Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Johnny Gargano gave his thoughts on various topics, including his WWE return in 2022 on WWE Raw after leaving the year before.
Gargano said it was always the plan to return as there are goals that he has yet to accomplish
“I had an idea. I always had an idea. 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.
I am very lucky to call WWE my home because if you’ve watched my last night in the company it was sad for me because I spent so much time in NXT around those people. I saw them almost every single day for almost seven years. And I wasn’t gonna have that anymore. And that was my own choice because I felt like I needed to move on. And I needed that time away to be with Candice, to be with the baby. And just step away from wrestling for a bit and just recharge. But luckily everything worked out. And I think everything happens for a reason. We’re back.”
Gargano stated that he stayed in contact with key WWE execs such as Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
“I just kind of felt it. It felt like that’s where the wind was blowing. And I’ve had such a great relationship with Hunter. I can’t say enough great things about Hunter and Shawn. It sounds like I’m gonna make it sound like I’m just going on and on about Hunter and Shawn, which I am, I will. I have such a great relationship with them. Like so much so that I always kept in contact with them. Even when I was gone. The day Quill was born I got a text from Hunter and I got a text from Shawn, like, unprovoked. Quill was born they reached out and said, Congratulations keep in touch.
Hunter literally said when Quill was born, I can’t wait to meet him, I’m very excited. And I literally said that day do me a favour though, when you meet him, you need to do the fingerprint picture okay. He said, You got it, would be my honour. So, like I said, I just enjoy them so much as human beings, that I just really wanted to work with them again. And when the opportunity came up, where the world changed and everything went down. Shawn reached out to me and said, Hey, are you open to coming back? And I say I’d definitely talk about it.
And literally a couple hours later Hunter called me. And then we had a conversation. And then he talked to my agent and things were in motion really, really quickly. He wanted Candice back as well. And then it just one of those things is Candice ready? Am I ready? And I wanted time to get ready too because I wasn’t ready to come back yet. So I needed to get in shape really, really quickly. Things like that. But everything happens so fast.”
Interestingly enough, Gargano wasn’t under contract the night he return dto the company.
“Because I think there was a Cleveland Show. And then like two weeks later, I came back. [People asked] Why didn’t you come back in Cleveland? It’s because I wasn’t under contract. Those things are still being discussed. And luckily, it was fun to come back in Toronto, because everyone expected Cleveland. And to be able to come back in Toronto, in a building I’ve wrestled in before and have it be an absolute surprise.
No one knew, the only people that knew I was back in the company, and I wasn’t even officially under contract yet. Terms were agreed upon and I was ready to go. But I wasn’t officially back back yet. That’s luckily the way it was kept under wraps too. The only people who knew was me, my agent, Candice and I think Hunter and maybe one other person in TR [talent relations] and that was it.”
(H/T to Inside The Ropes for the quotes)