Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano
Gargano in 2018
Birth nameJohn Anthony Nicholas Gargano
Born (1987-08-14) August 14, 1987 (age 37)
Lakewood, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2016)​
Children1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Cedrick Von Haussen[1][2]
Joey Gray[3]
Johnny Gargano[4]
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[5][4]
Billed weight199 lb (90 kg)[4]
Billed fromCleveland, Ohio[5][4]
The Land of Cleve, Ohio[6]
Schaan, Liechtenstein[1][2]
Trained byJosh Prohibition[6]
J.T. Lightning[5][6]
Debut2005[1]
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genres
Subscribers66.5 thousand[7]
Total views2 million[7]
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2021–present
Genres
Followers41.9 thousand
Last updated: July 27, 2024

John Anthony Nicholas Gargano[8] (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Gargano is best known for his time in NXT, where he became the first-ever NXT Triple Crown winner by winning the NXT Championship once, the NXT North American Championship for a record 3 times, and the NXT Tag Team Championship once. His popularity in NXT led him to be nicknamed "The Heart and Soul of NXT".

Gargano started his professional wrestling career in 2005, working for the Cleveland All–Pro Wrestling (CAPW) promotion. Over the following years, Gargano worked for some of the top promotions on the American independent circuit, including Chikara, Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Titles Gargano held include the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas, the Evolve Tag Team Championship and DGUSA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship, which he held twice with his first reign lasting a record 873 days. During his independent days, Gargano also made appearances for national promotions Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

After making sporadic appearances for WWE early in his career, Gargano took part in the company's tryout camp in June 2015. Afterwards, he began appearing regularly for NXT, eventually signing a contract in April 2016. He formed a tag team, #DIY, with Tommaso Ciampa, and held the NXT Tag Team Championship once. Following their split up and heated rivalry, Gargano captured the NXT North American Championship in January 2019 and won the NXT Championship in April the same year. With the win, Gargano became the first ever NXT Triple Crown Champion. In 2020, Gargano won the NXT North American Championship for a second, and later, a third time, becoming the first competitor to do so each time.

He departed WWE after his contract expired in December 2021, but returned in August 2022 and this time to the main roster permanently. He would then reunite with Ciampa as #DIY the following year with the pair going on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship in July 2024.

  1. ^ a b c "Johnny Gargano". Dragon Gate USA. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  2. ^ a b @JohnnyGargano (November 13, 2016). "Watching Smackdown from 10 years ago.. Something tells me Cedrick Von Haussen and Attorney Thomas Whitney Esquire w…" (Tweet). Retrieved May 16, 2019 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SuperstarsTryout was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d "Johnny Gargano". WWE. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Roster". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Evolve was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b "About JohnnyGargano". YouTube.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).