Johnny Gargano Addresses Whether He Thought About Signing Elsewhere Before WWE Return

Johnny Gargano's recent return to WWE shocked the wrestling world, as the former "NXT" Champion had been very mum about his future since opting to not re-sign with the company in December. Gargano opened up about his hiatus from wrestling on the latest episode of "After The Bell."

"I was at the point too where I wasn't ready to come back yet," Gargano told host Corey Graves. "I was enjoying myself." 

Gargano recently had a baby with his wife, Candice LeRae, and spent much of his hiatus "focused on being a dad and letting all the business stuff be handled by other people." In the interview, he thanked unnamed promotions for leaving him out of negotiations and letting everything run through his management team.

"Obviously it crossed my mind [to go someplace other than WWE.] I watch everything. I'm a wrestling fan at the end of the day. We're all just wrestling nerds," Gargano continued. "When I was a little kid, I dreamed of becoming Intercontinental Champion, I dreamed of being WWE Champion, wrestling at WrestleMania, those things hold so much weight for me because I don't know if 20 years down the line, 30 years down the line, if I can forgive myself for not trying."

During his time in "NXT," Gargano won every title available to him in the black-and-gold brand, becoming the first-ever "NXT" Triple Crown Champion. But he now has his sites sent on main roster accomplishments.

"I was very fulfilled with everything I did in NXT, very proud of it," Gargano concluded, "but I never really tried on that scale, and I want to do it."