Johnny Gargano on Headlining NXT TakeOver: New York

Johnny Gargano will headline NXT TakeOver: New York against Adam Cole in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the NXT Championship.

In a new interview with WWE.com, Gargano talks about what this moment means to him. Below are some highlights:

Johnny Gargano on Adam Cole:

“I have nothing but respect for Adam Cole. I’ve known him for a very long time and he’s one of the best in the world. He not only has my respect, but he also has the fans’ respect, as he should. Cole’s earned that. Everywhere he’s been, he’s been successful, and he’s been a champion. Cole expects to be NXT Champion, and he has expected to be champion since the moment he debuted in the Barclays Center and held the title above his head. Adam Cole always felt like it was a matter of time. I never expected any of this. None of this was ever supposed to happen for me. Our paths here were vastly different, but destiny has brought us together for this match.”

Johnny Gargano on his early time in NXT:

“Scared. Intimidated. Unsure, but ready. I was hungry. You’d think that after four years, two titles and 12 TakeOvers I’d be satisfied, but I’m not. I’m still that same kid that walked in that door four years ago. That drive, that want, that hunger drives me every day. It’ll carry me to Brooklyn.”

Johnny Gargano talks his passion for NXT:

“NXT is my life. Plain and simple. I’ve put my heart and soul into this company, and I truly love it and its fans. I wanted to build something here and my legacy feels incomplete without that NXT Championship. It’s about more than the accolades, though, it’s about what it stands for. I want to go from a guy who was told “no” at his tryout, a guy who was told he wasn’t good enough to be here, to the most decorated champion in the history of the company. I want to show the world that anything’s possible if you never stop fighting.”

Johnny offers his final hype for TakeOver: New York:

“You can’t call yourself Mr. TakeOver and not deliver something special, right? One thing I’ve learned this past month is you can’t control the future. You can only control the now. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? So, for me and the NXT Championship, it’s now or never. I believe it is my destiny to be NXT Champion. I know it’s not going to be easy. It’s a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match against Adam Cole in a building where I’m 0 for 3. Plus, we all know that when you fight one member of Undisputed ERA, you’re essentially fighting all of Undisputed ERA, so this could essentially be four-on-one. The odds aren’t in my favor. But I’ve been an underdog my whole life – I wouldn’t have it any different!

This has been building for a very long time, and to return to the Barclays Center, which is the site of my very first TakeOver, with the whole world watching during the biggest wrestling weekend of the year, with my friends and family in the crowd, it’s shaping up to be the biggest match of my life. This has the potential to be the biggest night of my life. I’ve been dreaming of this night since I was a kid and the only thing I can guarantee, the only thing I can promise, is I’m going to give everything I have on April 5. I know it’s going to be a crazy atmosphere, but to the people riding with me in the Barclays Center, I won’t let you down.”