WWE NXT: Examining How Johnny Gargano Slowly Found The Darkness

Credit: WWE.com

WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix highlighted a brand new chapter in not only the ever evolving Johnny Gargano character, but also in his love-hate relationship with DIY mate, Tommaso Ciampa.

Considering everything we’ve seen that led to Johnny Gargano’s slip into the darkness, we’re going examine exactly what convinced Johnny Wrestling to become the nefarious Johnny Badass in NXT.

It goes without saying that the man standing before us today as WWE NXT North American Champion is far from the same Johnny Wrestling that he was a year ago. Gargano has not been Johnny Wrestling for a very long time. It would be easy to blame his wars with Tommaso Ciampa and the rollercoaster of emotion that he suffered during that feud as the main reason for such a drastic change, but we think it is much, much deeper than that.

A change like this does not just happen over night. It may start off with a single moment that occurs in one night, sure, but one does not go from being an overly chipper white meat babyface to a much more unstable, reckless blowhard with a chip on his shoulder.

If we had to boil it all down to a single moment where Johnny Gargano’s character first started to fall into a downward spiral, we can pinpoint it all to the events of NXT TakeOver: Chicago.