Big Update On Status Of Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae

A new report has provided a major update on when Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae will return to the ring.

Johnny Gargano hasn’t been seen in action since NXT WarGames on December 5th. There he and the rest of Team Black & Gold – Tommaso Ciampa, LA Knight, and Pete Dunne – were defeated by the rising stars of NXT 2.0 – Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Tony D’Angelo, and Carmelo Hayes – in the titular WarGames match.

On the following episode of NXT 2.0, Johnny Wrestling cut an emotional promo to say goodbye to the fans who had supported him since he joined the company in 2015. Gargano’s WWE contract then expired on December 10th.

On May 6th, Gargano’s real-life wife Candice LeRae’s contract with the company also expired, meaning both stars are now free agents. LeRae had been absent from WWE TV for some time due to the birth of the couple’s son Quinn, while Gargano revealed that he always planned to let his contract expire so he could spend time with his family during this period.

Now, writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has provided an update on the future of the pair. Meltzer noted that both stars are expected to return to action soon.

“Regarding Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae, both should be back in wrestling relatively soon. There is nothing set as to where but as we noted, LeRae has people pushing for her in AEW.

“Gargano has an open door to WWE but also the realization that he’ll be able to make money but not be pushed since NXT is focusing on younger people and while he may be able to get a main roster spot, it’s unlikely they’ll do anything with him.

“At one point him as a free agent going to AEW seemed like a no-brainer but the AEW roster has so many people as compared to the TV time they have to focus on. I think coming right off his contract expiring he’d have been considered a hot signee, and obviously he’s a very talented wrestler who can have great matches and has a name from NXT.

“He very possibly could be a top guy in Impact and one would think they’d hire him, but there’s a lot less money there.”

Johnny Gargano will be giving more information on his future personally at StarrCast V. It was recently announced that he will be holding a panel at the event, appropriately named ‘What’s NeXT?’