WWE: The 25 Most Buzzed-About Comebacks in WWE History
There are many definitions to the “most buzzed-about comebacks in WWE history.”
Some do not include one-off returns at the Royal Rumble, others do not include returns that had no hype, and many do not include returns by those who did not participate in active competition—I will be including everyone.
Anyone who has had a return within the last 25 years is eligible, and I have included them in order of how good I think they were.
I am taking into account the pop they got when they returned, how successful they were and how excited I personally got at each return.
Enjoy!
25. Bret Hart (2010)
1 of 25Bret Hart returned in 2010 in a bid to bury the hatchet with Shawn Michaels.
Everyone in attendance was glad to see Bret Hart back in a WWE ring, as for 13 years it had not seemed likely at all, despite being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.
This return also made up for the bluff that Shawn Michaels pulled on an audience back in 2005.
Bret Hart made peace with Shawn Michaels and went on to compete at WrestleMania XXVI against the man who originally screwed him.
No not himself...I meant Vince McMahon.
24. Ricky Steamboat (2009)
2 of 25Ricky Steamboat returned to action at WrestleMania XXV after a challenge by Y2J, Chris Jericho.
He showed off his impressive moveset at the spectacular event.
He then competed in a 10-man tag match on Raw before Jericho challenged him to a singles contest at Backlash 2009. Why he isn’t still wrestling is beyond me.
The man is brilliant even at his age and showed he could easily hang with the new talent in the ring.
His exceptional performances at these three events spurred chants of “you’ve still got it!” by the wowed audience in attendance.
23. Booker T (2011)
3 of 25When Booker T returned at the 2011 Royal Rumble, I jumped out of my seat with glee.
To see the five six-time World Champion in a WWE ring when rumours suggested he would be re-signing with rival company TNA was an excellent feeling and made the WWE seem like it still had some power in the wrestling world.
After his surprise entrance at this event, he took up a seat at the commentary table.
However, tempted by the ring once again, he competed against Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes several times.
Now can you dig that, sucka?
22. Diesel (2011)
4 of 25Holy Shh...I hope I don’t get demoted on here like Matt Striker did for that little comment.
It’s just a shame J.R wasn’t commenting when Kevin Nash returned to the WWE with his gimmick of Diesel.
The crowd went mental, chanted his name until he was eliminated, then watched in awe as he stared down Big Show.
Everything about the return was handled brilliantly, it’s just a shame he was shoved into the Punk storyline instead of a hotly anticipated feud with the Big Show.
21. Mr. Perfect (2002)
5 of 25Another Rumble entrant makes the list! I promise they aren’t all Royal Rumble participants...Curt Hennig’s performance at this match was so impressive it earned him a full-time contract with the then-WWF.
It didn’t last long however as he got into a drunken worked tussle with Brock Lesnar on the infamous plane ride from hell.
He was later fired.
20. Christian (2009)
6 of 25Christian returned to the WWE after around four years in TNA in 2009.
His return came as Jack Swagger was calling out Hornswoggle.
Since then he has stuck with the company that made him a star and has been World Heavyweight Champion twice.
Though his return was underwhelming, I think he was a victim of circumstance on this night and it should have been given better credit.
He is set to make a return in the near future after suffering an injury not so long ago.
Will he be a World Champion again?
Only time will tell.
19. RVD (2009)
7 of 25This is probably my favourite one-off return that came at the 2009 Royal Rumble.
Jim Ross made this return special and Rob Van Dam made a good showing in this match.
He did not manage to win the Rumble though and returned to TNA after spending some time on the independent circuit.
It has recently been speculated that he will return to the WWE soon.
18. Jeff Hardy (2006)
8 of 25Jeff Hardy returned after a three-year hiatus to confront Edge, who was in the process of revealing his Rated-R Superstar belt.
He defeated Edge by disqualification and slowly made his way up to main-event status, earning himself many title opportunities.
