Johnny Gargano has shared an emotional tribute to his father, Frank, amid his battle with Stage 4 lung and prostate cancer.
The WWE Superstar surfaced via social media with a lengthy post reflecting on his father’s impact on his life and wrestling career. Gargano shared a photo of his 84-year-old father alongside his four-year-old son, Quill, while opening up about what his family has been going through over the past year.
Gargano noted that his father worked nearly every day of his life until the family’s Cleveland restaurant was destroyed by a fire in 2024.
“Gonna take a break from the TV bit for a minute to share some important real life stuff that’s been weighing on me with you all. This is my Dad. He’s 84 years old, and up until a few years ago when our family restaurant unfortunately burned down, he’s worked every single day of his life.
“He is the most stubborn, resilient, hardest working person I know (definitely where I get it from).”
Gargano then revealed that his father was diagnosed with two forms of Stage 4 cancer over the past year, something he had privately known about for several months.
“This past year he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung and Prostate Cancer. Something I’ve privately known about for a few months, and something especially after Pawdme’s death, I don’t think I’ve actually had time to fully process, but we’ll save my current mental health for a different day, this isn’t a post about me.”
Gargano went on to call his father his hero and recalled how Frank helped fuel his passion for professional wrestling from an early age, including hosting an independent wrestling show in the parking lot of the family restaurant.
“This is a post about my Hero.. My Dad. A lot of what I have today is because of my father. He ran an indie show in the parking lot of his restaurant when I was 8 years old just so I could get in a wrestling ring, he waited in line for tickets for me to WWF shows at The Gund Arena. He always wanted the best for me, and I hope I made him proud.
“Because of our work schedules I haven’t had the chance to see him recently. But with the upcoming calendar we’re able to be in Cleveland for an extended period right now. So I saw him today, a midst finishing chemo and radiation. He still just worried if I was doing okay, how work was going, and when my next match would be.”
Gargano also reflected on seeing his father interact with Quill despite what he is currently going through.
“My Dad had me at 45 years old but you wouldn’t have known it with how active he was with me. Having a crazy 4 year old now.. 7 years younger than he was then.. Man, I don’t know how he did it! But seeing him interact with Quill now (even in this incredibly difficult time) is something I’ll always cherish.”
Gargano closed his message by encouraging others to appreciate the time they have with their loved ones.
“This is a rambling and I’ll have much more to say at a later date, and I definitely need to get better at expressing my feelings but I guess the moral in all of this is cherish the moments you have with the people you love. They won’t last forever. I know that’s cliche’ and I’d like to think I’ve always known that but have somehow learned to appreciate it even more so recently,” Gargano wrote.
Gonna take a break from the TV bit for a minute to share some important real life stuff that's been weighing on me with you all. This is my Dad. He's 84 years old, and up until a few years ago when our family restaurant unfortunately burned down, he's worked every single day of… pic.twitter.com/glfQxNTlHI
— Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano) August 11, 2026
