WWE/TNA: The Rock, the Undertaker, Sting and Other Wrestling Returns in 2011

With WrestleMania season in full effect, team Vince has once again opted to lean on familiar names from the past, now more than usual, with the WWE simultaneously infusing fresh, new blood into the roster. 

The old guard from a variety of generations have popped in and added their own legendary flavor to WWE storylines in hopes of sweetening the pot for the biggest pro wrestling pay-per-view of the year.

Always one to follow suit, TNA have featured their own modest list of both surprise and announced returns this year. 

With so many stars coming out of the woodwork to partake in a taste of the sports entertainment spotlight, pro wrestling has seen more returns this year alone than the local TJ Maxx on Arrow Highway.

The onslaught of resurfacing talent on the pro wrestling landscape makes it easy to lose track of every big name (and some smaller names) to have returned in the last few months. 

Thankfully, it has become necessary to devise a list chronicling all the notable returns in 2011 on the road to WrestleMania (and Impact).

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The Undertaker, Not Sting, Returns and Triple H Sprinkles in Some Climax

Teaser promos that showed an individual donning a trench coat created an Internet buzz surrounding what might possibly be the first-time debut of Sting in the WWE.

The more promos that were shown, however, the more obvious it became that the WWE had plans in place for the Undertaker to return on the 2/21/11 episode of RAW—not Sting.

The Deadman being revealed as the mystery man in the trench coat was far from climactic—the real surprise came when Triple H returned immediately after to stare him down, with neither WWE legend saying a single word. 

Triple H and the Undertaker are scheduled to face one another in a no-holds barred match at WrestleMania XXVII, 10 years after their last WrestleMania encounter in Houston, Texas. 

Shawn Michaels Returns, No Talky, Just Kicky

Shawn Michaels surprised the fans in attendance in Nashville, Tennessee, when he made an unadvertised appearance after being announced as the headliner for WWE's 2011 Hall of Fame class.

A would-be acceptance speech was pre-empted by Alberto Del Rio, who ate Michaels' boot for his troubles. 

Evan Bourne Returns for Match Against Sheamus, Brings Shovel

Evan Bourne returned to RAW at the HSBC arena in Buffalo to further bury Sheamus into the ground.

The Celtic Warrior's quick loss to Bourne, a no-no for any aspiring main eventer (given Bourne's number of squash match losses), furthered the recent trend of his own de-emphasis.

Sheamus has enjoyed a return of his own as he is now floundering in the midcard where he enjoyed a brief stay before rising to the top of the WWE ranks to begin his career.

Should he lose to Daniel Bryan next week in Bryan's first United States title defense since 9/11, Sheamus may return to FCW. 

John Bradshaw Layfield's Not-so-Triumphant Return

JBL made his return to the WWE after almost two full years away from the fed.

Bradshaw was announced as Michael Cole's handpicked special guest referee for his upcoming match with Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII in Atlanta, Georgia.  

JBL's return seems to have been a one-off as the former WWE Champion was interrupted by a returning Stone Cold Steve Austin. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin Returns, Will Be Special Guest Referee

In a microcosm of the frequency of returns that the WWE has seen in recent months, Steve Austin made his return in Dallas, Texas, almost immediately after JBL made his own. 

Austin would go on to punk Michael Cole, give two Stunners to JBL and sign a contract to be the special guest referee for the match between Cole and Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII. 

Booker T Returns to the WWE at the 2011 Royal Rumble

Although it was rumored that Booker T and Kevin Nash were in talks with TNA, both of the aforementioned stars opted to return to the WWE at the 2011 Royal Rumble in Boston, Massachusetts instead.

The interesting thing about Booker's return was how much Matt Striker was marking out for it—just days later, Booker would be announced as Smackdown's newest color commentator ("like I say...") taking Striker's job. 

Never meet your heroes, kids. 

Diesel Returns at the 2011 Royal Rumble

Kevin Nash decided to pull out of his newly inked deal with TNA in favor of returning to the WWE after a multi-year absence.

Not enthused with TNA's current direction, Kevin Nash decided to kill Kevin Nash in favor of wearing the signature black glove of his WWE alter-ego, Diesel.   

Trish Stratus Returns, Botches, Leaves

Trish Stratus returned to the WWE in Oakland, California, to join the cast of Tough Enough as one of the pro trainers. 

After cutting a campy promo in the ring with Booker T ("like I say..."), Stratus would re-return later on in the night to save Kelly Kelly who was being attacked by LayCool. 

Stratus' second appearance within the hour, however, would be remembered for an unfortunate botch of her signature Stratusphere maneuver due to the heavy heels she had been wearing. 

Sting Returns to TNA to Celebrate Moral and Championship Victories

With the "Sting to WWE" rumors as dead as the territories, TNA began to run 3/3/11 teaser promos similar to the WWE's 2/21/11 promos that were originally thought to have been for Sting. 

TNA was criticized for blatantly ripping off the WWE with their teaser promos by individuals who still have not fully grasped the concept of parody.

