Update On Johnny Gargano's WWE Status

Johnny Wrestling has been absent from WWE TV for the past several weeks.

by Andrew Pollard
Johnny Gargano
WWE.com

With Johnny Gargano having been absent from WWE programming for the past few weeks, there's now an update on Johnny Wrestling's status with the market leader.

Via Fightful Select, Gargano is currently out of action due to a shoulder issue.

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This issue is the same problem that kept the former NXT Champion away from the ring for most of January. While Gargano was able to be part of this year's men's Royal Rumble match, his shoulder injury only got worse from there on out. For his most recent outing - against Grayson Waller at NXT Stand & Deliver at the turn of the month - the Cleveland native was said to be in extreme pain and could only use one arm.

The hope right now is that Gargano can overcome this problem with physical therapy rather than having to undergo surgery.

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Of course, with the recent return of Vince McMahon in a more hands-on capacity, some had speculated that Johnny Gargano was being kept off TV due to a creative McMahon decision. Instead, that is not the case, and Gargano is simply away from the ring while he heals up and hopefully avoids having to go under the knife.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.