Some were successful and Hardy had a few runs with the top titles in the company.
My favourite matches of this push came when he faced Triple H throughout 2009.
Those two put on some stellar matches.
17. Hulk Hogan (2002)
9 of 25Hulkamania never ends, it seems.
Hulk Hogan returned to the WWE in 2002 when WCW collapsed and became property of WWE.
He main-evented a WrestleMania after reforming the nWo and managed to stay prominent in the company until around 2003, when he jumped ship to TNA.
He did return again in 2005 where he faced Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam, famous for Michaels overselling every move he received.
16. Batista (2009)
10 of 25Batista came back after a hamstring injury to defend Triple H, Shane and Vince McMahon from an attack by Legacy.
It was a fairly surprising and explosive return that got the crowd and me on the edge of their seats.
Batista would stay with the company until mid-2010 when he left after reportedly disagreeing with the direction the company was going in.
15. Mick Foley (2004)
11 of 25Mick Foley’s return in 2004 was a lot better received than the one he made recently, let me tell you.
He would feud with the Legend Killer, Randy Orton, putting on a brilliant match at Backlash 2004.
His return at the Royal Rumble was pre-empted by some non-ring action in late 2003 as he began to plant the seeds for his feud with Orton.
The Hardcore Legend seemingly can’t shy away from a challenge.
14. The Undertaker (2000)
12 of 25You scared? We’re scared...
The return of the Undertaker at Judgment Day confused me at first because what I was looking at did not look like the Phenom.
He interfered in an iron man match between The Rock and Triple H and proved to everyone he was the same man, albeit in street clothes, when he went on a rampage in the ring.
Yes, folks, this was the debut of The Undertaker’s biker gimmick.
Well received by some, hated by others (especially me) this gimmick lasted for a good while, before Taker was buried alive at Survivor Series 2003.
Despite me not enjoying his gimmick, his return to WWE was as impactful as any other return I have ever seen.
13. The Undertaker (2011)
13 of 25This is more like it!
In early 2011, The Undertaker returned on Raw to the crowd’s approval and deafening cheers, but this buzz was soon cut short...
12. Triple H (2011)
14 of 25...because Triple H interrupted it!
Two returns made this episode of Raw one of the most memorable in modern WWE history.
The epic stare-down between two legends in the ring did more than Jericho’s silent return ever could.
11. Chris Jericho (2012)
15 of 25Talk of the devil!
Chris Jericho’s return is one of the most debated topics of 2012 and with good reason. Jericho’s acts of silence have impressed some and angered others.
What he is up to is anybody’s guess, but I am sure it will turn out to be something good.
If it doesn’t then he will let down the fans who believed in him, prove the fans who doubted him right and he will have to leave, hanging his head in shame...
10. Edge (2010)
16 of 25Edge returned from an injury at the 2010 Royal Rumble and went on to win it...where have I heard this story before...?
9. John Cena (2008)
17 of 25Ah, yes that’s right, they did EXACTLY the same thing with Cena at the 2008 Royal Rumble, and he went on to win it as well.
I would have to say Cena’s return had a lot more impact, and it is refreshing to hear people cheering him in the video.
Edge has since had to retire due to a career-ending injury in his back.
Cena is as successful as he ever was, even if his acting last week was as stale as last month’s bread.
8. Kane (2011)
18 of 25When the vignettes began to air for The Big Red Machine’s return I immediately thought they would have to bring him back in his original mask for what could be his final run before retirement.
They did exactly that and up until now the return has been extremely successful.
Kane finally looks like the dominating monster he once was and I would like the years 2003-2011 to be stricken from the record in terms of Kane’s character.
Kane is cool again!
7. Cactus Jack (2000)
19 of 25Though technically played by the same man (Mick Foley), I believe Mankind and Cactus Jack count as two separate superstars; therefore this return makes the list.
It is one of the most epic returns of all time and it still gives me shivers watching it now.
