Johnny Gargano, who has been a top Superstar as well as a staple in WWE NXT for a number of years now became a free agent when his contract with the WWE expired several weeks back. Gargano was reportedly offered a contract by the WWE to re-sign with them, but he turned them down. A few reasons were cited as to why Gargano turned down WWE’s offer, the first and probably main reason is that Gargano has not decided what he wants do in the future because he is serious in wanting to take some time off because his wife Candice LeRae is due to give birth to their first child some time in February and Gargano is said to be wanting to take that time off until she gives birth.
LeRae’s WWE contract is reportedly set to expire in May, but it is believed that the company will add to her contract to cover the hiatus she has been on since announcing her pregnancy back in August. It is believed that the time WWE will add to LeRae’s contract will see her remain with the company until 2023. There is no word yet on how that will affect or impact Gargano’s decision and if that will make him want to stay with WWE for the time being since that is where Candice works, but Dave Meltzer said on a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio Program that Gargano is “heavily considering” AEW as a viable option.
There is also no word yet on if AEW and Gargano have had contract talks, or if Gargano is planning on signing with them any time soon, but he is reportedly weighing his options and it was even speculated that if Gargano does decide to sign with AEW, then we could see Gargano make his AEW debut during the January 26th episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT, which takes place from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, which is Gargano’s hometown, but with Gargano noting that he wants to take time off until LeRae gives birth, that could be the main reason for his potential AEW debut in Cleveland to not push through.
Gargano noted on his Twitch channel that he wanted to face top AEW Star Kenny Omega, who he considers to be a dream opponent and he also told the fans to let him know which promotion they want to see him work for by chanting “Johnny Wrestling!” in the crowd. It has been rumored that aside from working in AEW, we could also see Gargano compete in the independent circuit such as the Battle Of Los Angeles.
