CLEVELAND — Johnny Gargano wanted to be in the right state of mind for this weekend’s NXT Championship match against Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: New York, the kickoff to WrestleMania weekend in the greater New York City area.
And so, Gargano went back to the place where the dream of being a professional wrestler began, his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
“I wanted to come to Cleveland because there’s just something in the air,” Gargano said in a video posted to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.’s YouTube page earlier this week.
“A certain type of person is born in Cleveland, Ohio. This place made me who I am. Nothing is given. Everything is earned. We fight for what we want, and I fight for what I want. I want that NXT Championship, and I’m going to fight my heart out.”
After visiting his father Frank’s catering business, Gargano went out back to the parking lot to reminisce about his first taste of the wrestling industry. It was in that parking lot that Gargano’s father agreed to host the Cleveland Wrestling Alliance’s “Back Alley Brawl II.”
“I spent a lot of my childhood in this parking lot, and a lot of huge life events happened in this parking lot, which is pretty crazy,” Gargano said. “So, this is the spot where I first stepped foot in a wrestling ring for the first time. I was eight years old. My dad knew I was a huge wrestling fan, and an independent promotion approached him and wanted to run a show in his back parking lot.
“He knew I was a huge fan, so he said, ‘Of course. Yes, please, as long as my son could maybe get in the ring.’ My wrestling name was ‘J.A.G.,’ John Anthony Gargano. ‘J.A.G.’ it was very clever. Seven years later was actually my first official match, and it too happened in this parking lot.”
Following the visit to the family business, Gargano headed to Turner’s Hall in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland, and despite the building showing signs of age, like a leaking roof, it felt like home once again to the NXT superstar.
“For a 14-year old kid who just dreamed of being a professional wrestler, this was Heaven,” Gargano said.
“After everyone would leave, I would just be here by myself, sitting in the ring by myself. This was my happy place. To go from this to the Barclays Center, the biggest weekend of the year, it’s cold in here, but I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.”
In addition to visiting his old stomping grounds, Gargano went for runs along the Hope Memorial Bridge, which connects the East and West sides of the city and spent time reflecting on his career while sitting in the stands at FirstEnergy Stadium: Home of the Cleveland Browns and wearing a “Woke Up Feeling Dangerous” Baker Mayfield hooded sweatshirt.
Also, Gargano went back to the AIW (Absolute Intense Wrestling) training school, as well as Fit Legit Training, where he did modified push-ups and chin-ups, flipped tractor tires, pushed and pulled weighted sleds and used “battle ropes” to better prepare for the grueling match against Cole.
“A chubby little kid with a dream from Cleveland, Ohio, to main-event TakeOver: New York for the NXT Championship, a chance to live my dream, to make my dream come true, I’m going to do it by being me,” Gargano said.
“I’m going to do it by being Johnny Gargano because all I need is right here. It’s right here.”