All Mick Foley did was take of a mask to reveal one of the sickest, most psychotic characters in the WWF.
Triple H’s face is what made the transformation seem real, and to see Cactus Jack after two years of the blundering Mankind, it was a fitting tribute to what we thought was the end of Mick Foley’s career.
He went on to have two WWF title matches, finally losing for good at No Way Out 2000, in the infamous Hell in a Cell.
The promo for the Street Fight at the 2000 Royal Rumble makes the return all the more impressive.
6. Kane (2000)/Kane (2000)/Kane (2002)
20 of 25I had to group these three returns together at No. 6 because I didn’t want Kane to have a monopoly over the top ten.
His first return, on Feb. 7, 2000, resulted in the Radicals and DX getting chokeslammed all the way to hell by an angry Big Red Machine. He debuted a new attire and the pop he got when he appeared is unlike any pop you will hear at a WWE event today.
His second return came after suffering a hand injury. Again, Kane walked into a group of people bullying The Rock and The Undertaker, and kicked ass. A chokeslam here and a chokeslam there, Kane certainly picked up business! Again, the pop was unrivaled when he made his return.
Just as the Un-Americans were about to burn the American flag, Kane made his return after a series of vignettes had aired on Raw. A chair shot to Kane’s back did nothing to slow the monster down and everyone received the chokeslam of their life!
More of Kane’s face was revealed with this return as he debuted a new mouthless mask. Kanerooni!
5. Chris Jericho (2007)
21 of 25SAVE_US.222 was one of the most popular returns in recent history.
With many being fooled by the digital rain and assuming Shawn Michaels would be returning, many were shocked and excited to see the man behind the promos was Y2J.
He received a huge pop and made an epic return, much like he just did recently, but he didn't annoy the fans on this occasion as he had come to save them.
He would spend four years in the WWE before leaving again, a punt to the head being his excuse.
4. The Rock (2011)
22 of 25The Rock is back...apparently.
We don’t see enough of him in my opinion for it to have been worth him coming back.
If he was wrestling full-time again I would be able to see the point but as it is, he’s getting on my nerves.
So why did I rank this so high?
Well because it was an epic return, despite whether I agree with it or not.
The crowd hung on to every word the Rock had to say and were the most vocal they had been in many months.
The Great One finally pumped some electricity back onto what was becoming an extremely stale product.
I hope he makes a surprise entrance at the Royal Rumble.
3. Steve Austin (2000)
23 of 25Backlash or Unforgiven? Or even Raw?
Whichever one you choose, Stone Cold received an almighty pop at every single one of them.
He climbed right back to the top of the mountain after being out of action for nearly a year, winning the 2001 Royal Rumble.
He later became WWF Champion once again and was a major part of the Invasion storyline, leading the Alliance all the way before turning on them at the last minute.
2. Triple H (2002)
24 of 25You almost can’t hear the music when Triple H steps out onto the stage.
The crowd goes absolutely mental.
"“This is as loud as any sustained roar I have ever heard in Madison Square Garden!” Jim Ross
"
After tearing his quadriceps muscle in a match against Jericho, Triple H was out for eight months.
There is no telling what he could have done in that time.
When he spits his water out, the crowd get even louder.
You have to see it to believe it, as words are not doing it justice.
He would go in to add to his tally of titles, becoming 13-time World Champion before his official retirement.
1. Shawn Michaels (2002)
25 of 25This is undoubtedly the best comeback in the history of the WWE.
After suffering a career-ending back injury at the 1998 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels was not expected to get back in the ring ever again.
He became a huge superstar once again with multiple title reigns and also had three match of the year performances in a row from 2008-2010.
Despite returning to the WWE as part of the nWo, I think we can forgive him after the effort he put into making the second half of his career so entertaining and so special.
I don’t think anyone will ever forget his matches with The Undertaker or his first feud after returning with Triple H.
The legendary status the Heartbreak Kid has earned is what makes his comeback the most spectacular in history.
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