Johnny Gargano has a chance to become a two-time NXT Champion on Tuesday when he faces Karrion Kross in the main event of the program.
Kross, who is a two-time NXT Champion in his own right, has had a dominant reign as champion, which includes a victory in a fatal five-way match over Gargano, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Pete Dunne. Despite Kross' dominance as the champion, he's been criticized on television by Gargano and Cole for his lack of wrestling ability.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Gargano commented on his bout with Kross.
"He's the big boss at the end of the video game. Who better to go against the big boss than Johnny Wrestling? I think I need to win this for a lot of different reasons. In a lot of people's minds, if you're the NXT Champion, you're the best on the brand. I don't want to live in a world where people think Karrion Kross is better than Johnny Gargano. I know he is not better than Johnny Gargano, there are not a lot of guys better than Johnny Gargano," said Gargano while speaking in character.
Gargano has been the ultimate babyface throughout his career in NXT, but has thrived as a heel character over the past year.
Speaking of his creative freedom in NXT, Gargano said, "At this point, I feel like I can do anything and try to make it work. That was a challenge for me. I challenged myself. Everyone knows and loves Johnny Gargano the babyface. What can I do to turn this thing around and give a different side? Wrestling is all about evolution and change and keeping people excited. I took this challenge of, 'what can I get over?' You give me a TV, I'll get the TV over. You give me a headband, I'll get the headband over. I'm going to get over whatever I can. I'm very creatively fulfilled right now."
Elsewhere during the interview, Gargano explained how he thinks NXT can increase its viewership. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Fightful will have live coverage of NXT beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
