5-time WWE champion breaks silence following surprise return after 140 days on RAW

Monday Night RAW hosted a title match that was originally booked for the upcoming Fastlane Premium Live Event. Fans saw 5-time WWE champion Johnny Gargano make his surprise return to end the show after the title match. Gargano took to Twitter to react to the spot later in the night.

Tommaso Ciampa and Gunther were originally scheduled to face each other at WWE Fastlane this coming Saturday. The contract signing for the contest was held on Monday night.

The two men traded some hot words, leading to the match being pulled back to the main event of RAW. This was likely done to fill the void left by the cancellation of Becky Lynch’s match against Tegan Nox and Jey Uso’s match against Damian Priest.

Ciampa put on a good show but was unable to undo The Ring General. He took two massive Powerbombs from Gunther before passing out to a submission hold.

Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci looked to add salt to the wound by attacking Tommaso Ciampa after the match. However, Johnny Gargano made a surprise return and saved his best friend from the heels.

Following the show, Johnny Gargano took to Twitter to state that the boys were back. He was looking to go big as part of DIY again.

"The boys are back. (And as we all know from our past.. you have to stay after the lower third airs!) #DIY #WWERaw," the former NXT Champion shared.

Check out Gargano's tweet below:

Gargano last competed in a singles match at NXT Stand & Deliver against Grayson Waller on April 1, 2023. He had been missing from RAW since May 15, 2023. Fans had only seen him pick up a few losses at Omos’s hands during live shows.

---

Johnny Gargano could be picked up by AEW if he is released by WWE in the future

Johnny Gargano’s return to WWE on August 22, 2022, episode of RAW was seen as a big move by Triple H and his Creative team. Fans expected The Rebel Heart to unlock new levels of success following his comeback.

However, the Creative team drowned him out, and he did not get many bookings. Gargano was written off television for some time, and many expected him to request his release if the Creative team had no plans for him.

Speaking on The Brand podcast, Bin Hamin predicted that Gargano would get picked up by Tony Khan quickly if he left WWE.

Here is what he said:

"If there's anybody that Tony would sign if they were released right away, my money is on Johnny Gargano. [Gargano was let go?] No, but I think he's gonna be," Hamin said.

The former NXT Champion has shown a lot of heart in the ring and put on incredible matches with top superstars. He could be one of the top names in AEW if he ever makes a move to Tony Khan's promotion.

---

Do you want to see Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa win the Tag Team Titles soon on RAW? Sound off in the comments section below!