Johnny Gargano knows the importance of versatility in pro wrestling.
The former triple-crown NXT Champion discussed this topic during a recent interview on Busted Open Radio, where he answered a ton of questions regarding his run on the WWE main roster, and how he sees the trajectory of his career going. Gargano explained that showing management he can be used in a variety of different ways is only going to benefit him in the long run. You can check out his full thoughts on the subject in the highlights below.
Says he and Candice can only control what they can control in WWE:
You control what you can control, right. You control the controllables. You can control your effort, you can control your attitude, and you can control the work you put in on a day-to-day basis. That’s all I control. Everything else is outside my pay scale. Whatever happens with the company, I have no control over that. I can just control what I do in that ring most of the time. I can do what I do in the gym. I can control my diet, I control my gear, I control things like that. But everything else, you want to try to have a headspace where you don’t care about that sort of thing. It’s hard because we all care a lot. We got into this business because we care, and we genuinely love it, and we want it to be great. We want to be great, and I will never go a day in my life where I don’t strive to be better than I was the day before. But that is just kind of the way you do things.
Why versatility is the best asset:
For me, I feel like versatility is the best asset you can have in wrestling. I know some people see me and they just see, ‘It’s little Johnny Gargano, who’s a white meat babyface who can go out there and have a good match. But I’ve shown numerous times, even back in my days in NXT, I can do a lot of different things. I can do comedy, I can do the stuff with Dexter. I can do the stuff with The Way. I can do serious stuff with Tommaso [Ciampa], I can do goofy stuff. I feel like versatility, when it comes to any promoter or any booker, I feel like that is the best strength to have because you can fit into any role they want you to be in and make the most out of it.
How much control wrestlers have in their match layouts:
A lot, pretty much 100%. As you guys know, there are producers who have opinions and things like that, but I feel like we have such a great crop of producers, a great crop of people that are in the office right now that genuinely just understand to let the performers go out there and perform and do what they’re paid to do, and that’s get a reaction and also make the people feel something. Also, if say you have four minutes on Monday Night Raw, you fill those four minutes with the best content you possibly have. That is the job in itself.
Gargano recently returned to NXT to confront Grayson Waller, and will be challenging the Aussie star at Stand & Deliver on April 1st. He is set to appear on this evening’s NXT on USA. Check out the full show preview here.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)