From Bray Wyatt to Hit Row: Ranking WWE's Recent Returns Under Triple H's Regime

Since Triple H became head of WWE Creative on July 25, returning Superstars have been a staple of his efforts to rejuvenate the product.

The majority have been former competitors in the company who were released over the last two years, with The Game keen on proving they can succeed at the highest level.

Names such as Dexter Lumis, Dakota Kai, Braun Strowman and Hit Row have all popped crowds on their return in recent weeks.

Now, a few months into Triple H's regime, and with Bray Wyatt making headlines for an unforgettable return at Extreme Rules, let's look at the wrestlers who have come back into the WWE fold since his ascension and rank them in terms of excitement and effectiveness.

9. Hit Row (Ashante 'Thee' Adonis, Top Dolla and B-Fab)

After being unceremoniously released in November 2021, Hit Row returned to WWE on the August 12 episode of SmackDown.

It was a statement from Triple H that those who were cut from the roster far too soon would be given a second chance at a first impression.

Ashantee "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla and B-Fab popped the crowd, and the former two scored a big win over enhancement talent.

Since then, they have bided their time in backstage vignettes and relatively quick matches against Maximum Male Models and Los Lotharios, but they figure to be a big part of Triple H's plans for the blue brand's tag team division moving forward.

8. Candice LeRae

There are few wrestlers on the women's roster who can compete in matches of every type and be counted on to deliver a strong performance, but Candice LeRae is one of them.

Her return was kept mostly secret so it was a nice surprise when she stepped through the curtain to battle Nikki A.S.H. on September 26.

She scored a big win over the Scot then and has since been entangled with Damage CTRL.

The October 10 win over Bayley remains the biggest victory of her WWE career to date and suggests things will be trending upward for The Poison Pixie in the weeks and months to come.

7. Dexter Lumis

Dexter Lumis returned to WWE programming on the August 8 episode of Raw following a shocking release in April.

The Tortured Artist had previously been embroiled in a romantic storyline with Indi Hartwell in NXT that saw them get married and receive substantial television time.

Upon his return, he headed to NXT and tied up that loose end before appearing exclusively on Raw, where he has made life a nightmare for The Miz.

Lumis has received an ample amount of TV time to this point, as his program with the two-time WWE champion has been one of the staples of the red brand.

While it has been underwritten to a degree, with no one really knowing exactly why Lumis has targeted The A-Lister, he has benefited from it in that he is as over as he can be ahead of his first main roster match against Miz on Monday's Raw.

6. Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman is a polarizing figure away from WWE television, but there is no denying his popularity among the fans.

The former universal champion receives an enormous pop every time he enters the arena, and he has injected life into the upper-midcard in the company.

Strowman has primarily worked with Alpha Academy's Chad Gable and Otis to this point but has received the response of a main event competitor while doing so.

It remains to be seen exactly what his role will be moving forward, but one would have to imagine the feud with Alpha Academy has already been wrapped up or will be shortly, thus freeing Strowman up to benefit the product in a higher-profile spot.

Regardless, WWE has a monster babyface on its hands and should proceed carefully as to not diminish any of the substantial popularity that exists this early in his return.

5. Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano's return to WWE in Toronto was a special moment that genuinely took fans by surprise and generated one of the loudest pops of any of the returning Superstars.

The former NXT Triple Crown winner is a beloved babyface whose prospects with WWE appeared to have dimmed until Triple H took over as head of creative and likely immediately sent feelers out to his star pupil and the face of the brand he once headed.

Gargano is an elite in-ring performer but an even better storyteller, making him an invaluable asset to any promotion. Luckily for The Game, he was able to sign him up before anyone else.

Johnny Wrestling kept busy early on in his return by feuding with Mr. Money in the Bank and former The Way teammate Austin Theory. But, after dispatching him on Monday's Raw, he now lacks an obvious direction.

With Seth Rollins winning the United States Championship on that same episode, might the two all-time-great NXT stars be on a collision course? If so, the ring work would be stellar.

4. Dakota Kai

Dakota Kai's return to WWE at SummerSlam was an emphatic message from Triple H to the wrestling world.

The PPV was the first major event that would have his fingerprints on it, and he wasted little time bringing back one of the most talented members of the NXT women's roster in Kai.

The New Zealander joined Bayley and Iyo Sky in a then-unnamed faction and confronted Raw women's champion Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch following a grueling title bout.

Since then, the 34-year-old has been a prominent member of the Raw roster alongside her Damage CTRL teammates and has partnered with Sky to capture the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.

We may not have had an opportunity to see a lot of her in a singles setting, but she has more than held up her end of the bargain as one of the top heels in women's wrestling and a centerpiece for Triple H to build the women's divisions around.

3. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

No sooner had Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson wrapped up their commitments to Impact Wrestling than they reappeared on WWE television, coming to the aid of longtime friend and Bullet Club teammate AJ Styles in his war with The Judgment Day.

The reformed O.C. have made an immediate impact on WWE storylines and figure to be featured prominently alongside The Phenomenal One in a feud with fellow Bullet Club alum Finn Bálor and his teammates, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio.

This is another opportunity for Anderson and Gallows to prove themselves on the WWE stage. To say their previous run ended on a sour note⁠—they were released from their contracts in 2020 and were left bitter over promises allegedly made by then-Raw creative director Paul Heyman⁠—would be a major understatement.

Now back and already embroiled in a main event-level program, expect the artists frequently known as The Good Brothers to find the success that eluded them in their last go-round.

2. Karrion Kross and Scarlett

Karrion Kross was one of Vince McMahon's great fumbles.

Built and prepared for the main roster during his time in NXT, he had a great look, a memorable entrance and appeared to be exactly the type of competitor the former WWE chairman would love to push to the moon on the main roster.

Instead, The Herald of Doomsday was stripped of everything that made his presentation work so well, including valet Scarlett, and handed a gladiator tunic and headgear to wear.

The new look went over like a fart in church and left Kross a shell of the two-time world champion he had been under Triple H in NXT.

Intent on proving he had the right guy, The Game brought Kross and Scarlett back into the WWE fold, reintroducing them on a post-SummerSlam episode of SmackDown in which the former attacked Drew McIntyre, laying him out before warning Roman Reigns that his time is coming.

Kross was instantly inserted into the main event scene, where he remains as he feuds with McIntyre. A win via nefarious means at Extreme Rules on Saturday night gave him some momentum and should serve to propel the feud forward.

Just how long until he eyes Reigns' titles remains to be seen, but it's safe to say Kross remains a pet project of Triple H's and someone he expects big things from in his WWE.

1. Bray Wyatt

This was a no-brainer.

Bray Wyatt returned to WWE at Extreme Rules in one of the best reintroductions in recent memory.

From the haunting chorus of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" to the emergence of life-size Firefly Fun House puppets in the arena to him stepping through the door onstage, he captivated the WWE Universe as only he can.

Preceded by a hugely effective social media campaign that had the term "White Rabbit" on the lips of fans everywhere, Wyatt had built considerable buzz for his return long before he stepped into the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

The fans erupted for the former WWE and universal champion, gleefully welcoming him back to a company he never should have been released from in the first place.

A thoughtful, cerebral storyteller whose attention to detail is unmatched. Now, he can produce characters and stories with his own input, without worrying about an oppressive creative in Vince McMahon toying with concepts or overthinking them, which previously resulted in the jumbled messes characters such as The Fiend became.

Fan fervor for Wyatt is at an all-time high and it's not difficult to see why. Whether it can be sustained and what he and Triple H have in store for the WWE Universe moving forward is the really exciting unknown.