In a recent interview with Ryan Satin as part of the Out Of Character podcast, WWE RAW superstar Johnny Gargano discussed several topics, including his decision to return to the company, talking with other promotions during his time away from the WWE and more.

On his decision to return to the WWE: “I was on record, even back in the day, like I’m a Triple H guy, I’m a Shawn Michaels guy. When I left, I said I was always, always be loyal to Hunter and Shawn for the opportunities they have given me, the friendship that we have and the working relationship we have, it was nothing but great times. That’s a big reason honestly and everyone should know this about me by now, is why I was in NXT for so long, because I genuinely, genuinely loved working with those two and working with everyone in that environment, I loved working with everyone in the NXT locker room, everyone in the office and the writing staff. I said this in my final promo, my final promo that I did on air on NXT was all real, it was from the heart, I wrote it myself. It wasn’t like people were giving me things to say, it was literally like hey, go out and have a chance to say goodbye and say the things you want to say. That is why it was my choice to be in NXT for that long, because I genuinely loved the environment I was working in, and it felt like a family. Coming back now, coming back on Monday Night RAW, like the environment very much feels like a family again, and that’s pretty cool to be a part of.”

On talking with other promotions prior to making the decision to return to the WWE: “Yeah, there were conversations for sure, I mean we’d be dumb not to have those conversations, especially given everything that was going on and the uncertainty around everything like, who knows what can happen. That’s the crazy thing about the wrestling business, like literally everything can change in the blink of an eye. So, the fact that I was able to be incredibly patient, be in no rush to do anything and that’s the big part, the big I guess gain that I had in all of this is that I could sit back and kind of survey the landscape and make my decision on a timely basis, I didn’t have to be like, okay I need a job right now, where am I going to go. I believe everything happens for a reason. The fact that I was able to have my contract expire in December, have the baby in February and spend as much time with him as possible, and kind of just not be in any rush to do things and also, not be in any rush to reach out or say that I need to come back now, or I need to do this then. Like I said, from December to December, I was fine with no doing anything, totally fulfilled not doing anything. Luckily, I have people around me that can have the conversations, so I don’t have to think about business, I don’t have to think about wrestling, they can all talk about that stuff and all I can worry about is Dad life, but like I said, I watch everything, I am a fan of wrestling. For me, it just felt like I wanted to go to the place that not only could utilize me best, but also a place where I already have a relationship with Hunter and a relationship with a lot of people backstage, like that was the big thing for me. I’m all about relationships, I’m all about familiarity, and as soon as the change happened, I think there was really only one option in my head.”

The interview is available in full at this link.