Johnny Gargano Losing Too Many Big Matches and Needs a Win

At this year’s NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Johnny Gargano yet again. This time, Ciampa was victorious in a Last Man Standing match for the NXT Championship in what is becoming an all too familiar sight.

There is no question that Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa is one of the best rivalries of 2018. They have main evented three consecutive NXT TakeOver specials and delivered every time. Every match between these two gladiators has been emotional, violent, and has a told a great story of two men that despise one another. The fiery NXT Universe just adds to the spectacle by vocally hanging on every move. Given the context of the story, the matches have been as close to perfect as one can hope for.

In sports entertainment, where there are no structured standings, both these elite athletes are among NXT’s best. But lately, only one of them has been backing it up and looking like a winner. And that’s not the hero of our story, but rather the villain Tommaso Ciampa.

Johnny Gargano should have won the NXT Championship in Brooklyn for a multitude of reasons. First off, with former NXT Champion Aleister Black getting injured, it was a great opportunity to set up a perfect finale where Gargano finally captured the big one. No third parties in the way of not only getting revenge over Ciampa, but to win the title at the same time.

Johnny Wrestling is also one of the longest tenured active NXT Superstars on the roster. If creative keeps stalling on giving him the ultimate payoff and credibility, it will appear like everyone wins the championship before him. And how long will he remain an NXT superstar before joining Raw or SmackDown? How many more chances does he get, let alone deserve?

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Moreover it is vital to strike while the iron is hot. In other words, as much as everyone chants “fight forever”, this rivalry will lose steam eventually. It’s just the nature of the beast. WWE and NXT might as well capitalize on a white-hot babyface champion like Johnny Gargano right now.

Wrestling 101 says that the underdog must have a variety of obstacles to overcome before they reach the top of the mountain. And with relatively few exceptions, Gargano has overcome said obstacles. After the dissolution of #DIY, he went on a lengthy losing streak (sound familiar?) before getting back on track.

Still, the perception of characters matter. At what point does Gargano look a little foolish in these loses? It makes some sense that man who is being fueled by rage slips up. Nonetheless, shouldn’t the Cleveland native learn from his mistakes? Isn’t a world traveled veteran like Gargano supposed to have the ring IQ to not get beat by handcuffed man?

They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Somewhere, sometime soon, Gargano needs to take a different approach to getting his revenge, and continuing a successful career.

This is not to say that fans will turn on Johnny Wrestling. In fact, fans everywhere are ready to embrace him fully as an honorable champion. It would have been sweet to watch a handcuffed Ciampa lose his championship in Brooklyn after being battered. Maybe NXT Takeover: War Games will be when Gargano finally gets over the hump.