Johnny Gargano has declared that he is officially back.
Tonight’s WWE RAW from Toronto saw Gargano make his surprise return to the company, his first major wrestling appearance since his WWE NXT contract expired back in December. Gargano took to Twitter after the show and commented on the big return.
“I told ya I wanted it to be a legit surprise! #JohnnyWrestling is back! #WWERaw,” he wrote.
Gargano is referring to comments he made at the Starrcast V convention back in late July. He told fans, “What’s next for me is I’m going to go home and change a diaper. If people thought I was going to come here and be like, ‘I’m going to show up then,’ I’m not going to say that because I don’t have an answer yet. I haven’t made up my mind or made a decision yet. We’re lucky as wrestlers and wrestling fans that we are living in a world where there are options and choices out there. There is talent all over the world and both places that I haven’t wrestled yet, that I want to wrestle. I’m all about right place, right time, right opportunity. My favorite time period as a wrestling fan was the Attitude Era where people would show up. You never knew. The internet wasn’t like, ‘This person is showing then and here.’ It’s all about surprises. That’s the fun thing about being a wrestling fan. Being surprised. Whatever I can do to add that element of surprise and protect my surprise, I’m going to keep protecting it.”
Gargano’s wife Candice LeRae, who has been a free agent since May, also took to Twitter to react to tonight’s big return. She tweeted a photo of their baby son, Quill, who was born back on February 17. LeRae captioned the happy baby photo with “Mood” and indicated that the family is happy to see Gargano back at work with WWE.
Gargano referred to his son during tonight’s RAW promo, and got a “Baby Wrestling!” chant going. He then commented on how his son will appreciate the chant one day.
WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations & Head of Creative Triple H also took to Twitter to react to Gargano’s return to the company. He welcomed Johnny Wrestling to the red brand.
“Believe in yourself. Nobody will do it for you. Welcome to #WWERaw, @JohnnyGargano!,” Triple H wrote.
There’s no word yet on if Gargano vs. Theory will happen at WWE Clash at The Castle, or if Gargano will wrestle before then, but WWE tweeted a post to gauge fan feedback on potential Gargano opponents.
“Okay, so … who wants a match with @JohnnyGargano? [thinking emoji] #WWERaw,” they wrote to the roster after the show.
For those who missed it, you can click here for backstage notes from Gargano’s return at RAW, along with footage. You can click here for full details on his segment with Theory, also with videos.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more on Gargano. Below are the aforementioned tweets from Triple H, Gargano, LeRae and WWE:
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