Ridge Holland in a last chance match. At TakeOver XXX on August 22, Gargano failed to win the title. He challenged new champion Damian Priest for the title at NXT TakeOver 31 on October 4, which he failed to win. On October 28 at Halloween Havoc, Gargano defeated Priest in a Devil's Playground match to become the first-ever two-time NXT North American Champion. He lost the title to Leon Ruff on the November 11 episode of NXT, ending his second reign at 14 days, but regained it on December 6 at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in a triple threat match involving Priest to become the first-ever three-time North American Champion. On the December 9 episode of NXT, he announced that he formed a villainous faction with LeRae, Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory called The Way. On the December 30 episode of NXT, Gargano retained his title against Ruff, finally breaking his championship "curse". Gargano's streak of successful title defenses followed, including against Kushida at Vengeance Day on February 14, 2021, and Bronson Reed on April 8 at the second night of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. On the May 18 episode of NXT, he lost the championship to Reed in a steel cage match, ending his third reign at 163 days. At In Your House on June 13, Gargano failed to win the NXT Championship in a fatal five-way match involving Adam Cole, Karrion Kross, Kyle O'Reilly, and Pete Dunne. On the October 19 episode of NXT, Gargano turned face when he confronted NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. On the November 23 episode of NXT 2.0, Gargano faced Hayes and Pete Dunne in a triple threat match for the title, where Hayes retained due to interference from Tony D'Angelo. After the match, Gargano, Dunne, Ciampa, and L. A. Knight brawled with Hayes, D'Angelo, Bron Breakker and Grayson Waller, leading to a WarGames match at WarGames on December 5, where Team Black & Gold lost to Team 2.0. On the following episode of NXT 2.0, Gargano cut a farewell promo where he thanked his fans, friends, and family before being brutally attacked by Grayson Waller. This would be Gargano’s final appearance in NXT as his contract expired on December 10 and he chose not to renew it. Raw (2022–present) On the August 22, 2022 episode of Raw, Gargano returned to WWE after nine months to give a speech,