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Johnny Gargano was set to defend his WWE North American Championship at WWE NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day against Kushida in a singles match.
However, his partner, Austin Theory, announced to the WWE Universe on Twitter last night that Johnny Gargano will not be wrestling this Sunday, blaming Kushida for putting Gargano out of action.
Austin Theory went on to state that he will be facing Kushida instead, tonight, on WWE NXT. The news was confirmed by WWE NXT's official Twitter account after they retweeted Austin Theory's video, bringing attention to it.
This is obviously a kayfabe reason to write off Gargano from NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day and WWE are yet to provide a reason as to why the North American Champion will not be competing this Sunday.
The last we saw of Johnny Gargano in WWE was backstage at NXT when he brawled with Kushida, which is now being used as an explanation as to why he will be missing NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day.
Let's see how Kushida fares against Gargano's partner tonight on WWE NXT.
Johnny Gargano is currently on his third run with the WWE NXT North American Championship
Johnny Gargano is a name that has become synonymous with the North American Championship. Gargano has held the title three times, and he is the only wrestler to have held it more than once in the history of this title.
Gargano won the North American Championship for the first time in 2019 at WWE NXT: Takeover Pheonix after he defeated Ricochet for the belt. However, his reign lasted for less than a month.
Since then, he has strolled around in the mid-card of NXT, elevating the wrestlers he works with to a higher level. He got his hands back on the North American Championship late last year at WWE NXT Takeover: Halloween Havoc.
He lost the belt to Leon Ruff for a short while before getting it back at Takeover: War Games. He currently reigns supreme as the first and one of the only two NXT Triple Crown Winners alongside Adam Cole.
He is currently in his longest reign as the North American Champion. Gargano seems to have found himself in the perfect spot in the upper mid-card of WWE's Black and Gold brand.
Whenever Gargano returns from his absence, he will likely be defending the North American Championship against Kushida.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