TNA's teaser promos pertaining to Sting were simply TNA's way of poking a stick at the WWE, saying "We've got Sting and you haven't!"—even though it's debatable whether or not the WWE were ever in talks with the legend in the first place. 

Sting's return would see him defeat Jeff Hardy for the purple-plated accessory that he carries to the ring as the TNA Heavyweight Championship changed hands for the third time in less than two months. 

ODB Returns to Work to Do Her Job to Madison Rayne

After being flexed out of the TNA rotation following the embryonic stages of the Hogan/Bischoff regime, ODB was sighted in a recent episode of Impact as the popular Knockout made her return after almost a year away from the promotion.

ODB would go on to lose to the red hot Madison Rayne, who has virtually cleaned out the Knockouts division since winning the title in October 2010. 

Hulk Hogan, Dixie Carter Return to TNA During Special Impact in North Carolina

Dixie Carter returned to TNA TV after serving Hogan and Bischoff with "papers" months ago on Impact. 

Carter's return featured her poor and unconvincing acting abilities on center stage.

Hulk Hogan would make his own return to the company to confront Carter after being off television for months. 

Scott Steiner Returns for Failed Main Event Mafia Reunion

Obviously, neither Booker nor Nash bothered to tell poor Scott Steiner of their intentions of ditching TNA for greener pastures. 

Nonetheless, Steiner returned to TNA as part of yet another "they" faction orchestrated to combat the Immortal stable. 

The Great Khali Makes Unheralded Return at Royal Rumble 2011

After months of being away from the WWE on a reality show in India, The Great Khali was one of three surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble match.

Unfortunately for Khali, however, he did not hold a Punjabi candle to the other two notable surprise entrants (Booker, Nash) in terms of star power or crowd reception. 

Christian Returns to Save Edge at 2011 Elimination Chamber

After over half a year on the shelf, recovering from a pectoral injury, Christian returned to the WWE at Elimination Chamber to save longtime friend Edge from a sneak attack by Alberto Del Rio.

Coincidentally enough, Del Rio was (kayfabe) responsible for Christian's pectoral injury in the first place.  

Vince McMahon Miraculously Recovers from Coma

Vince McMahon made his first live appearance on WWE television this year, after a storyline coma, to announce that WrestleMania would have a guest host for the first time in history. 

The announcement was not well received at the time as McMahon had failed to properly acknowledge the Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl win from the previous night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

McMahon's unexplained recovery from a coma was one of many storylines that were aborted by WWE. Other aborted storylines included the Sheamus/Triple H feud and the Nexus' attack on the Undertaker. 

Dusty Rhodes Helps Cody Rhodes Beat Down Rey Mysterio

Dusty Rhodes returned to cut a spot-on promo on his son Cody Rhodes, only to turn on Rey Mysterio shortly after, furthering the ongoing feud between Mysterio and Rhodes. 

Dusty hit all the key points on everything that's got us to this point in the Rhodes/Mysterio feud, an art form that is pertinent in its simplicity when it comes to selling a feud by telling a story.

Dusty's expected heel turn was the icing on the cake for a well-done segment leading up to what should be a solid match at WrestleMania XXVII. 

The Rock Returns to Call out John Cena

The highlight of return season in the WWE has been that of the Rock, who has been away from live WWE crowds for almost a decade. 

The Rock was announced as the special guest host of WrestleMania XXVII and he didn't miss a beat, cutting a wildly entertaining promo on John Cena at the Anaheim Pond that trumped almost every promo that has been cut in the WWE in recent years. 

One of the many quotes of note from the People's Champ was when he declared that he would never leave the WWE again. 

The Rock has not appeared live at a WWE event since, yet is expected to appear at least two times before WrestleMania XXVII.

Since The Rock's return to WWE, the Rock and John Cena have gone back and forth in an ill-advised war of words that will not end in a Cena/Rock match befitting of the WrestleMania stage. 

Other Expected and Announced Returns

The returns aren't done yet. Expect the WWE to continue the trend of rummaging through its generational closet as the WrestleMania XXVII plot thickens.

Sunny

Sunny was announced as a 2011 WWE Hall of Fame inductee this past Monday on RAW and will be appearing at the ceremony at the Philips arena in Atlanta, Georgia during WrestleMania weekend. Sunny will be inducted in the same class as old flame Shawn Michaels. How cute.

Jimmy Hart

If you believe Hulk Hogan tweets, Jimmy Hart is rumored to be in the corner of Jerry Lawler in his match against Michael Cole—as if that match needed another non-wrestling character. 

Jim Ross

With Stone Cold Steve Austin involved in a match that will surely result in comeuppance for Michael Cole, the stars sure seem to be aligning for Jim Ross to return to the broadcasting booth at WrestleMania if not for just one match.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Hacksaw Jim Duggan has also been announced as a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee and will appear at the ceremony to formally accept the honor come WrestleMania weekend.