While it's no secret that Johnny Gargano is a proud son of Cleveland, Ohio, did you know he has a long history with with Cleveland Browns Stadium, the home of SummerSlam 2024?
You don't know the half of it, as, in an interview with Good Karma Wrestling, Johnny Wrestlign revealed that some of the signature moments of his life actually happened in the home of the Browns, from his senior prom to his 30th birthday.
“So yeah, it is even wilder. I had my senior prom at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I had my 30th birthday party at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I have spent countless Sundays in Cleveland Browns Stadium as a Browns fan. And when I was younger, Browns weren’t great. Everyone knows this. So, I don’t know how many fourth quarters I spent in those stands, up in the nose bleeds section, just daydreaming of the possibility of a WWE event being in that stadium. And I never thought it would happen,” Johnny Gargano revealed on Good Karma Wrestling via WrestleZone.
“I thought it was like the craziest, wildest dream that would never come true. There’s no way that WWE would run Cleveland Browns Stadium. Like, it’s open air, it’s not that huge of a market like, all that stuff you hear about it. I didn’t just think it would even happen. But the fact that it’s finally happening is amazing to me. It’s literally the dream. My literal dream of wrestling in that stadium could come true. And that’s the coolest thing in the world for me.”
Discussing his Cleveland connection to WWE further, Gargano revealed the first-ever WWE show he attended as a fan was at the Gund Arena in Cleveland for SummerSlam 1996, which would make a DIY debut at SummerSlam all the more exciting for his Ohio heart.
“So, SummerSlam 1996 in the Gund Arena, was the very first show I ever went to as a fan. That was the night that I decided I need to become a professional wrestler. I need to do this. I needed to work for WWE one day. And the fact that SummerSlam 28 years later, is returning to Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Browns Stadium, and I’m an active member of the roster. I have a chance to wrestle at SummerSlam in Cleveland, 28 years later after I decided I wanted to become a wrestler because of SummerSlam in Cleveland. It just feels like destiny man.”
Should WWE give DIY the rub at SummerSlam, letting them work against A-Town Down Under with the SmackDown Tag Team Titles on the line? Yes, even if they don't win, WWE should absolutely pull that trigger, especially considering Gargano has extensive experience wrestling with Austin Theory in The Way, too.
It's tag team gold or bust for Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
Sitting down for an interview with Cathy Kelley on the SmackDown LowDown after a successful effort against Legado Del Fantasma, the members of DIY, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, discussed their big win on SmackDown and how they hope it will propel them toward a future title shot.
“I wouldn't call it, ‘a roll,' right? It's been one match,” Tommaso Ciampa said via Fightful. “The difference is on Monday Night Raw, our approach was to wait, play the long game. That's not the approach here on SmackDown. We are here to take what we want and what we want; you saw it tonight. Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, those Tag Team Titles. That's what we want.”
“That's the agenda, Cathy,” Johnny Gargano added. “The agenda is, ‘#DIY: Tag Team Gold 2024.' No matter who steps in our way. Look, I have a long history with both Austin Theory and Grayson Waller, and that is the endgame. But, any other team on SmackDown that wants to step in #DIY's way, we're going to show them what we're all about.”
While DIY was a very successful tag team in NXT, with the duo amassing one reign with the NXT Tag Team Championship in addition to six more singles title reigns, they haven't found the same success on the main roster, with exactly zero runs with a belt and only a few actual title shots between their singles and tag team efforts. If, however, this current momentum, when coupled with their experience wrestling both Waller and Theory in NXT can propel them to a massive push on the blue brand, it can only lead to positive results, as WWE is just better when there's an impressive collection of tam team champions at the top of the card, which DIY undoubtedly fits the bill of.
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