CLEVELAND -- "Johnny Wrestling" is now "Johnny Champion."
But regardless of whatever nickname you want to call the professional wrestler and Cleveland native, Johnny Gargano is coming home.
On Sunday, Gargano took to Twitter to announce that he'll be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Progressive Field for Wednesday's matchup between his hometown Cleveland Indians and the Miami Marlins. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET.
"I'm proud to announce I'll be checking a huge item off my childhood bucket list as I'll be throwing out the first pitch at the Indians game this Wednesday," Gargano wrote. "Let's party, Cleveland. Hope to see you all there! #RallyTogether."
Gargano's return to Cleveland comes less than a month after he captured his first NXT Championship, defeating Adam Cole in a two-out-of-three falls match at the NXT TakeOver: New York show during Wrestlemania weekend. Both his and Cole's performances in the outing earned critical acclaim, with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer rating it 5.5 stars (out of five), proclaiming it the greatest match in WWE history.
A 2005 graduate of St. Edward's High School, Gargano's Cleveland roots have been on full display throughout his ascent up WWE's "developmental" brand. In addition to wearing the Cleveland skyline across his trunks, the 31-year-old can often be seen wearing Baker Mayfield apparel and even ran the stadium steps at FirstEnergy Stadium to prepare for his match at NXT TakeOver: New York.
In what's become a tradition after each of his championship victories, Gargano posed for a picture with his new title at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
“I’m excited to share this with you guys, and I can’t wait until after TakeOver: New York, when I’m going to come back in this building, I’m going to share an NXT Championship with you guys. I’m going to bring that title back home to Cleveland," Gargano told a group of local wrestlers at the AIW wrestling school earlier this month in a video posted to WWE's YouTube page. "I’m going to bring it back to you guys."
