Johnny Gargano is done laying down. After spending eight months feeling sorry for himself on WWE television, Gargano says his match with CM Punk wasn’t the end of his story. It was the beginning of getting Johnny Wrestling back.
Gargano took to Twitter and opened up about what the September 4 SmackDown main event meant to him. Wrestling the WWE Champion in Cleveland was already huge, but doing it in the same arena where he first fell in love with professional wrestling made it even more personal.
“Last night was for the people who never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself. I went toe to toe with the @WWE Champion in the main event of Smackdown in the arena where I first fell in love with professional wrestling as a child.”
Gargano also thanked Cleveland for sticking with him against Punk. All he ever wanted was to become someone his hometown could be proud of, and getting that support while standing across from the WWE Champion clearly hit home.
“Cleveland, I love you.. you had my back against the best in the world, and all I’ve ever wanted to do was be your guy and make you proud.”
There was another full-circle part of the night for Gargano. Long before they shared a WWE ring, Punk was someone the self-described “indie kid” looked up to. Gargano revealed that a CM Punk shirt was actually the first independent wrestling shirt he ever bought in high school.
“For an indie kid like me.. it was an absolute honor, and dream to finally get in there with @CMPunk (who was the very first indie merch shirt I ever bought in High School).”
Gargano isn’t pretending one match suddenly fixed everything, though. He admitted he wasn’t at his best against Punk and directly tied that to spending the past eight months laying around and feeling sorry for himself. That’s where Gargano made it clear the running gag is over.
“I’d love to tell you I was at my best, but that’d be a lie. After laying around feeling sorry for myself for 8 months.. Mentally and physically.. I’m a work in progress.. But I guess we all are. No more laying down. Last night was the beginning.. not the end. It’s time to stand up, be myself and put in the work to become the man I was always meant to be. For you. For me. For those who still believe in Johnny Wrestling.”
That’s a pretty big change from the Gargano fans had been watching for months. His storyline started after his January 30 loss to Axiom, with Gargano repeatedly shown lying across production cases backstage while everyone from Candice LeRae to Sami Zayn tried to get something out of him.
CM Punk finally did. A WWE Championship opportunity got Gargano off the box, but his latest message makes it clear this wasn’t supposed to be a one-night wake-up call. After eight months of laying down, Johnny Wrestling says he’s standing back up for good.
Are you ready to see Johnny Gargano leave the box behind and become Johnny Wrestling again? Let us know in the comments.
