This isn't the same Johnny Gargano that is going to overreact to things and let his emotions get the best of him. In 2019, I'm a little calmer and more collected.
— Johnny Gargano
When I was younger, I actually stepped foot in a ring for the first time at 8 years old because of my dad.
NXT in my head is something I'm trying to help build, get it to its peak. I will do whatever I have to: I will strap NXT to my back and carry it up a cliff if I have to.
I didn't have a contract for the first year of my time in NXT, and that was very stressful.
Sometimes you have to fall lower than you've ever been to stand taller than you ever could.
I'm kind of a smaller guy in my given profession, and people always told me I'm too small, so I know how it feels to have people tell you you'll never be anything.
I'm still that indie kid at heart. I'm still that guy who wrestled in front of 15 people and never knew he'd make it to WWE. I'm still that person.
I don't think I'd be in WWE, and I wouldn't be in NXT, if it wasn't for my time in EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA and things like that.
For me, Philadelphia was always kind of that city you traveled to as an independent wrestler. I traveled there once or twice a month, doing that seven-to-eight-hour drive from Cleveland to Philly just to try and make a name for myself.
I'd love for it to go away and for people not to see NXT as a downgrade. I definitely don't think it is.
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 have a very open and honest relationship with the NXT Universe.
I'm a humungous Browns fan. My 30th birthday was actually at the Browns' stadium.
I've said many times how big a wrestling fan I am, but all my bias aside as her husband, I'm a huge Candice LeRae fan. I was a huge Candice LeRae fan before we started dating. I was a huge Candice LeRae fan before we got married.
I play my Switch a lot when I'm traveling, when I'm on the bus or things like that.
For the longest time, I was horrified to hear the word 'failure,' but I've come to realize that we all fail. It's just a part of life. We all fall. It's how you rebound that shows the type of person you are.
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.
I was a socially awkward 8-year-old kid who fell in love with wrestling when he felt like the whole world was against him. That's the key word: love. I don't do this for revenge; I do this because I love it. That's Johnny Wrestling.
I'm a huge wrestling video game fan. I grew up on wrestling video games.
