Who Is Johnny Gargano? Five Facts You Need To Know

Johnny Gargano is the newest star on Monday Night Raw. The NXT icon left WWE at the end of 2021, and many thought he was gone from WWE for good and possibly going to AEW. The man they call Johnny Wrestling surprised everyone and came out to massive applause at the RAW event in Toronto.

But if you’re not entirely familiar with Johnny Gargano, here are a few fast facts. 

He’s From Cleveland

John Anthony Nicholas Gargano was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 14th, 1987. 

Even though he now lives in Florida, Cleveland still calls the Birthplace of Rock n Roll home.

He Was A Big Independent Wrestling Star

Far from a product of the WWE Performance Center, Gargano began on the independent scene, where he became one of the top performers for local and international promotions. I saw him and a recently released Drew McIntyre tear the roof off a building in an Evolve wrestling show the weekend of WrestleMania 31 in the Bay Area. The two eventually became tag champions in the high-profile promotion that acted as a feeder promotion for WWE.

Johnny Gargano Wrestled His Way Into WWE 

Gargano was thought too small to be a big WWE star but still impressed scouts during a WWE tryout in 2015. Even though he wasn’t signed for the next few months, he regularly wrestled for the developmental brand and developed a cult following for his incredible matches. 

Eventually, Gargano’s talent became undeniable, and he and Tomasso Ciampa were signed to complete NXT contracts. But it is fantastic that initially, WWE just wanted him on a per-appearance basis and saw little to no future for him. 

He Integrates Comic Book Movies Into His Outfit

He loves to integrate his love of Marvel movies into his wrestling gear. 

He’s included tributes to Captain Marvel. 

Iron Man

Captain America

Wolverine

And his childhood idol and now mentor, Shawn Michael

He Was Lichenstein’s Wrestling Champion.

His first WWE appearance game was in 2007 when a 19-year-old Gargano (wrestling as Cedrick Von Haussen) fought against then US Champion MVP in a squash match. 

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