Johnny Gargano Explains Why He Didn't Return To WWE In Cleveland

Johnny Gargano returned to WWE on the August 22 edition of Monday Night Raw in Toronto, Canada, making his first appearance on WWE TV since his contract expired in December of 2021.

Gargano's return was not a complete shock, especially since he was a Triple H favourite during The Game's time as the head of NXT, but many were surprised to see Johnny Wrestling return in Toronto instead of his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, where WWE had been just a couple of weeks earlier.

Speaking on After The Bell, Gargano explained why he came back in Canada instead of his hometown.

"So it happened very fast, the whole thing. It's very fun to be able to literally keep a secret in a time period where that doesn't happen. Everything leaks nowadays. Everything in wrestling leaks. I remember when I was younger, I loved things during the Attitude Era where you'd be watching Nitro or you're watching Raw and someone just showed up and you're like, 'What the hell is going on? I can't believe they're here.' The dirt sheets and things like that were around, but it also wasn't as prevalent as it is today with the internet and whatnot," Gargano began.

"That was the most important thing to me for this secret, for this return, was to make it a complete surprise. Obviously, I could have come back two weeks prior in Cleveland, but everyone believed that. Everyone thought that was going to happen. That's probably why it didn't happen. It would have been great. I would love to come back to my hometown. I still haven't wrestled in that arena, which is mind-blowing to me, outside of when I was Cedrick Von Haussen, but that's a different character. It's a different universe. It was really important for me to just keep this whole thing under wraps as much as possible." 

Gargano has yet to wrestle since his WWE return but that will change on tonight's edition of Monday Night Raw.

H/T to WrestlingNews.co