Johnny Gargano Gave Shawn Michaels A Gift That Made Him Cry

During the latest episode of The Sessions with Renee Paquette, former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano joined the show to talk about the future of his wrestling career following his departure from WWE in December.

Gargano's final appearance on NXT television came after his match at NXT WarGames with Team Black and Gold where Johnny was attacked by Grayson Waller and gave a tearful goodbye to the NXT crowd and fans across the world.

Before he said a word that night, Johnny Gargano made his way down to the ring and was visibly emotional. The Rebel Heart of NXT spoke about what led to that moment, revealing that he had just had an interaction with Shawn Michaels backstage where he gifted him a shadow box, leading to an emotional encounter between the two.

"I did like tribute gear to him at the In Your House: TakeOver," said Gargano. "And I had a headband and no one in the world has a piece of the TakeOver gear I've worn so me and Candice the night before did a little shadow box and we did the shadow box with the headband in it and we put a picture of me and him dressed in gear and then me and him when I was a kid and I met him.

"Side by side pictures. Then I wrote a nice message on the back as well about how much he meant to me and how much he's meant to my career. I was to give that to him right before I went through the curtain. Obviously, he started crying, I started crying, and then it's funny because Candice has never seen me cry so that was kind of like the first time she had ever seen me cry. She was very adamant that if I didn't cry when the baby was born, I was going to be in big trouble."

Continuing to talk about his departure from NXT after six years with the company, Gargano highlighted the one thing that hit him the hardest about leaving NXT. The former NXT Champion talked about watching so many of his friends leaving the Black and Gold brand and mentioned how difficult it was to not see all the people he was used to seeing every day for the past six years.

"To be able to do that and have that moment, I wasn't going to miss the place, I was going to miss the people," Gargano said. "The thing is you're around these people for six years and then you're just gone. You're in this bubble for so long, I was in this bubble for six years and I was extremely lucky to where I never had any injuries. I was on TV with storylines consistently for six years to where I'm just around it at all times. Especially with the performance center, it was like a weekly thing, I would go in and out and work out and go and see people and that's a thing that would happen for me for six years. Now it's just gone.

"In wrestling, it's a weird thing where we all still live in Orlando but you don't see people anymore, you don't see them anymore and that was the hardest part with the way I saw NXT going with Adam [Cole] leaving, Kyle [O'Reilly] contract coming up and everyone out the door. We were around these people for so long and then you look around the locker room and all your friends are gone. It affects you, it hurts you because now you're not seeing your friends anymore on a daily basis, it makes you sad.

"At that point, I felt like I don't know, I got a chance to tell my story and end it the right way and also leave on great terms to where whatever happens in the future happens but I can take this time now to be around Candice, to be around Quill, enjoy dad life for a little bit. It's just funny how things work out to where I was able to kind of time that out, it was not on purpose, definitely not on purpose but I think everything happens for a reason and it gave me a great opportunity."

Along with Shawn Michaels, Johnny Gargano also had a great relationship with Triple H, given his role with NXT throughout Johnny's six years with the brand. The Game officially announced his retirement from wrestling on ESPN this week and spoke about his current role with WWE following his health scare that could've killed him. Gargano revealed his last conversation with Triple H and what he requested his former boss would do for him the next time they see each other.

"I talked to him a few times, he texted me and Candice when Quill was born obviously and congratulated us," Gargano said. "He said he can't wait to meet Quill and my one request is that when he meets Quill, can he please take the finger-pointing picture with him and he said he would be honored to do that. So that's what we have in the docket, Hunter is going to hit Quill with the next finger-pointing picture."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Sessions with Renee Paquette with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.