According to a new report, Johnny Gargano has not signed a new deal with WWE and will become a free agent as of December 10th.
Speculation has been swirling about the WWE future of Johnny Gargano after reports indicated that his time in NXT could be coming to a close after signing a short-term contract extension to take him through WarGames since his original deal was set to expire on December 3rd.
Fueling the speculation that his time in NXT may be ending, Johnny Gargano participated in an apparent “curtain call” with Kyle O’Reilly and Tomasso Ciampa after the December 7th episode of NXT. O’Reilly’s is also expected to leave the company soon.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, the leader of The Way has indeed opted not to re-sign with the company and will be a free agent as of midnight on December 10th. Because his contract is expiring, he will not have a non-compete clause and is free to work wherever he chooses, including televised events.
The report also notes that WWE made repeated efforts to get Gargano to agree to a new contract, but he decided to become a free agent instead.
Despite the fact that Johnny Gargano has chosen not to renew his contract with WWE, he is said to be leaving on “incredibly amicable” terms and doors are not closed for him to work with the company again in the future. People of influence in the company are said to be hopeful that Johnny Wrestling chooses to return to WWE someday.
During his last appearance on the December 7th episode of NXT, Johnny Gargano was attacked by Grayson Waller after cutting a heartfelt promo to say goodbye to the fans in the audience, saying that his most important job lay ahead of him.
And I don’t know what my immediate future holds, that’s up in the air still. I may do some things here or there, but I do know one thing for sure. And that’s in February I’m gonna start the most important job of my life. Cause I’m gonna be a dad… [crowd chants Baby Wrestling]
He’s gonna watch this back one day and thank you all. But I’m so excited for that, because I’m gonna love that little guy so much. But right now the most important thing for me is to worry about Candice, to worry about my son, and show my son… teach him to be the best man that he can be.
Fightful Select noted that Gargano was given the freedom to say whatever he wanted during the promo, and that they’d built in a “reasonable overrun” to give the segment time. NXT officials were reportedly pleased with how Grayson Waller’s attack at the end of the segment appeared on TV.