Johnny Gargano returned to WWE in a surprise on the August 22 Raw.
Gargano's name didn't appear on any rundowns ahead of the show as to keep the appearance secret. There was much of the talent that was there that didn't know, and much of production was not briefed on him appearing. When Gargano walked through backstage a few minutes before is when many people there found out.
We're told that WWE maintained continued interest in re-signing Johnny Gargano throughout his free agency period. During that process, we were told that the company was patient and respected Gargano's wishes and time off. We haven't heard of any advanced negotiations between Gargano and All Elite Wrestling, and were told that IMPACT Wrestling was never a serious consideration. AEW sources when asked told us they didn't believe that Gargano was going to end up coming into the company throughout this year, though he did have several people in the company pushing for him.
Fightful had scheduled an interview with Gargano on August 10 that had to be rescheduled.
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