Johnny Gargano & His Absence From Wrestling

After leaving WWE NXT & becoming a father, Johnny Gargano hasn't popped his head back into the wrestling scene, other than to be a part of some meet & greets or autograph signings. Fans are eagerly anticipating his return to the squared circle, with many sure that any tease by All Elite Wrestling or hint by WWE of a mystery talent showing up, is Gargano. The former "father" of The Way finds it entertaining, even if he's had to go out of his way to show fans that they shouldn't get their hopes up too quickly.

Right now, Johnny Wrestling's enjoying only being a dad. He spoke with Good Karma Wrestling podcast & said he had a guaranteed contract & could have stayed in WWE, but "I just knew that with the baby on the way, I didn’t want to have anyone else being in control of my time, because I’m really only getting 1 shot @ this." He added, "Me & Candice only plan on having 1 kid, so I want to be there & try to experience everything I can with Quill, for his 1st year, before I do anything else."

As for when he'll show up next, Johnny Takeover understands the fascination of what he eventually decides to do. But, he's trying not to disappoint fans who think that every tease in the wrestling business could be him. He's gone out of his way to let the fans know what he's up to, in the process providing proof that he can't possibly be the person many think will pop out from behind the curtain. He explained that Forbidden Door was the latest example.

It was Claudio Castagnoli who made his AEW debut, but a number of fans thought it might be Gargano that "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson was referring to, as a great technical wrestler who had been handpicked to be his replacement. Johnny said, “I knew... & when I saw the date got announced, I was like, ‘Ah man, this is going to become a thing.’"

Johnny Daddy said he got into the habit of releasing his entire schedule, so fans could do the math & figure out he wouldn't be showing up in AEW. He said, "I love the fact that, no matter what I was doing or saying, people were making up their mind on what I was doing next in my life." He added, "it became a fun bit to where, I was going to tell the absolute truth of everything I was doing that week. I’m flying @ this time, I’m going to be there for 8 hours, I’m going to take a picture on the airplane & say, ‘I’m leaving now. I’m literally on the airplane, flying home. Here's my flight information.’"