Johnny Gargano talks creating heel persona and The Way on 'Out of Character'
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano joined "Out of Character" this week to discuss his transformation on TV from lovable babyface to egomaniacal sitcom dad.
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This metamorphosis for Johnny began in January 2020, after the 33-year-old turned heel for a second time at NXT TakeOver: Portland.
The new direction helped freshen things up for his character, and over the past year "Johnny Wrestling" has evolved into one of the most entertaining heels on the brand.
According to Gargano, though, the switch wasn’t just a company directive. It was something he pushed for to prove a point.
"People were all like, ‘OK, he’s a great wrestler, man, he is a great wrestler, but what’s his character? I don’t get what his character is.’ A lot of guys like me get that nowadays, and I kinda took that to heart," Johnny said on this week’s podcast. "When I came up with his heel incarnation of Johnny Gargano, what you see on TV currently, I was like, people know I’m a great wrestler, but let me challenge myself now and show them a completely different side of myself they haven’t seen yet."
"I showed everyone that I could have great matches, but now I’m gonna show everyone that Johnny Gargano can be a full-fledged character, and he can go out there to entertain you in different ways, as opposed to just a wrestling match."
That’s exactly what he did throughout 2020.
Amidst a global pandemic, with barely any fans present for shows, Gargano somehow managed to change people’s perception of his character by flexing his comedy skills and taking the persona to the complete opposite end of the spectrum.
Now, because of the success of that decision, he’s just days away from another shot at the NXT Championship on Sunday at NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
"That’s been the constant flow of my career, especially in NXT, where I started in a tag team with DIY. It became, ‘Oh, well Johnny’s just a great tag team guy.’ Then DIY broke up, and me and Andrade had these matches. ‘Oh, well, he’s just a great singles guy, but can he tell a story?’ Then me and Tommaso had our feud and it’s, ‘OK, they can tell a story, but what’s his character?’ And now I’m doing The Way thing. So I feel like every single time I just try to reach the goalposts that people keep moving."
The Way began at the end of 2020, when Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory were paired with Johnny and wife Candice LeRae on NXT TV following Halloween Havoc.
At first, their family dynamic wasn’t part of the plan, but as usual in wrestling, it took one segment to change that.
"When I pitched this whole faction idea, trust me, the whole sitcom family thing was not something I pitched," Johnny explained. "It came when we filmed the Christmas special. Everyone was just kinda interacting with one another. We would joke around a lot and call Austin and Indi our kids because they kinda looked like big versions of ourselves that we made in a lab. So we would call them our kids, and it just kinda became something that kinda took off on-screen, and that just became our dynamic."
Once the lightbulb switched on, it was off to the races, and the group began to lean into the sitcom family vibe.
Austin as the airhead older brother. Indi as the obsessive younger sister. Candice as the assertive mother and Johnny as the know-it-all dad. It all fit together perfectly.
From there, things began to blossom for the group.
"We kinda liken it to Evolution, where you introduce these two new characters on-screen and give them a platform to grow in and get comfortable," Johnny explained.
"I think it’s worked wonders for Indi and Austin. I think having the chance to go out there and get comfortable in a group but also get comfortable in the ring, get comfortable in pre-tapes, get comfortable in things like that, I think they’ve grown so much, and I’m so proud of them because they’re immensely talented people. I think they’re going to be stars for this company for a long time."
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While giving out predictions such as the one above, Gargano had another for this weekend’s TakeOver event, in which he’ll face off against Karrion Kross, Pete Dunne, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly for the NXT Championship.
"Everyone knows by now that TakeOvers are something special. You cannot miss them. I am 100 percent going to guarantee that TakeOver: In Your House is going to be something very, very special. Something you do not want to miss!"
NXT TakeOver: In Your House streams live on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network internationally at 4 p.m. ET Sunday.
For more from Johnny, watch or listen to this week's "Out of Character with Ryan Satin."
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
