Johnny Gargano on the Difference Between NXT and the Main Roster, Raw & Smackdown Being More Stressful

Speaking with Corey Graves on After the Bell, Johnny Gargano discussed his brief time in the main roster and the difference between it and NXT. Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa had a very brief run on Raw and Smackdown before Ciampa’s injury led to Gargano being moved back to NXT while Ciampa was on the shelf. Ciampa has since said he’d rather retire than go to the main roster and Gargano seems happy to be on NXT as well.

Gargano discussed the main difference between NXT vs. Raw and Smackdown to him, and also how much NXT feels like a place he’s comfortable with guys he came up through the indies with. Highlights and the full podcast are below:

On the difference between NXT and the main roster: “I’d say it’s very different. Maybe it’s because I’m so entrenched in the NXT system and I’ve known our — basically our writing staff, our creative team, all the camera guys, everyone who works backstage. Plus it’s at Full Sail every week, and that’s 10 minutes from my apartment in Orlando, so that’s nice. So the travel schedule isn’t as hectic as Raw and Smackdown. But there is a sense of urgency, the same sense of urgency on Raw and Smackdown, it’s just different. I feel like it’s way more stressful on RAW and Smackdown for some strange reason. But in NXT it feels like home, and it feels like I’m very, very comfortable. So I think that’s the biggest difference for me, then what I felt. Over there, it just feels very, I don’t know. Like, there’s a million people. There’s literally a million people that I’ve never seen — I see new people all the time when I’m backstage at Raw and Smackdown. NXT, it’s just like a family environment where I know everyone, so I think that’s the biggest change.”

On sharing the NXT locker room and stage with guys he’s known for years: “I think that’s the coolest thing is, we’ve all been talking about this for so many years. Like you mentioned, we’ve known each other for like 12 years. I’ve known a lot of the guys that are on the NXT roster for probably like 10 years as well. And it’s all filled with guys who have talked about this moment. Talked about making it to WWE and kind of doing what we do. And I think that’s also wild thing, is we’re just doing what we do. It’s not like any of us have changed that much. It’s not like we’ve had to be completely repackaged, or retooled, or renamed or anything like that. A lot of it is us doing what we did on the indies, doing it on national television. Which is wild that I’m able to do that with guys that I consider friends, guys that I consider close to me. And that’s what I mentioned about NXT being like a family. It’s like that in our locker room as well. And that’s what I love most about it.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE’s After the Bell with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.