As noted, Johnny Gargano returned to WWE during tonight’s RAW from Toronto. You can click here for our original report on his return, which includes video and full details on what happened.
WWE put effort into keeping Gargano’s return a secret at the arena tonight. A new report from Fightful Select notes that most of the talent at RAW didn’t know Gargano was returning, and most of the production crew wasn’t briefed on his appearance.
When Gargano walked through the backstage area at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto is when most people found out he was returning. Furthermore, Gargano’s name was not listed on the internal run-down sheet that is given to WWE Producers before the show.
It was reported earlier this month how Gargano was expected to return to WWE now that Executive Vice President of Talent Relations & Head of Creative Triple H is running the show, and it was reported that Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels was tasked with reaching out to Gargano shortly after the recent WWE management shake-up. This new report from Fightful Select notes that WWE maintained a continued interest in re-signing Gargano through his free agency period, which began last December when his WWE NXT contract expired. During that process, WWE officials were said to be patient and respectful of Garganao’s wishes and time off.
There’s been no talk of serious negotiations between Gargano and AEW, and Impact Wrestling was never a serious consideration, despite Gargano’s cameo appearance earlier this summer. Gargano did have several people within AEW pushing for him to join the company, but sources there did not think he would end up signing with the company this year.
There’s no word yet on if Gargano’s wife, Candice LeRae, will be returning to WWE. She has been a free agent since May. Candice and Johnny welcomed their first child on February 17 of this year, a baby son named Quill.
WWE has not added Gargano to the RAW roster as of this writing, but it looks like he will be feuding with Theory.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more on Gargano. Below are related shots from tonight’s big return on RAW:
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