Johnny Gargano hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since NXT Stand and Deliver, leading many to wonder where he’s been.
Fightful Select has learned that Gargano re-aggravated the shoulder injury that had him sidelined for much of January. After only having a couple of matches his first few weeks back, Gargano ended up wrestling a dozen matches after March 4.
We’re told that the shoulder injury got worse after his Royal Rumble return and by the time of the NXT match with Grayson Waller he was severely hampered and using one arm. The hope from the company is that he can repair the injury with physical therapy as opposed to surgery.
There was speculation that Vince McMahon returning to the fold led to Gargano’s absence, but that isn’t the case. McMahon actually was directly involved with communicating to Gargano in late 2021 that he wanted Gargano to remain in the company.
This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select and was republished here on Fightful. If you complain about it being "old news," you have to pay Jeremy Lambert 12 dollars. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts.
To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You'll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski's Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp's Q&A, Retro Reviews and more