While discussing his time in NXT, Johnny Gargano revealed the moment he experienced the worst pain he has ever been in.
Fans of The ‘Black and Gold era’ of NXT have fond memories of the NXT Championship match that took place back in 2018 between the then-challenger Johnny Gargano and NXT Champion Andrade.
After the bout was over, Gargano received a standing ovation from the live crowd only for Tommaso Ciampa to make his return after a six-month absence and deliver a vicious attack on his former tag team partner with a crutch.
During an appearance at Starrcast V on a special panel with Inside The Ropes’ very own Kenny McIntosh, Gargano discussed the assault, describing the pain of being hit with the makeshift weapon as “the worst” he has ever felt.
“Tommaso came out afterwards and hit me with a crutch. Show of hands, how many people have been hit as hard as they can in the back with a crutch? [someone raises their hand] wow, what do you do for a living sir? I will say that is the absolute worst pain I have ever been in in my entire life.
“Tommaso swung that thing as hard as he could. People are like, ‘Oh it’s a fake crutch, it’s a gimmick crutch.’ No those things are real. You can’t fake a crutch, they hurt.
“To have a 35 minute match with Andrade where my lip is bleeding, I am busted open, I am frazzled, I have someone smack me in the back with a crutch, horrible!
“But again, perfect circumstance where he hits me with the crutch and we are rolling.”
The match from Philadelphia was incredibly well received, even getting a 5-star review from Dave Meltzer. It was also one of the longest matches in recent memory going well over the half-hour mark.
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