Johnny Gargano Says He Needed To Take a Break to Get In a Better Headspace

Johnny Gargano has been up front about his reasons for taking time off from the ring, and he recently discussed how his physical and mental health factored in. The WWE alumnus said during his discussion with ComicBook.com that he’s taking a break in order to make sure he’s mentally in the right spot.

“We live in a current age where everything’s on social media,” Gargano said. “And the minute you do something, or you have a match, or you do a promo, especially if you’re on live television, that’s just the nature of the beast to where, especially during the COVID era, Twitter and social media was really the only instant response we all had.”

He continued, “Especially not performing in front of a crowd, we all had to go and be like, ‘What worked, what didn’t work? What are people liking? What are people not liking? And social media, unfortunately, is very negative. I know people will say that you’re in the public eye, you’ve got to have thick skin, you’ve got to take it all in. I totally agree with that and everyone’s entitled to their opinions, but also there’s only so much you could take in before it starts weighing down on you, and starts beating you down, and starts making you question yourself or question things you’re doing.”

Gargano also noted that a big part of wanting to get in the right mental space was his child on the way, saying, “I just wanted to completely break free of all that and refresh myself, and especially with a baby coming soon, I wanted to be in the best headspace I possibly could. Not only for Candice but also for the baby.”

Gargano’s WWE contract expired in December. He and Candice LeRae are expecting their first child next month.