{"id":154235,"date":"2026-03-03T07:35:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=154235"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:18:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T04:18:56","slug":"why-johnny-gargano-needs-a-wwe-nxt-reunion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/03\/03\/why-johnny-gargano-needs-a-wwe-nxt-reunion\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Johnny Gargano Needs a WWE NXT Reunion"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 was an amazing year for Johnny Gargano. With his DIY stablemate, Tommaso Ciampa, they became a central part of the Friday Night SmackDown tag team division. They had great battles with teams like the Motor City Machine Guns and the Street Profits. A 98-day run as WWE Tag Team Champions brought them even more acclaim on the main roster. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, 2026 has brought immense misery and pain to Gargano for many reasons. Ciampa ended up leaving WWE in late January, debuting for\u00a0AEW<\/a>\u00a0and winning the AEW TNT title the very next night. The night before,\u00a0Gargano lost to Axiom<\/a>, who took back his mask after weeks of taunting. Since then, he\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0been himself.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been seen lying on the floor, on a\u00a0production crate, and even on the mysterious box. However, there is a clear remedy that will\u00a0immediately\u00a0cheer him up.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An NXT Return Will Help Gargano\u2019s Spirits Rise<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Photo by John Manard, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When fans are asked about which wrestler embodies NXT, many of them say Gargano. After all, his\u00a0many impressive\u00a0accomplishments highlight an amazing run that defined the Black & Gold Era of the brand. He was NXT Champion once, NXT North American Champion three times, and NXT Tag Team Champion once with Ciampa. Those reigns made him the first NXT Triple Crown Champion, with the only other wrestler sharing that title\u00a0being\u00a0Adam Cole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He also had a series of matches with Ciampa that many fans enjoyed. It\u2019s clear that coming back to NXT would be a great idea<\/a> for him. He lost his tag-team partner, and now his singles career outlook looks bleak. Many wrestlers have returned to NXT and reinvented themselves. He should be the next one in a long list of wrestlers who have had success with an NXT return.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Brand Needs Veterans After a Massive Shake-Up<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

NXT has always undergone periods of change. But looking at the men\u2019s division and champions at the start of the year compared to now would be shocking. Je\u2019Von Evans, Oba Femi, and Trick Williams are all on the main roster, with Joe Hendry and Ricky Saints not far behind. Keanu Carver, Sean Legacy, and the Vanity Project are some of the many wrestlers who came up from Evolve. <\/span><\/p>\n

There needs to be veterans around to help the young guys. Gargano is the perfect wrestler to do that. His accomplishments and experience speak for themselves. As a 20-year veteran, he knows he can help the next generation in various ways. Many veterans in developmental are coaches, such as Lince Dorado and Timothy Thatcher. At this stage of his career, Gargano can help young talent in a place he is extremely familiar with.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0Time for Him to Return to NXT<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Since returning to WWE in the summer of 2022, Gargano had a nice singles run before reuniting with Ciampa as DIY. They had two runs with the WWE Tag Team Champions for 126 days, and had encounters with many great tag teams. However, with Ciampa gone and Gargano not in the mood to do anything on SmackDown, serious changes have to be made. The most obvious one is for him to go back to the place where he became known to WWE fans, NXT. <\/span><\/p>\n

With call-ups both to the main roster and from Evolve, along with new champions, the men\u2019s division has undergone a total transformation. Doing so has made the division exponentially younger. Veterans are needed to help the young wrestlers, especially with Stand & Deliver in two months. Going down to NXT could be what he and the brand need to reinvigorate it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n