Johnny Gargano's Return to WWE Raw Was a Late Decision

Originally posted on SE Scoops | By Thomas Lowson | Last updated 10/4/23

Johnny Gargano's return to WWE programming was a late decision by the promotion.

Gargano made his return to TV during the closing moments of the October 2, 2023, episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. The main event of the show saw Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER retain against Tommaso Ciampa. After the match, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci delivered a beatdown on Ciampa that was interrupted by Gargano. The former WWE NXT Tag Team Champions set up their 'Meeting in the Middle' finisher but Raw cut to black before the move connected.

Johnny Gargano's Return

PW Insider reports that Gargano's return to TV was a late decision by WWE's creative team. Sources indicated that the plans were locked towards the end of last weekend. To try and avoid Gargano's return being leaked, the former NXT Champion didn't travel to San Jose until Monday morning and was kept hidden backstage. Gargano had previously been used at WWE live events but had not been at a WWE TV taping in months prior to this week.

Johnny Gargano on Raw

Gargano was called up to the main roster in August of last year, which also marked Gargano's return to WWE as he had left the promotion in late 2021. Gargano would make his in-ring debut for the red brand the following month. During his lengthy absence earlier this year, Tommaso Ciampa had been on the hunt for his DIY ally, leaving missing person posters to try and learn where Gargano had gone. There have been rumors of a DIY reunion for some time with some seeing Ciampa's return from injury as a babyface earlier this year as a sin that WWE intended to reunite the tag-team.

This article first appeared on SE Scoops and was syndicated with permission.

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