From what I can recall Gravano's testimony was mostly concerned with Gotti's time as boss and maybe his later time as top captain, during which period he wasn't performing hits himself but ordering them/allowing them.

I'm thinking about the early sixties to mid seventies period in Gotti's life, at which time presumably he would have been making a rep for himself. I don't think he and Gravano were aligned at this time but I've never been able to find any primary sources that discuss this area of Gotti's career.

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Winter is Coming

Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.