Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano
Gargano in June 2018
Birth nameJohn Anthony Nicholas Gargano
Born (1987-08-14) August 14, 1987 (age 39)
Lakewood, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2016)​
Children1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Cedrick Von Haussen
Joey Gray
Johnny Gargano
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Billed weight199 lb (90 kg)
Billed fromCleveland, Ohio
The Land of Cleve, Ohio
Schaan, Liechtenstein
Trained byJosh Prohibition
J.T. Lightning
Debut2005

Jonathan Anthony Nicholas "Johnny" Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He works for WWE and wrestles on the SmackDown brand. He was one-half of the tag team #DIY, along with Tommaso Ciampa. Before working on the main roster, Gargano wrestled on NXT. He was the first-ever NXT Triple Crown winner, as he won the NXT Championship once, the NXT North American Championship three times and the NXT Tag Team Championship once with Ciampa. He was nicknamed "The Heart and Soul of NXT".

Gargano started his professional wrestling career in 2005 with the Cleveland All–Pro Wrestling (CAPW) promotion. He later worked for some of the top promotions on the American independent circuit. These include the promotions Chikara, Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Titles Gargano has held include the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas, the Evolve Tag Team Championship and DGUSA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship. He held the Freedom Gate Championship two times. His first time as champion lasted a record 873 days. Gargano also made appearances for national promotions Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Gargano made some appearances for WWE early in his career. In June 2015, he took part in the company's tryout camp. After that, he began appearing regularly for NXT. He signed a contract with the company in April 2016 and formed a tag team called #DIY with Tommaso Ciampa. They held the NXT Tag Team Championship once. The team later ended and they often fought each other. In January 2019, Gargano won the NXT North American Championship. He won the NXT Championship in April the same year. In 2020, Gargano won the NXT North American Championship for a second time. He later won it for a third time. He is the first person to win it more than once. He left WWE after his contract ended in December 2021, but returned in August 2022. He and Ciampa reformed #DIY in October 2023. They went on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship twice.

Championships and accomplishments

Gargano as NXT Champion

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Johnny Gargano". Dragon Gate USA. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  2. 1 2 @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. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (September 21, 2011). "Wed. update: Flair in Boston, ratings, Anniversary, White on HHH, DGUSA star on Smackdown, Orton". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Johnny Gargano". WWE. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Roster". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Evolve profile". Evolve. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ Florjancic, Matthew (April 5, 2019). "WATCH: Johnny Gargano went back to Cleveland roots to prep for Smackdown match". WKYC. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  8. ↑ Sachdev, Tathya (October 2, 2023). "#DIY Is Back! Johnny Gargano Saves Tommaso Ciampa From Imperium Beatdown On WWE RAW (10/2)". Wrestling Headlines. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  9. 1 2 WWE.com Staff. "WWE Tag Team Championship". wwe.com. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  10. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 27, 2010). "AIW Absolute Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  11. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 25, 2008). "AIW Intense Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 Silverstein, Adam (December 26, 2018). "The Man comes around: Becky Lynch breaks out for WWE as the 2018 Wrestler of the Year". CBS Sports.
  13. 1 2 Campbell, Brian (December 24, 2019). "How Adam Cole went from main event substitute to clear choice for 2019 Wrestler of the Year". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  14. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 8, 2008). "CWE Undisputed Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  15. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 18, 2011). "Chikara Campeonatos de Pareja". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  16. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (October 8, 2006). "CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Ironman Heavymetalweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 7, 2016). "Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  19. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 24, 2016). "Evolve Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  20. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 13, 2011). "Open the Freedom Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  21. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 18, 2015). "Open the United Gate Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  22. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 24, 2016). "Evolve Tag Team Championship Tournament (2016)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  23. ↑ "IWC Super Indies title history". Solie's Title Histories. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  24. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (September 13, 2008). "IWC Super Indy Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  25. ↑ "IWC Tag Team title history". Solie's Title Histories. Archived from the original on April 28, 2003. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  26. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 11, 2007). "IWC Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  27. ↑ "4/30 Legacy Wrestling Night of Redemption Results". Legacy Wrestling. May 1, 2016. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  28. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 30, 2016). "Legacy Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards". PWI-Online.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  30. ↑ PWI on Twitter: "Feud: @JohnnyGargano vs. @AdamColePro, Match: @CodyRhodes vs. @dustinrhodes, Rookie: @FlyinBrianJr. The @OfficialPWI staff is also proud to announce @steveaus...
  31. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (August 29, 2019). "Seth Rollins Tops Annual PWI 500". Fightful. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  32. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 9, 2009). "PWO/Prime Heavyweight Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  33. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 26, 2015). "Smash Wrestling Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  34. ↑ "The top 10 men's wrestlers of 2018".
  35. ↑ Epsenhart, Mike (January 18, 2014). "The winner of the ring is..... – Full Wrestling Cares coverage from Gardena, CA". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  36. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 18, 2014). "Race for the Ring Tournament (2014)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  37. ↑ "BONUS SHOW: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards". Post Wrestling. March 17, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  38. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 5, 2020). "March 13, 2020 Observer Newsletter: 40th Annual Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  39. ↑ "NXT Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  40. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 5, 2019). "NXT Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  41. ↑ "NXT North American Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  42. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 26, 2019). "NXT North American Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  43. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 19, 2016). "NXT Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  44. ↑ Witner, Arya (January 28, 2017). "NXT TakeOver San Antonio live results: Nakamura vs. Roode". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  45. 1 2 "The 2018 NXT Year-End Awards were presented on the NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Pre-Show". WWE. January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  46. 1 2 Aiken, Chris (January 1, 2020). "WWE NXT live results: Year-End award winners revealed". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 1, 2020.

Other websites

Media related to Johnny Gargano at Wikimedia Commons