WWE: Johnny Gargano’s Intense Words Take Home Promo of the Week

Ahead of his shot at the WWE NXT Championship at TakeOver: Philadelphia, Johnny Gargano’s confident words take home this week’s best promo.

In June of 2015, the NXT universe got it’s first taste of Johnny Gargano. The 27 year-old (at that time) Cleveland native worked his first match at Full Sail University losing to Apollo Crews. But although Gargano was new to NXT, he was not at all new to the professional wrestling business.

At that point in time, Gargano had already been a pro wrestler for nine years and had won championships on independents circuits in America as well as Japan and was known as one of the better performers not signed to the WWE. It took another 10 months and over 20 appearances on NXT before the WWE finally pulled the trigger and signed him to a full time contract.

This turn of events was nothing new for Gargano. Undersized at 5’10 and 200 pounds, he’d always been the underdog and has had his fair share of doubters throughout his career. And since becoming a mainstay on NXT, it’s been a lot of the same. He’s unquestionably had a lot of ups and downs since being a full time wrestler with the company.

He and Tommaso Ciampa’s ascent to NXT tag team gold in 2016 was clearly the brightest he’s shined but that reign was short-lived as the duo dropped the belts after just 70 days. And just four months after losing the belts, at TakeOver: Chicago in May, possibly his worst moment came when Ciampa attacked him after the match, thus ending the partnership of DIY.

More from Daily DDT

So just when it looked like Gargano was heading for a feud Ciampa, it was found that his former partner had torn his ACL during their final match together, rendering him injured for at least the following 6-8 months.

So without a partner or a feud, Gargano got back to singles competition where his results had been very mixed up until recently.

After taking two televised losses to Andrade Almas and then two more to Fabian Aichner and Pete Dunne, it was clear that Gargano needed to do something soon before his stock fell any further.

So when the #1 contender spot for the NXT Championship became available, Gargano knew it was his time to strike. He began by first taking out Kassius Ohno which qualified him for a fatal 4-way with the winner facing Almas, now champion, at TakeOver: Philadelphia.

Once again severely undersized against Aleister Black, Lars Sullivan, and Killian Dain, Gargano shocked the NXT universe with the biggest singles victory of his career.

But even after securing the most important victory since a member of the WWE, people still seem to be doubting him. First, The Velveteen Dream, knocked out of the #1 contender race due to an injury, called Gargano out. As did Almas and manager Zelina Vega. And after NXT General Manager William Regal seemed to question Gargano as well, “Johnny Wrestling” had heard enough.

His promo from Wednesday night was short and sweet. He was fed up with everyone telling him he wasn’t good enough, a sentiment that he’d been hearing throughout his entire career. All in one set of words, Gargano reminded the wrestling world why he’s in the position he’s in and that he’d fight anyone at anytime as evidenced by his acceptance of his the challenge by The Dream for the #1 contender spot. It was by far the most intense and focused Gargano has ever been in a ring, and suddenly he doesn’t look like such an underdog for Philly.

Next: Ranking The Top 20 WWE Matches Of 2017

With one hurdle left before TakeOver, Gargano suddenly looks and feels like a main event type superstar. And with the amount of brilliant performances he’s produced since a member of NXT, it’s a shame it took this long for him to get the credit he deserves. Whether he wins or loses in Philadelphia, “Johnny Wrestling” has proven that he’s here to stay.

Add us as a preferred source on Google