WWE: Johnny Gargano’s holding pattern on the main roster

The August 22 edition of Monday Night Raw came with a shocking surprise. Johnny Gargano’s music hit and out walked the NXT Grand Slam Champion. After leaving the company in December 2021, fans were curious about where he’d show up next. The lines were drawn between AEW and WWE, but the latter would be where Gargano would take his talents. Four months have passed, and now fans are looking for Gargano to do something “more” than this current situation with The Miz and Dexter Lumis. Hopefully, this holding pattern has come to an end.

In Gargano, WWE has one of the most talented performers in wrestling. His run in NXT showed that he can do whatever is asked. He can play the heel or the babyface, both while creating believable matches that engross fans. His matches against Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa, KUSHIDA, and Andrade are among the best that WWE has put on in recent generations. This is the individual that fans hoped to get back to the main roster, but that hasn’t been the case quite yet.

Gargano’s holding pattern seems to be occurring due to the entire show being in its own situation. With Roman Reigns holding both titles and appearing mostly on SmackDown, Raw doesn’t have a top championship to chase. That then impacts the rest of the division, as the United States Championship is presented as the top prize. That title picture is held by Austin Theory, with Seth Rollins chasing. Bobby Lashley was a part of the mix but his story is now heading in another direction. If Gargano remained a part of that mix, then things would have been too convoluted.

Still, this angle with The Miz has gone on too long. While it started out as just Miz versus Lumis, it’s not wrapped in Gargano due to the latter’s ties to The Way. While continuity is a good thing, that still doesn’t take away from the fact that this angle needs to come to an end sooner, rather than later.

Think about what fans could see out of Gargano today. Names like Finn Balor, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens are right there for potential angles in the future. Even one-off matches against individuals like Montez Ford, Mustafa Ali, or Dolph Ziggler would be enjoyable. There are multiple ways he could go that would give fans something “fresh” while bringing an end to a stale storyline, helping Gargano get back to the place where fans want to see him.

Johnny Gargano is one of the best performers in the WWE. Here’s to hoping that this holding pattern of an angle is over and he can get back to being the one that fans embraced in NXT.