Johnny Gargano is focused on controlling what he can control.
Gargano, the first NXT Triple Crown Champion, had a lengthy run in NXT, and he was widely seen as the face of the brand. Aside from a brief run on the main roster in 2019 and a one-off appearance in the Royal Rumble Match, Gargano only competed on WWE TV as a member of NXT. At the time, Vince McMahon was the head of WWE creative, and Triple H was running NXT. Gargano left WWE at the end of 2021 and spent a few months away from the company. He returned on the August 22, 2022 episode of WWE Raw, which came roughly a month after McMahon retired and Triple H took over as the head of creative.
Given Gargano's unmatched run in NXT, he is often viewed as one of Triple H's favorites, and he has been featured as a member of the Raw roster since his return. However, McMahon's return to WWE in January has led to plenty of speculation about how the product, and the roster, could be affected.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, he rumors surrounding Vince McMahon's return and its potential impact on WWE creative came up in the conversation. When asked to describe how he anf his wife, Candice LeRae, keeps things in perspective with their futures in the company, Gargano stated that they focus on controlling what they can control.
“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," Gargano said.
Gargano continued by emphasizing the value of versatility. He stated that some people see him as a typical babyface who can have a good match, but he has proven that he can do a number of different things. The former NXT Champion noted that nrong versatilie is important as a performer because it shows any booker that a talent can successfully fit into various roles.
"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," Gargano said.
When asked to describe how much control he has on what goes in the ring, Gargano emphasized that the performers are allowed to go out to the ring and perform. He credited WWE's great crop of producers and noted that they trust the wrestlers to do their job, which is to get a reaction and make the most of the time they're given.
“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 said.
In the same interview, Gargano discussed his run on WWE Raw. Check out his comments here.
Fightful Select previously reported that, at a talent meeting following McMahon's return, Triple H assured the roster that it wouldn't affect the creative process his team had established, and he still makes the final call on decisions. More information is available here.
Catch up on our coverage of the March 13 episode of WWE Raw here.
Gargano is set to appear on the March 14 episode of NXT; click here to check out the card.
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