Now that he’s NXT Champion, Johnny Gargano will have a fresh set of challengers ready to face him for his title. These men could be the ones who step up.
Besides Kofi Kingston and Becky Lynch’s respective conquests at WrestleMania 35, nothing was more cathartic that seeing Johnny Gargano defeat Adam Cole to win the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: New York.
The best-of-three-falls match not only delivered a compelling, emotionally draining main event to the Barclays Center audience, but also brought Gargano’s years-long journey to the developmental brand’s richest prize to a satisfying conclusion.
But as the old combat sports cliché goes, winning the title was the easy part for “Johnny Wrestling”, keeping it will be the true challenge.
While the Superstar Shake-up robbed the NXT men’s roster of some big names, it didn’t fully deplete it; there are still plenty of world-class opponents available to paint some in-ring masterpieces with one of the industry’s premier grappling artists.
With the next TakeOver event scheduled for June, Triple H and the rest of the NXT creative team have more than a month to build up some viable contenders to Gargano’s gold. But which wrestlers will they earmark for such a prominent position?
Given the plethora of talent at their disposal, there really aren’t too many bad choices. But among that strong group, these five guys seem like the most logical choices to stand opposite Gargano with the NXT Title on the line.
Jaxson Ryker
As much as the Forgotten Sons are antithetical to the notion of exciting television, it’s clear that the NXT writers are positioning the faction’s de-facto leader Jaxson Ryker for something.
Since the nap-inducing group debuted last August, Ryker has been fed a steady diet of convincing singles wins and while the former Gunner’s push is still in its infancy, he could find himself in the NXT Title picture at some point this year.
While there are plenty of more interesting options on the roster in terms of character development and work-rate, Ryker is solid enough in the ring to at least get some consideration for a championship match on the weekly NXT show, if not a TakeOver event (which I wouldn’t recommend).
In many ways, Ryker fits the mold of a classic upper-midcard heel who bookers can occasionally move into the main event scene and pose a credible threat to the world champion before ultimately taking the loss.
Given the Forgotten Sons’ lukewarm-at-best presentation thus far, though, a position at the top of the card for Ryker seems unlikely. However, a quality showing against Gargano could change many fans’ perception of him and the rest of his crew.
It would be a big test for Gargano too. He’s penned several classic stories with workers who can match him move for move, but every title match isn’t going to be against the Adam Coles and the Tommaso Ciampas of the world.
Taking on the “top guy” mantle also requires you to raise the ceilings of those who aren’t as experienced or as skilled. Gargano is more than qualified enough to handle that part of the job, but a wrestler as bland as Ryker will definitely test the limits of the NXT Champ’s greatness.
Matt Riddle
Despite losing to the Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: New York, Matt Riddle still belongs near the top of the list for a future NXT Title shot.
Remember, the NXT creative team made sure to protect Riddle in that match with Dream — giving him most of the offense before getting rolled up and pinned — but even if he lost more definitively, it wouldn’t take much to heat “The King of Bros” back up with a few wins on the weekly show before getting an NXT title shot.
Chances are you don’t need me to tell you how good Riddle between the ropes, but if you still haven’t been convinced that Riddle’s MMA-influenced style can work under the WWE umbrella, then give his matches with Dream, Drew Gulak, and Kassius Ohno another look.
Those respective tangos should be enough to sway your opinion.
A match between Gargano and Riddle — two former EVOLVE alumni — has probably occupied space on a lot of fans’ dream match lists.
While both men are babyfaces right now, the NXT writers have shown no aversion to occasionally eschewing the traditional “good guy vs. bad guy” structure in favor of promoting the biggest matches possible and at this moment, Riddle vs. Gargano stands out as one of those marquee bouts.
Of course, Riddle and Gargano could also face off on the weekly show as a teaser for a future showdown. Either way, don’t be surprised if they headline a TakeOver show sometime in the next year.
Roderick Strong
On the April 24 episode of NXT, we got an appetizer of what a Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong NXT Championship match would look like: a cornucopia of smooth chain wrestling, strike exchanges, and counters.
Unfortunately, their encounter merely existed as a condiment to the main course that was the ongoing issues amongst the Undisputed Era. Where exactly that storyline is headed remains up in the air, but the fallout from the group’s infighting could result in another meeting between these two.
Granted, Strong’s loss to Gargano in the aforementioned television main event complicates Strong’s path to a championship match, but he was protected in the sense that an inadvertent kick from stablemate Adam Cole led to him succumbing to Gargano’s Slingshot DDT and surrendering the deciding fall, so Strong could argue that he could’ve won if not for Cole.
Even with that defeat in the record books, Strong could get on a mini-roll and win some sort of number one contender’s match to earn another shot at Gargano. If that’s indeed the plan, we could be in for another mat classic featuring NXT’s version of post-2002 Shawn Michaels.
On the other hand, that match-closing angle could also set the stage for…
Adam Cole
Whether he receives a second one-on-one shot at Gargano or if he procures a spot in a multi-man match for the belt, Adam Cole getting another NXT Title opportunity feels like an inevitability.
Generally, a wrestler like Cole losing the way he did at NXT TakeOver: New York — tapping out twice to the Garga-No-Escape without controversy — disqualifies them from an immediate championship rematch, but the recent main roster call-ups depleted the cupboard of headliners, so a mini-feud between Gargano and Cole could fill some TV time while the NXT writers prepare the next set of main event heels.
They could even tie the rivalry into the burgeoning issues amongst the Undisputed Era members, which they have already sort of done.
However, the NXT writers would need to tread carefully if they choose to go that route. It’s one thing to have a hotter feud overshadow a top champion’s reign (see: the Gargano/Ciampa feud and how it affected Aleister Black’s run as NXT Champion); it happens sometimes.
But having a world champion play an ancillary role in a separate storyline defines down the performer and the prize they carry, making it seem as though the wrestler doesn’t possess the drawing power to carry their own programs.
Gargano can further stoke the flames of Undisputed Era’s dissension for a few more weeks. His pestering can even lead to another match with Cole on the weekly show. But he needs his own feud to cement his reign as champion.
Velveteen Dream
By the time this piece is published, the Velveteen Dream will still be the NXT North American Champion and appears to be headed for a showdown with Dominik Dijakovic.
Assuming Dream does the honors for the former ROH standout, he wouldn’t have to look too far to find his next opponent.
A “Dream” match (yes, I’m ashamed of myself for making that pun) with Gargano would represent another loose end in Gargano’s tale coming full circle. Remember, it was Dream who Gargano had to beat to face Andrade “Cien” Almas (I know Vince shortened his name to Andrade, but I refuse to give in to that man’s lunacy) at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia in January 2018.
It was also Dream who got under Gargano’s skin with the “Johnny Failure” moniker that helped spark Gargano’s brief quasi-heel run. The Dream then upgraded the insults to “Johnny Jack@$$” before challenging and beating Gargano in a scintillating North American Championship match.
Dream obviously wasn’t Gargano’s archnemesis, but he played an integral role in advancing the Gargano/Ciampa epic.
Like Riddle, the babyface vs. babyface dynamic would make this tricky; it would be a fool’s errand to try and turn the perpetually popular Dream heel, but forcing fans to choose between him and Gargano could decelerate the champ’s momentum.
That said, the storyline virtually writes itself and given their previous outings, a match between these two for NXT’s most opulent accolade would add another classic to the developmental brand’s evergrowing catalog.
The pieces are in place for this match to happen eventually. All the NXT writers have to do is give it the green light.