Johnny Gargano comments on whether he considered retirement after leaving WWE

Johnny Gargano opened up about his WWE hiatus and whether he thought about retiring from wrestling during a conversation with Corey Graves.

The former NXT Champion parted ways with the company in December last year following the expiration of his contract. He was a major star in the black and gold era of NXT, where he became the brand's first-ever Triple Crown Champion. He finally returned to WWE during an episode of Monday Night RAW on August 22 in Toronto, Canada.

Speaking on WWE After The Bell, Johnny Gargano stated that he considered taking a one-year break from wrestling when asked if he ever thought about stepping away from the ring permanently.

"Yes and no [if I considered retirement]. I gave myself kind of a year. When I left in December, I kind of said, okay, I am content being gone December — I think December 7th might have been my last NXT show — December 7th to December whatever, December-January. I was okay taking off a full year, letting my body rest, letting my body recover but also letting my mind recover and also reenergizing myself," said Gargano. (H/T POST Wrestling)

What was going through @JohnnyGargano's mind during his surprise return to #WWERaw? Find out as he joins @WWEGraves & @VicJosephWWE on #AfterTheBell, available now on @Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Johnny Gargano says he thought about taking a year off from wrestling to spend time with his child

The former NXT North American Champion and his wife, former WWE star Candice LeRae, had their first child together. That's the main reason why Gargano took a break from wrestling.

During the conversation, he stated that he was okay spending the entire year looking after his son.

"I was just totally fine taking this year [off], spending it with my baby and being a stay-at-home dad, working on my dad bod which I did, getting ready to go and just being happy. I was totally fine with that, with wrestling not being in my life. I don’t know if there was any point where I decided maybe I won’t come back."

Getting ring ready..

#WWERaw https://t.co/l2Da4XRIm3

Johnny Gargano is set to make his WWE in-ring return on tonight's episode of Monday Night RAW against an unnamed opponent. He's currently involved in a storyline with Austin Theory, he's former associate in The Way.

Who would you like to see Johnny Gargano face on RAW? Sound off in the comments below!