Johnny Gargano
Jonathan Anthony Nicholas "Johnny" Gargano[7] (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He works for WWE and wrestles on the SmackDown brand. Before working on the main roster, he wrestled on NXT. He was the first-ever NXT Triple Crown winner. Gargano won the NXT Championship once, the NXT North American Championship three times and the NXT Tag Team Championship once with Tommaso Ciampa. He was nicknamed "The Heart and Soul of NXT".
Johnny Gargano | |
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![]() Gargano in June 2018 | |
Birth name | John Anthony Nicholas Gargano |
Born | Lakewood, Ohio, U.S. | August 14, 1987
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 1 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Cedrick Von Haussen[1][2] Joey Gray[3] Johnny Gargano[4] |
Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[5][4] |
Billed weight | 199 lb (90 kg)[4] |
Billed from | Cleveland, Ohio[5][4] The Land of Cleve, Ohio[6] Schaan, Liechtenstein[1][2] |
Trained by | Josh Prohibition[6] J.T. Lightning[5][6] |
Debut | 2005[1] |
Gargano started his professional wrestling career in 2005 with the Cleveland All–Pro Wrestling (CAPW) promotion. He later worked for some of the top promotions on the American independent circuit. These include the promotions Chikara, Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Titles Gargano has held include the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas, the Evolve Tag Team Championship and DGUSA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship. He held the Freedom Gate Championship two times. His first time as champion lasted a record 873 days. Gargano also made appearances for national promotions Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Gargano made some appearances for WWE early in his career. In June 2015, he took part in the company's tryout camp. After that, he began appearing regularly for NXT. He signed a contract with the company in April 2016 and formed a tag team called #DIY with Tommaso Ciampa. They held the NXT Tag Team Championship once. The team later ended and they often fought each other. In January 2019, Gargano won the NXT North American Championship. He won the NXT Championship in April the same year. In 2020, Gargano won the NXT North American Championship for a second time. He later won it for a third time. He is the first person to win it more than once. He left WWE after his contract ended in December 2021, but returned in August 2022. He and Ciampa reformed #DIY in October 2023.[8] In July 2024, they became WWE Tag Team Champions.[9]
Championships and accomplishments
change- Absolute Intense Wrestling
- CBS Sports
- Feud of the Year (2018) vs. Tommaso Ciampa[12]
- Feud of the Year (2019) vs. Adam Cole[13]
- Match of the Year (2019) vs. Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: New York[13]
- NXT Match of the Year (2018) vs. Andrade Cien Almas at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia[12]
- WWE Male Wrestler of the Year (2018)[12]
- Championship Wrestling Experience
- CWE Undisputed Championship (1 time)[14]
- Chikara
- Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas (2 times) – with Chuck Taylor[15]
- The Countdown Showdown (2010)
- Cleveland All–Pro Wrestling
- CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[16]
- DDT Pro-Wrestling
- Dragon Gate USA/Evolve Wrestling
- Evolve Tag Team Championship (1 time, first) – with Drew Galloway[19]
- Open the Freedom Gate Championship (2 times)[20]
- Open the United Gate Championship (1 time) – with Rich Swann[21]
- CITIC Cup (2014)
- Evolve Tag Team Championship Tournament (2016) – with Drew Galloway[22]
- International Wrestling Cartel
- Legacy Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Pro Wrestling Ohio/Prime Wrestling
- PWO/Prime Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[32]
- Smash Wrestling
- Smash Wrestling Championship (1 time)[33]
- Sports Illustrated
- Ranked No. 9 of the top 10 men's wrestlers in 2018 – tied with Tommaso Ciampa[34]
- Wrestling Cares Association
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- WWE
- WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommaso Ciampa[9]
- NXT Championship (1 time)[39][40]
- NXT North American Championship (3 times)[41][42]
- NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommaso Ciampa[43]
- First NXT Triple Crown Champion
- NXT Year-End Award (5 times)
- Match of the Year (2016) – with Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) in a two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Toronto[44]
- Match of the Year (2018) – vs. Andrade Cien Almas for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia (2018)[45]
- Match of the Year (2019) – vs. Adam Cole in a Two-out-of-three falls match for the vacant NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: New York[46]
- Rivalry of the Year (2018) vs. Tommaso Ciampa[45]
- Rivalry of the Year (2019) vs. Adam Cole[46]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Johnny Gargano". Dragon Gate USA. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 @JohnnyGargano (November 13, 2016). "Watching Smackdown from 10 years ago.. Something tells me Cedrick Von Haussen and Attorney Thomas Whitney Esquire w…" (Tweet). Retrieved May 16, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (September 21, 2011). "Wed. update: Flair in Boston, ratings, Anniversary, White on HHH, DGUSA star on Smackdown, Orton". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Johnny Gargano". WWE. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Roster". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Evolve profile". Evolve. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ↑ Florjancic, Matthew (April 5, 2019). "WATCH: Johnny Gargano went back to Cleveland roots to prep for Smackdown match". WKYC. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ↑ Sachdev, Tathya (October 2, 2023). "#DIY Is Back! Johnny Gargano Saves Tommaso Ciampa From Imperium Beatdown On WWE RAW (10/2)". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 WWE.com Staff. "WWE Tag Team Championship". wwe.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 27, 2010). "AIW Absolute Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 25, 2008). "AIW Intense Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Silverstein, Adam (December 26, 2018). "The Man comes around: Becky Lynch breaks out for WWE as the 2018 Wrestler of the Year". CBS Sports.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Campbell, Brian (December 24, 2019). "How Adam Cole went from main event substitute to clear choice for 2019 Wrestler of the Year". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 8, 2008). "CWE Undisputed Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 18, 2011). "Chikara Campeonatos de Pareja". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 8, 2006). "CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "Ironman Heavymetalweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 7, 2016). "Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 24, 2016). "Evolve Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 13, 2011). "Open the Freedom Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 18, 2015). "Open the United Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 24, 2016). "Evolve Tag Team Championship Tournament (2016)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "IWC Super Indies title history". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 13, 2008). "IWC Super Indy Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "IWC Tag Team title history". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 11, 2007). "IWC Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "4/30 Legacy Wrestling Night of Redemption Results". Legacy Wrestling. May 1, 2016. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 30, 2016). "Legacy Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards". PWI-Online.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ↑ PWI on Twitter: "Feud: @JohnnyGargano vs. @AdamColePro, Match: @CodyRhodes vs. @dustinrhodes, Rookie: @FlyinBrianJr. The @OfficialPWI staff is also proud to announce @steveaus...
- ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (August 29, 2019). "Seth Rollins Tops Annual PWI 500". Fightful. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 9, 2009). "PWO/Prime Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 26, 2015). "Smash Wrestling Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "The top 10 men's wrestlers of 2018".
- ↑ Epsenhart, Mike (January 18, 2014). "The winner of the ring is..... – Full Wrestling Cares coverage from Gardena, CA". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 18, 2014). "Race for the Ring Tournament (2014)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "BONUS SHOW: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Post Wrestling. March 17, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 5, 2020). "March 13, 2020 Observer Newsletter: 40th Annual Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
- ↑ "NXT Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 5, 2019). "NXT Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ "NXT North American Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 26, 2019). "NXT North American Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 19, 2016). "NXT Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ↑ Witner, Arya (January 28, 2017). "NXT TakeOver San Antonio live results: Nakamura vs. Roode". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 "The 2018 NXT Year-End Awards were presented on the NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Pre-Show". WWE. January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Aiken, Chris (January 1, 2020). "WWE NXT live results: Year-End award winners revealed". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
Other websites
changeMedia related to Johnny Gargano at Wikimedia Commons