryout loop. We teamed together. We wrestled each other on that tryout thing. We were brought to the Dusty Classic without contracts together. We’ve been through this whole story together. We kicked that door in together. And like you said ,now like I think there is no worries anymore of “Oh, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are great in NXT. What’s going to happen when they go up? I don’t know. I’m not going to get emotionally invested because I don’t know what’s going to happen.” I think now NXT as a standalone product, it can be such a longer based story now that we can tell because there isn’t a concern of “They’re going to pluck them away and they’re gone now.” We’re here. I’m telling you, I’m in an NXT for the long haul. I will make that statement. I’ve made it on TV. I’ll make it forever. I’m NXT for life or as long as they’ll have me I guess. But yeah, now to be able to tell a longer term story with Tommaso.”
