INDEPENDENT ADVICE ...with DGUSA Freedom Gate champion Johnny Gargano

FSM: There are different ways of training to become a professional wrestler, and here in the UK, there are still schools who insist you start with a lot of amateur wrestling. Can you describe your training experience?
Johnny Gargano: I started when I was eight years old. My dad has a catering company with a big parking lot, and an independent promotion wanted to run a show on it. He rented it to them because he knew how big a wrestling fan I was. The guys let me get in the ring before the show, actually showing me a little bit of how to wrestle. Of course, that's horribly unprofessional! (laughs) The promoter liked me, so when I got a little older, I started training.
I went to a high school that is well-known for amateur wrestling - the same school as Dolph Ziggler, in fact. He was a ridiculously good amateur wrestler, but I never really had a chance to try out because I was already training for pro wrestling. Starting young was beneficial to me, because I got the chance to develop faster.

The mentality has been that it's important to have an amateur background to become a pro, but that could be argued as unnecessary nowadays. Where do you stand on that?
I think having an amateur background can really help, especially with conditioning. That style has some of the best drills to get you prepared for pro wrestling, but I've since learned that nothing can fully prepare you for what you go through in the ring. I've seen football and baseball players who are tremendous athletes, but they step through the ropes and get tired within a couple of minutes. Pro wrestling is a completely different kind of conditioning; nothing compares to actually getting in the ring and going full-tilt.

You've spoken before about your interest in chain wrestling, popularised by the likes of Johnny Saint. Where did that interest come from?
My trainer had a vast collection of tapes we would watch, and I remember him showing me footage of Johnny Saint. I instantly fell in love with it, because it was so fresh compared to my other influences, such as Shawn Michaels and WWE.
Saint's style was such a contrast to everything you would see on mainstream wrestling TV, and I immediately felt that it was something I had to do. Over the years I've integrated some of his style into mine, although it's obviously not completely faithful. I was lucky enough to see him up close a few years ago, when he came over to work for CHIKARA. He was just amazing.

How much of your match do you like to plan out beforehand?
It really depends on who I'm wrestling, or even how long the match is going to be. For example, when I wrestled Bryan Danielson, we called it all in the ring. That was the first time I'd ever done that, and it was kind of intimidating, because I was much younger. I've since worked with less-experienced guys who feel the need to call a lot of things beforehand in the dressing room, but that also happens when there's a language barrier, too. Honestly, I have no preference either way; it simply depends on who I'm wrestling.
Another factor is the context of the match, you know? The story of the match is a very important part of it, because it needs to make sense. Your placement on the card also changes things, because every show should flow naturally towards the main event. I've been in that position where guys go balls-to-the-wall before you on the undercard, and it's hard to top!

Are there any qualities you feel a pro wrestler must have? Obviously fitness is a big one, but which others stand out?
I can probably attribute a lot of my success in wrestling to having a good memory, but taking some time to consider what separates you from everybody else is a good thing, especially in this day and age. Looking like a star, having good ring gear, and generally standing out from the pack is of major importance. That's a vital one for me, because anybody can learn to do moves - unless it's a double moonsault like Ricochet!

Is there any particular thing that you feel is often missing when watching or working with younger, less-experienced wrestlers?
I guess it would be fair to say that some of the younger guys get intimidated, and actually think too much about things. That overthinking leads them to start worrying about everything, and that lack of confidence translates over to the audience. If you don't have confidence, and don't believe in what you're doing, that'll be made very clear. And if you don't buy into what you're doing, why should the audience?

Was there one piece of advice you received as a young wrestler that you still feel applies to you today?
Your career is like a jar of marbles, and every bump you take leads to one of those marbles coming out of the jar, so you have to be picky about what you do in the ring. Jerry Lynn gave me that advice, which I admit I haven't strictly followed - not as much as I wish I had, anyway. If wrestling had more guys like Jerry, the business would be so much better off.
Really, what I'm trying to say is that it's important to be safe with everything you do inside the ring. You only have so many marbles, so it's important to have as many as possible left in the jar for your retirement.