The name Johnny Gargano has been the hot topic among pro wrestling fans after he made his return to WWE after nine months on the August 22, 2022, episode of Raw.

The former NXT Champion made an impact among the WWE fans during his time in the Black & Gold brand, and his matches against the likes of Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole received high praises from the fans and critics alike.

He's been in the business for almost 17 years and won over the fans with his technical in-ring skills and natural charisma and earning him the nickname Johnny Wrestling.

RELATED: 10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Johnny Gargano Faced

With that said, let's take a trip down memory lane and look at Johnny Gargano's illustrious pro wrestling career through photos taken over the years.

10 Training & Debut

Johnny Gargano as Cedric von Haussen

Johnny Gargano started training to become a professional wrestler at Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling's wrestling school while he was still in high school, where he trained under J.T. Lightning and Josh Prohibition.

He made his official in-ring debut at a CAPW event in October 2005, and from there, he started performing for other companies like Absolute Intense Wrestling and Hybrid Wrestling in his early years.

He also made a one-off appearance for WWE under the name Cedric von Haussen in a squash match against MVP on the March 23, 2007, episode of SmackDown.

9 Independent Circuit

Johnny Gargano in the indies

Gargano made his debut for the International Wrestling Cartel in May 2007, making several appearances for the company, and he also competed for other promotions like Main Event Championship Wrestling, Prime Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Rampage, and American Luchacore in his early days in the independent circuit.

During that time, he captured multiple championships, including the CAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship, the IWC Tag Team Championship with Michael Facade, the CWE Undisputed Championship, the IWC Super Indy Champion, and the AIW Intense Championship.

Johnny Wrestling also made his debut for Ring of Honor in August 2008 and competed in a dark match against Sami Callihan. After his ROH tryout, doctors discovered he had a hairline fracture in his back, caused by his left leg being shorter than his right leg, and advised Gargano to re-think his career path, but he returned to the ring after six months.

8 Chikara

Johnny Gargano in Chikara

His time in the independent scenes led Johnny Gargano to make his debut for the Philadelphia-based promotion Chikara in June 2008. His first match was in a losing effort against Marshe Rockett in the first round of the Young Lions Cup.

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He also represented Absolute Intense Wrestling alongside Flip Kendrick and Louis Lyndon in the 2010 Chikara King of Trios tournament. He then formed a tag team named Team Fist with Chuck Taylor and had two runs with the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas Championship, with their last reign ending at the hands of The Young Bucks in June 2012.

7 Dragon Gate & Evolve

Johnny Gargano in DGUSA and Evolve

Johnny Gargano made his debut for Dragon Gate USA in July 2009 and worked for the promotion until April 2014. After the company formed a partnership with Evolve Wrestling and agreed to share the roster, Gargano also started appearing for Evolve.

During his time in the promotions, Gargano captured the Open The Freedom Gate Championship twice, with his first reign lasting an impressive 873 days. He also teamed up with Rich Swann to win the Open The United Gate Championship but retired the title to introduce the Evolve Tag Team Championship.

He then formed a tag team with Drew McIntyre and defeated Chris Hero and Malakai Black in the final of the title tournament to win the Evolve Tag Team Championship.

6 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Johnny Gargano in PWG

Johnny Gargano made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerilla in March 2013 and teamed with Chuck Taylor in a losing effort against The Young Bucks in his first match for the company.

During his time in PWG, Gargano competed in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament in 2013 and 2014. He lost to Michael Elgin in the semi-final in 2013 and to Ricochet in a triple threat match, also including Roderick Strong in the final of the 2014 tournament.

He also unsuccessfully challenged Adam Cole for the PWG World Championship and had two failed attempts at their tag team titles as well.

5 WWE Debut & DIY

DIY NXT Tag Team Champions

After attending a WWE tryout camp in June 2015, Johnny Gargano made his televised debut for the company as a contestant in the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. He teamed with Tommaso Ciampa in the tournament and got eliminated by Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the quarter-final.

Following that, he signed an official contract with WWE and competed in a losing effort in the Cruiserweight Classic. He then resumed his partnership with Ciampa and formed DIY, and went on to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship from The Revival at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

4 Feud With Tommaso Ciampa

Tommaso-Ciampa-and-Johnny-Gargano-at-NXT-TakeOver-Brooklyn-IV-1

DIY lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to The Authors of Pain at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio in January 2017. After three unsuccessful attempts at regaining the title, Tommaso Ciampa turned heel on Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Chicago.

This led to a lengthy feud between the two superstars resulting in a series of brutal matches. It was one of the best-written feuds in WWE history, and both Ciampa and Gargano gave their best to sell it to the fans.

RELATED: Every Johnny Gargano Vs Tommaso Ciampa Match In WWE, Ranked

The NXT Title became part of the feud after Tommaso Ciampa won the championship from Aleister Black.

3 Championship Reigns

Johnny Gargano as North American and NXT Champion

While not able to capture the NXT Championship from Tommaso Ciampa, Gargano finally got a chance to hold some gold after culminating his feud with the latter. He defeated "The One and Only" Ricochet at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix to win the NXT North American Championship but lost it in four days to Velveteen Dream on the following week's episode of NXT.

He then captured the NXT Championship for the first time when he defeated Adam Cole in a 2 out of 3 falls match at NXT TakeOver: New York.

After losing the title, he rekindled his storyline with Ciampa, which led to Gargano defeating his former partner in an empty arena match on the April 8, 2020, episode of NXT.

He then had two more reigns with the North American Championship, with his last run lasting 163 days.

2 The Way

Johnny Gargano with Candice LeRae and The Way

After winning his third North American Championship, Johnny Gargano formed a heel stable with his wife, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell, and Austin Theory called The Way.

He lost the championship to Bronson Reed in a steel cage match on the May 18, 2021, episode of NXT. After that, he had two failed attempts at winning the NXT Championship, and then went on to defeat Dexter Lumis in a Love Her or Lose her match for Indi Hartwell.

However, Hartwell chose to unite with Lumis despite the stipulation, and it sparked a face turn for Gargano. He started working with Lumis and feuded with North American Champion Carmelo Hayes.

1 WWE Exit & Return

Johnny Gargano's WWE return

After a series of events, Gargano's contract with WWE expired in December 2021, and he chose not to re-sign with the company as he wanted to take care of his newborn son and take some time off the ring.

Following his exit, the fans started speculating about his next destination and believed he would sign with All Elite Wrestling. But Vince McMahon's retirement and Triple H taking control of creative proved to be the difference maker, which led Gargano back to WWE.

He made a surprise return on the August 22, 2022, episode of Raw and stated his intention of winning the Intercontinental, United States, and WWE Championships. It appears Gargano's first feud would be against his former protégé and current Mr. MITB Theory after he laid him out on Raw.