Opinion

Can Johnny Gargano be WWE’s Daniel Bryan 2.0?

Published

7 years ago

February 21, 2018

The date was January 27^th. The stage was NXT TakeOver Philadelphia. Aleister Black had just had his hand raised after a captivating Extreme Rules match against Adam Cole. The two men essentially said ‘follow that’ and the WWE Universe agreed. The following match was scheduled to be Johnny Gargano trying to prize away the NXT Championship from Andrade Almas in the main event, and we all feared the worst… you want the main event to be the best match on the card but on paper this seemed somewhat… uninspiring. How could it possibly follow such a frantic and entertaining spot-fest? With great ease apparently! The match we were treated to was hands down one of the best matches of the last 10 years in any wrestling promotion.

The match itself was impossible to take your eyes off, with non stop heart racing action, more near falls than my nerves could take, outside interference and even a post match ambush keeping us on the edge of our seats. But what really made the match special wasn’t what happened in the ring, it was how much everyone in attendance and watching at home was desperately rooting for Gargano. I can’t remember the last time I found myself so invested in a match and actually cared about the guys involved. There is no doubt in my mind that with the right booking he can quite easily and effectively become Daniel Bryan 2.0, maybe even surpassing the bearded one’s accomplishments.

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When the referee’s hand hit the mat for the third and final time, the entire arena and everybody watching was stunned into silence. Gargano had put on one of the bravest, most believable and ultimately heart-breaking performances in recent memory which more than deserved to land him the title. Hell even Dave Meltzer, so famously anti-WWE, gave it his fabled 5 star rating, which had become somewhat of a mythical creature talked about in legends, not seen in the WWE since 2011. You have to give a huge amount of credit to Almas too, its safe to say he surprised everyone with his in ring performance, but it was Gargano who really told the story during the match. NXT managed to once again do something sorely lacking on the main roster shows… great storytelling and creative booking.

It’s very easy to see why fans clamour for Gargano to succeed in the business. He’s charismatic, he can cut a good and believable promo, his in-ring ability is up there with the best as he regularly pulls off unique and innovative moves to leave us breathless. He is very much what the majority of WWE fans see in themselves, an everyman wrestler who has scratched and clawed for every opportunity despite being told he isn’t good enough. He is relatable. He isn’t big in stature or physique, he isn’t the kind of guy you would find on the cover of magazines and he doesn’t need a flashy gimmick or entrance to get himself over.. Week in and week out he leaves it all in the ring. The big question which remains is whether or not the trigger will finally be pulled on an NXT Championship reign before he steps up to RAW or SDLive. We know he will almost certainly be feuding with his former tag team partner turned bitter enemy Tomasso Ciampa in the near future which will undoubtedly be a captivating rivalry regardless of championship gold being involved… but then what? Where will he go from there?

The main roster shows have desperately been lacking something since Bryan’s heart-breaking early retirement. Bryan was a universally loved babyface, and as much as great faces will come and go none of them could even dream of reaching the heights that he did. The similarities between the two ultimate underdogs are almost endless, so it is more than mere coincidence that the crowd erupted into Bryan’s iconic YES! chant following yet another Gargano near fall against Almas. The real kick in the teeth for Bryan was that he wasn’t actually due to be part of the title scene at that time, he was never more than a mid carder in the companies eyes and it was only the WWE Universe who convinced the company to take a chance on ol’ goatface. What happened afterwards? WWE struck 24 carat gold with merchandise sales, unearthed a chant which will last a lifetime, created the ultimate WrestleMania moment and finally… FINALLY listened to the best creative minds in professional wrestling and made them feel like they mattered… the fans.

WWE simply cannot afford to make the same mistake twice. I mean sure, the company is in the best financial shape it has seen in a good few years, but is it really worth taking the risk again? The fans for years now have made their feelings very clear towards WWE for consistently pushing the likes of Roman Reigns, John Cena and Batista, and it almost always ends with shows and PPV’s going off air to a chorus of boo’s. A push for Gargano would go a long way towards making up for some ‘questionable’ booking choices, most notably the utterly mind boggling championship reign of Jinder Mahal which lasted roughly 6 months too long. There is no doubt that Gargano is more than ready for his shot at the big leagues in terms of his talent and persona, the worrying thing is how poorly NXT talent has been utilized in the last couple of years.

