7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 22)

2. Johnny Wrestling Returns

Johnny Gargano
WWE.com

The moment Triple H assumed power in WWE, several free agents and recently released superstars came on fans’ radar as potentially returning to the company.

One of those on the shortlist made a shock return Monday night, when Johnny Gargano showed up on Raw. The NXT standout left late last year after his contract expired, choosing not to re-sign with the company. He and his wife Candice LeRae welcomed a baby boy into their family and he spent 2022 as a new father.

That changed Monday night with an emotional return that saw Gargano announce that he was back in WWE and setting his sights on championship gold.

Cue Theory, as they played on their former mentor/student relationship in NXT, only for Mr. Money in the Bank to declare that he was now the veteran and Johnny was the rookie who could carry his bags and MITB briefcase. This led to Gargano laying him out with a superkick to punctuate the return.

It shouldn’t be lost on fans that Gargano returned immediately following a match in which Miz sidekick Ciampa was laid out by AJ Styles & Bobby Lashley. Whether that means something remains to be seen, but it couldn’t have been a complete coincidence.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.