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Johnny Gargano knows a thing or two about professional wrestling.
A 19-year veteran with extensive experience working all over the world, Gargano has wrestled many of the best in-ring performers in the world today and, as a result, knows a thing or two about what makes a wrestler stand out versus their peers.
So when Johnny Wrestling recently declared on his Twitch stream that AJ Styles is the best wrestler of his generation, well, it should perk up the ears of any true graps fan, as the former leader of The Way certainly knows what he's talking about the squared circle.
“I can't say enough good things about AJ Styles. He's probably the best wrestler of our generation. AJ Styles was the first independent wrestler that I loved. I had a hood on my entrance gear when I had my very first match because of AJ Styles. I loved AJ and TNA, and I'm talking back to the NWA TNA days, ROH days, and things like that. AJ Styles is my guy. He was my first non-WWE, non-WCW, non-ECW guy that I really loved just from his independent work,” Johnny Gargano explained on Twitch via Fightful.
“So, I got the chance to wrestle AJ when I was 18 years old. He was my favorite wrestler at the time and I got the chance to wrestle him. He brought it. He was so amazing. I learned so much from that match at a very early age. I wrestled him again right before he signed with WWE years later and now, I wrestled him again in WWE on that live event in France. He's still as great as he was when I wrestled him when I was 18 years old. AJ Styles is definitely one of a kind. I firmly do believe that wrestling wouldn't be what it is today without AJ. AJ is literally, like, you talk about GOATS? AJ is one of the GOATs, and he's a great guy in the locker room.
“I remember he treated me with so much kindness, and he treated me like an equal when I was 18 years old, and he had no reason to do that. He was hot in TNA at that time, so he definitely could have just big-leagued me and he never did it, he just gave me a great match. That's something I never forgot, and just seeing how he treats people, too, in the locker room, he's a definition of a locker room leader, and wrestling as a whole is very lucky to have AJ.”
After taking a loss to Cody Rhodes at Backlash in Lyon, France, and then dropping a first-round King of the Ring match to Randy Orton, Styles appears to be at a crossroads in his career, with the “Phenomenal One” telling Nick Aldis he wants to talk about his future this week on SmackDown. If Styles truly is approaching the end of the line, then fans should enjoy his efforts while they can, as in Gargano's opinion, he is truly in a league of his own.
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Johnny Gargano is excited for Cleveland to land SummerSlam.
Speaking of his own professional wrestling journey, Johnny Gargano sat down for an interview with Fox News to discuss SummerSlam coming to his hometown of Cleveland. While Gargano doesn't know if he's on the show just yet, he sure wants to be, as it would be a full-circle moment for his career.
“I heard a few months ago that it was a possibility. And when I heard it was a possibility, I said, ‘Please, just please.' You know how freaking cool that would be? This is something I've been waiting for, I don't want to say my whole life, but essentially my whole life, for the majority of my life. A huge big four WWE event in Cleveland, Ohio. The fact that it's in Cleveland Browns Stadium is something I never thought would happen. The fact that it's actually happening, it's actually a real thing, not just a daydream … the fact that SummerSlam is coming to Cleveland, Ohio, and I am an active member of the WWE roster, and I have a chance to wrestle in that stadium on that show, it feels like destiny, man. It really, really does,” Johnny Gargano told Fox News via 411 Mania.
“I just want to be on SummerSlam in any way, shape or form. But if it were to shake out that way, if we were to get a shot at the WWE tag-team titles at SummerSlam in my hometown, and the fact that it's in Cleveland Browns Stadium. I had my senior prom in Cleveland Browns Stadium. I had my 30th birthday party, thanks to my lovely wife, in Cleveland Browns Stadium. I trained for Takeover: New York for my NXT championship in Cleveland Browns Stadium. I have so much history in that building. I pride myself on being the Cleveland professional wrestler because I am very proud to rep it wherever I go. If I were to get the opportunity to win the WWE tag-team titles in that stadium for my family and friends, that would be… something I would remember for a very, very long time. Until the day I die really. That's the culmination of years of work. So, who knows? We'll see what happens.”
Should WWE find a way to get Gargano and DIY on the show in Cleveland? You bet, as when performers get to work in front of their hometown crowds, they often deliver the goods in a major way, as the promotion recently learned with Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, Rhea Ripley, and beyond.