Finn Balor is the prime example. His call up was somewhat of a revelation in WWE, the amazing indy guy being given a much deserved shot, and he was immediately pushed to the moon by becoming the first ever Universal Champion, but one bad injury later and he has found himself lingering around the mid card only recently being pushed back into the fray. The Vaudevillains were used poorly and jobbed out most weeks. Enzo & Cass split up too soon. American Alpha a similar story although at least they captured gold along the way. The Ascension find themselves playing a comedy role. Baron Corbin and Nia Jax both called up way too soon and proved it in the ring. Tye Dillinger was called up while he was at peak popularity but you can barely even call him a jobber at this point on SDLive. The WWE Universe simply wouldn’t forgive the company if this happened with Gargano and we would likely see a similar backlash to what we have seen recently with Roman Reigns.

This is where Gargano can come in and break the mould. He is ready right now to be the next Daniel Bryan. He hasn’t just used NXT to improve or hone his skills, he has become the finished article in a very short time. He can walk onto either show as a white-hot babyface without needing to prove himself to anyone. Although we have seen this type of babyface before, he has achieved it in such a natural and organic way when compared to someone like Roman Reigns. Sure, Roman has come a long way and is a much better wrestler than people give him credit for but the issue with him is we know how desperately WWE want us to like him and accept him as our champion. The trouble for him is he didn’t establish himself as a credible singles competitor first, he literally had 3 televised matches in NXT before becoming the muscle of the Shield. While The Shield were great fun, we all knew that Seth Rollins was the most talented of the trio and was main event bound, with Dean Ambrose destined to be a great mid card champion. But they didn’t look like your typical steroid loving WWE big guy, so although they had their time to shine and did it very well they were never going to be mainstay champions in the way that Roman has been forced to be. That doesn’t need to be done with Gargano… he already is our champion.

I grew up as a huge fan of The Rock and then in later years John Cena. So why is it that when Rocky returns every now and then I feel nauseous? Why is it that I can’t stand the guys I used to love? Because fantastic wrestlers and charismatic entertainers were, and still are, being held down to add another zero to WWE’s bank balance and give part timers a bit of cash when they’re not busy in Hollywood. WWE need to stop treating us like idiots, you can throw any number of faces at us and call them the top guy or the face of the company, but we will only sit by and ride the nostalgia train for so long. The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, John Cena and now Roman Reigns have all become victims of their own success, whereas guys like Bryan and Gargano have put the work in and travelled the world on the Indy scene to EARN their spots… if Bryan was still medically capable of wrestling in WWE today the fans would not have turned on him even if he became a 10 time champion because it was never handed to him.

As much as Roman has certainly improved both in ring and on the mic, the fact remains that he finds himself in an untouchable position because of his family ties and the top brass’ fixation on big guys. He was given a slap on the wrist for violating the wellness policy where most guys would have been fired for less. Jinder Mahal was thrust into the limelight and, quite rightly, questions were immediately raised about his sudden crazy body transformation. Was he investigated? Was he heck! He was given a championship reign because WWE wanted to crack the Indian market. Money makes the world go round, I get that, and WWE is a business at the end of the day which needs to make money to survive. But for every 1 new Indian fan they gained, just think how many fans they alienated by again giving someone undeserving an opportunity despite visible fan protest. Someone like Gargano would get so many eyes on the company and keep existing ones interested rather than them switching to Ring of Honor or New japan Pro Wrestling where they can see those smaller guys putting on phenomenal, exciting matches. At the end of the day we want entertainment for our money, not a muscly freak who can barely string two words together.

Johnny Gargano can be every bit of what Daniel Bryan was, and take it to a whole new level as long as WWE wake up and see what they have before it’s too late. It just takes a change in mindset from an incredibly stubborn Vince McMahon and an undying determination from the WWE Universe to get behind their guy. Every single week, Mauro Ranello gushes about how NXT is the place to be and tells us that ‘this is what the black and gold brand is all about’.

Hopefully it is only a matter of time before either RAW or SDLive show us that they are all about the fans, the entertainment and the wrestling… Johnny Wrestling.

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Related Topics:Almas Andrade bryan Ciampa Daniel Featured Featured Big Gargano Johnny NXT Raw Roman Reigns SDLive Takeover Takeover Philadelphia The Rock WrestleMania WWE

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

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THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

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SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1