Johnny Gargano talks about why he felt the need to return to WWE and if he thought about wrestling elsewhere. Gargano was a mainstay of NXT during the glory days of NXT Black and Gold and into NXT 2.0. He seemed to enjoy it down there. However, in December 2021 he decided to not re-sign with WWE. He decided he wanted to stay home and raise his son upon his birth.
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Johnny Gargano was out of WWE and wrestling until Shawn Michaels brought him back to be Grayson Waller’s surprise opponent for NXT Stand & Deliver. On a recent episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Gargano revealed why he decided to return to WWE.
“People ask me all the time, did you think about going to other places? Obviously, we all entertain the idea. But when I left, I always felt like I had unfinished business in WWE. And when the conversations were being had, it was one of those things where when I was a little kid growing up, I watched WWE. I dreamed of wrestling at WrestleMania. I dreamed of becoming Intercontinental Champion. I think all these things I said in my return promo, pretty much. They’re all very real, very true. Those are very real dreams I still do have, to this day, and I can only do that one place.”
Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano’s Home In WWE
Gargano admits he is very lucky to be able to call WWE his home. After returning to WWE he got his revenge on Waller and had a feud with his former The Way stablemate Austin Theory. He was in the 2023 Elimination Chamber match for the United States Championship which he failed to win and appeared in the 2023 Royal Rumble match.
Since his return, Gargano has also reunited with his DIY tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa after Gargano saved him from Imperium. Since reforming the pair have been the heroes for the Superstars getting beat up. Most recently they saved R-Truth who was getting beat up by The Judgement Day. At least I think it was them because it almost looked like DX, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H, who saved them.
Gargano has positioned himself in a very good position in WWE. He and Ciampa could challenge for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships. He also could start a feud with anyone in Judgement Day as he has inserted himself into the R-Truth and Judgement Day storyline.
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During Gargano’s time off from wrestling he did seriously think about wrestling one more match somewhere on the indies. Although it was tempting for him, he decided to stick to taking his break.
“It was tempting. Obviously there were many offers as soon as I opened that booking email up for appearances. Many people hit me up and they threw a lot of big numbers out there to get me to have one match. I was like I don’t want to do it, I can’t do it ‘cause for me it’s gotta be special right? If I’m taking a break from wrestling I got to stick to the break.”
The Heart And Soul Of NXT Could Stay Away From WWE
Gargano was in a lot of ways the heart and soul of NXT. He was there for a long time as he first joined the brand in 2015. While there he became the first NXT Triple Crown champion after winning the NXT, Tag Team, and North American Championships. He became a go-to guy while in NXT and could be depended on to have a great match. For the latter half of his time in NXT, fans were clamoring for him to join the main roster. After every big match, it looked like he finally would move to the main roster. However, he never did his first go-around in WWE.
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Gargano revealed he went back to WWE because of his great relationships with Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
“I’ve had such a great relationship with them [Triple H and Shawn Michaels] … I enjoy them so much as human beings that I just really wanted to work with them again and when the opportunity came up or the world changed and everything went down. Shawn reached out to me and said “hey are you open to coming back?’ and I’d say I’d definitely talk about it. Literally a couple hours later Hunter called me and then we had a conversation and he talked to my agent and things were in motion really, really, quickly. He wanted Candice back as well.”
Gargano made it clear that he has a lot of unfinished business on Raw. However, he said that NXT will always have a special place in his heart. He is always willing to return to NXT whenever he gets the chance.
Do you feel like Johnny Gargano left wrestling at the perfect time? Was his return at the perfect time? Are you happy he is on the main roster or would you rather he be back in NXT? Do you think he should have wrestled in other promotions during his break from WWE? Do you think he will capture singles gold on the main roster or will he stay in the tag team division and win tag gold? Let us know on social media if you think he will become as important on Raw as he was in NXT.
Sources: Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Wrestling Inc.
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