Real Reason Johnny Gargano Didn't Debut On Last Night's AEW Dynamite

Free agent Johnny Gargano was subjected to much speculation heading into last night's episode of AEW Dynamite, which took place in his Cleveland, Ohio hometown, but he didn't end up appearing on the show.

While AEW hadn't teased Gargano potentially showing up itself, the Cleveland link made it easy to understand where the rumours came from. Nonetheless, it looks like Gargano will be sticking to his word of taking some time off while his wife Candice LeRae prepares to give birth to their first child.

This is according to Fightful Select, who report that while there was contact between Gargano and people within AEW, he has informed anybody who has reached out about his services that he is committed to helping LeRae during her pregnancy.

Whether or not formal discussions had taken place between Gargano and AEW was unclear at the time of writing.

As announced last August, LeRae is due to give birth sometime in February. Candice remains a contracted WWE performer. Gargano, meanwhile, is on the open market after ending his six-year WWE tenure in December. That his contract was allowed to expire means he isn't bound to any kind of non-compete clause.

Gargano has hit Twitter at acknowledged the Cleveland fans, who chanted his name during Dynamite:-

I heard you and you have no idea how much it means to me that you're excited to see me back at it.

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It's scary to step away because your insecurities say "they'll forget about you".. but you haven't forgotten and I promise that I will make it up to you asap. #JohnnyWrestling ❤

— Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano) January 27, 2022