Johnny Gargano was one of the best babyfaces in all of wrestling. Aside from Sami Zayn, no one sold the underdog in peril in NXT better than Johnny Wrestling. A Three Year Odyssey against the “Psycho Killer” Tommaso Ciampa ended with the One Final Beat Match earlier this year. Since then, the Johnny Gargano way has been unnatural, to say the least. In terms of in-ring work, Gargano is still as good as he ever was. However, in terms of character work, the former NXT Champion has seen better days. Big Match Johnny feels more like Johnny Midcard now. There is so much more potential for Gargano to continue as a babyface than as a heel. Even if it meant leaving NXT, Johnny Gargano shouldn’t have turned heel.
Johnny Workrate
Johnny Gargano represented the heart and soul of indie wrestling. Even though WWE has been signing every wrestler they can get their hands on, Gargano represented the iconic underground indie wrestler akin to Daniel Bryan and Ricochet. The Rebel Heart is everything Vince McMahon doesn’t want as a wrestler; this is why we, the fans, liked him so much. Wrestling fans have been sick and tired for years of WWE pushing green giants who can’t work to save their lives over workhorses. WWE signing Johnny Gargano, and giving him three years worth of investment, made it feel as though things would finally change. That wasn’t the case, unfortunately.
Pure-hearted babyfaces are a lost art in modern wrestling. There are a number of relatable wrestlers in WWE who are scripted to act like entitled jerks. Of course, the company that travels to Saudi Arabia for blood money wouldn’t have the foggiest idea of what a true hero is. Johnny Gargano broke the mold in the WWE landscape. In the might makes right ecosystem of McMahonland, Gargano succeeded with heart and relatability. Though he may have gotten polarizing, Johnny was the definition of a hero people could feel inspired by. However, like most WWE babyfaces, Gargano was forced to turn heel because WWE believed they exhausted all their options.
Johnny Failure
In January of this godawful year, Johnny Wrestling turned heel against longtime frenemy Tommaso Ciampa. The feud was reignited with Ciampa as the face and Gargano as the heel. The story culminated in the divisive One Final Beat match that ended with Candice Lerae turning heel and kicking Ciampa in the down under. Since then, Gargano has lost when it counts most. He lost to Keith Lee at NXT Takeover: In Your House. He failed to win in the Five Way North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT Takeover: XXX. Furthermore, he was defeated by Damian Priest most recently on NXT Takeover: 31. Since turning heel, his spot as the center of NXT has been given to current NXT Champion: Finn Balor. Though it’s perfectly fine for wrestlers to take a back seat and help others get over, there’s nothing left for Gargano to really do in NXT anymore.
Even with Johnny Takeover’s win against Priest at Halloween Havoc, the problems with Gargano still remain the same. Gargano has already won the NXT Championship, NXT Tag Team Championship, and NXT North American Championship. The truth is, Gargano is in an unwinnable situation. He can’t stay in the black and yellow brand without becoming stale, nor can he move on to the main roster without getting buried. It’s easy for wrestlers to get stale when they stay on one brand longer than they should. Gargano has already faced every wrestler possible in NXT as a face and as a heel.
Big Match Johnny
Though some wrestlers play perfect heels, Johnny Gargano isn’t one of them. Like Daniel Bryan, Gargano is the type of wrestler fans want to succeed on RAW or Smackdown as opposed to being buried in godawful WWE corporate “comedy.” Gargano’s heel character, in a lot of ways, is akin to Bryan’s Planet Champion persona. Though Daniel managed to get tremendous heel heat against Kofi Kingston, AJ Styles, and Vince McMahon, Bryan was what every Millennial had wanted to say to Boomers. Asking the fans to boo Bryan, when he was putting on great promos and awesome wrestling, was baffling. With NXT not having a lot of strong babyfaces anymore, turning Gargano heel was a mistake.
Gargano is a bench player in 2020 NXT. Not to mention, he is simply another villain in the WWE corporate ecosystem. Nothing Johnny Gargano does as a heel is different than any other villain on RAW or Smackdown. While Johnny Gargano couldn’t remain the same as he was before the heel turn, there are more exciting options that WWE failed to think of. No one wants Gargano buried on the main roster. However, having another pure-hearted babyface portray an awkward heel character makes Johnny less special. Johnny Gargano is one of the most naturally likable wrestlers in the entire industry. Now he has to fall in line, like everyone else.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. WWE fan? You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
