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WWE Superstar Dons ‘Venom’ Ring Gear

WWE’s Johnny Gargano walked into his big title match against his heated rival, Tommaso Ciampa, at […]

WWE’s Johnny Gargano walked into his big title match against his heated rival, Tommaso Ciampa, at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 donning Venom inspired gear in order to get himself into a great mindset.

Videos by ComicBook.com

Gargano has donned Marvel superhero inspired ring gear before, as he’s emulated both Captain America and Thor, but this may be his darkest shout-out yet.

Designed by BOOM! Studios and IDW Publishing artist Adam Riches, and sewn by Main Event Gear, Gargano’s outfit is meant to represent Spider-Man being slowly taken over by the Venom symbiote. This reflects Gargano’s own fall into darkness as Gargano’s been carrying a chip on his shoulder ever since Ciampa betrayed Gargano’s trust when the two of them were a tag team.

Although Riches often provides variant covers for the WWE line of comics, this collaboration with Gargano actually comes from a chance meeting. As explained by Riches to ComicBook.com, Riches and Gargano first made a connection at MegaCon Orlando in May. From there, came the great ring gear.

After failing to settle their dispute with an unsanctioned match and a Chicago Street Fight, Ciampa took their rivalry to the next level. When Gargano interfered in Ciampa’s title match against former champion Aleister Black, he actually led to Ciampa winning it in the end.

Black is mysteriously taken out of the reported Triple Threat match for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 after an accident, so Gargano and Ciampa are left to settle their issues once and for all with a third match between the two.

Gargano’s essentially been drained at this point thanks to Ciampa’s constant barrages, Because of this, not only is his Venom inspired gear cool to look at but it’s timely as well. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Venom is currently scheduled for an October 5 release. The film stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, and Woody Harrelson.

For those interested in the NXT pay-per-view Gargano wears the ring gear in, the match card for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 is as follows:

  • The Undisputed Era (c) vs. Mustache Mountain
  • Velveteen Dream vs. EC3
  • Adam Cole (c) vs. Ricochet
  • Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Kairi Sane
  • Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano