Ranking CM Punk, Adam Copeland and the Greatest 2nd Acts in WWE, AEW History

What makes a great second act in pro wrestling?

For some, it is an otherwise unimaginable return from an injury that forced them to the sidelines for an extended period or even into retirement.

For others, it is an opportunity to right wrongs, to prove themselves deserving of an opportunity, or to silence the doubters.

Regardless, WWE and AEW history are brimming with Superstars who seized second chances to leave lasting impressions and write their own endings to their stories.

Or, at the least, their latest chapters.

Find out who joins the obvious CM Punk and Adam Copeland on this list with this look at the greatest redemption acts in modern pro wrestling.

8. Christian Cage

Christian Cage was forced away from the squared circle in 2014 amid a battle with concussions that threatened his long-term health.

In 2021, he returned to the industry, hellbent on finishing out his career on his own terms and proving he still had plenty left to offer.

All he has done since then is deliver, consistently, as one of the most entertaining stars on the All Elite Wrestling roster.

Cage left WWE, joined the upstart promotion, and not only had magnificent matches with Kenny Omega and nearly defeated him for the AEW World Championship, but he also beat him to rescue the Impact Wrestling world title from The Best Bout Machine.

A heel turn saw him do his finest work as the leader of the Patriarchy, a villain who took far too much joy in reminding rivals of their deceased fathers. A delightful a****e who earned both jeers and respect from the audience, he went on a run that saw him win the TNT Championship and elevate it instantly.

Since then, he has reunited with Adam Copeland to form a tag team title-winning duo.

A Superstar who got a second chance to prove he could still hang with the best and brightest of this era, Cage has entertained audiences with his always fluid, consistent in-ring work, but also a willingness to be the scummiest bad guy on the planet.

7. Drew McIntyre

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When Drew McIntyre was released from his WWE contract in 2014, it felt like an inauspicious end to the career of a young star once anointed by Vince McMahon to be the "chosen one."

It was a devastating blow for the Scottish-born performer and one that could have deterred him, led to him leaving the industry he loved, and never achieving the goals he had set for himself.

Instead, he worked incredibly hard in independent promotions around the world, looking to prove that he was everything McMahon once said he was.

When he returned to WWE in 2017 and reported to NXT, he kicked off a run that would take him to the top of the industry. He would headline WrestleMania, battle every major star the industry has produced over the last 20 years, win the top prize in the company three times, and deliver one of the all-time great Hell in a Cell battles with CM Punk.

He now has a blossoming movie career to boot.

Once an immature kid from Scotland who was not ready to be all that he could be when he was fired, McIntyre has come back and made the most of his opportunities since, establishing a legitimate Hall of Fame career for himself.

6. Bryan Danielson

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One of the most shocking announcements in modern wrestling history came in 2015, when Bryan Danielson (then Daniel Bryan) announced to the world that he had to retire due to a neck injury.

Fresh off the biggest, most important run of his career, one that culminated in a WrestleMania 30 main event and Undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory, it was a devastating moment for the bearded wonder.

Fast forward three years and Danielson made an improbable comeback, returning to the squared circle after being cleared by medical professionals.

All he did was deliver one of the great heel runs in modern WWE history as the Planet's Champion, provide an unforgettable moment in the culmination of KofiMania at the biggest show of the year in 2018, and headline WrestleMania 37 against Edge and Roman Reigns in 2021.

From there, he headed to All Elite Wrestling, where he and Kenny Omega had a once-in-a-lifetime dream match at Arthur Ashe. He won the world title, lost it to Jon Moxley, and has spent most of his time at the commentary position as one of the voices of AEW.

Not bad for a guy whose career came to an impromptu and untimely end amid a neck injury 12 years ago.

The only reason he does not rank higher is that he continues to battle the neck injury that took him away from the industry earlier in his run, costing him even further greatness in the AEW ring.

5. Adam Copeland

Adam Copeland was already one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history when he retired prematurely in 2011 due to a severe neck injury. He was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame in 2012 and had that been the end of the Rated R Superstar, it would have been a well-deserved honor.

Fast forward eight years, and he returned to the squared circle as his most recognizable moniker, Edge, in a genuinely emotional moment at the 2020 Royal Rumble.

A three-year run with WWE featured another WrestleMania main event, a rivalry with Randy Orton, the formation of The Judgment Day, a Hell in a Cell win over Finn Balor at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, and one final match in his hometown of Toronto against Sheamus.

With his WWE run behind him, he joined All Elite Wrestling, where he has constantly battled to prove he belongs. He has waged war with Jon Moxley in some sickening battles, proved he could still hang with the youth of today, and reunited with longtime partner-turned-enemy-turned-partner again, Christian Cage, and competed for the company's world championship.

For a man who had a childhood dream of being a professional wrestler, and believed his journey was over before he wanted it to be, the last six years of Copeland's career have been as rewarding for him as it has been his fans, who serenade him with his theme song, "Metalingus" by Alter Bridge, in arenas across the globe.

4. CM Punk

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When CM Punk walked out of WWE after fulfilling his contractually obligated dates in 2014, there was no reason to believe he would ever return. He was fired on his wedding day, had shots taken at him on live TV by his former employer, and his appearance on Colt Cabana's podcast later that year was eye-opening enough to believe that the bridge had been burned to a crisp.

When he returned to the industry that made him famous in 2021 as the newest signee of All Elite Wrestling, he proceeded to work with a new generation of stars in front of the camera, including the likes of Powerhouse Hobbs, Penta El Zero Miedo, Ricky Starks, and the most famous rival from his time there, MJF.

He also battled a new generation of stars behind the scenes, too, leading to his dismissal and/or departure from the company in 2023.

His return to WWE later that year, at the Survivor Series in Chicago, felt like a hell freezing over moment. There was bad blood between him and the company, not to mention between him and the guy now running it, Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

They handled business like grown-ups, and since he put pen to paper, Punk has only enhanced and elevated a second act that began with him re-establishing his excellence in AEW, and continued into WWE, where he achieved his career-long dream of headlining WrestleMania (twice), had a Match of the Year with Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell, won the World Heavyweight Championship twice, and just recently returned from a brief hiatus to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship.

He is, arguably, as good now (if not better) than he has ever been and has routinely gone out of his way to work with and elevate underrated and underappreciated talent, as well as the next generation of superstars, as he looks to leave the business better than he found it.

Not bad for a guy once perceived to be a locker room cancer, with no real future in any major promotion.

3. Cody Rhodes

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The first act of Cody Rhodes' career ended with his face painted in gold and black and his passion for the industry nearly beaten out of him by a WWE system that he had been passed over by far too often by the time 2016 arrived.

Determined to prove himself, Rhodes set out on the second act of his career, working indies, establishing friendships with The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Hangman Page, and co-creating All Elite Wrestling, the first true alternative to the perceived evil empire in pro wrestling that WWE had become.

And then his contract with the very company he created came to an end, and The American Nightmare had the opportunity to return to the place where it all began, not as Stardust or a generic version of himself, but as the authentic article; the version that sold out arenas and revolutionized the industry.

At WrestleMania 38, he returned to WWE, the version of himself that he created. It was his logo and his "American Nightmare" nickname flashing on the video screens inside AT&T Stadium as he rose from the stage and into the history books. It was Downstait's "Kingdom," a song written for and about him, playing over the PA system. The prodigal son had returned home, but he did it on his own terms.

Since then, he has become QB1 for WWE, the face of the franchise, and the babyface whose image and likeness are all over marketing and merchandising. He makes all of the media appearances, grants wishes for Make-A-Wish, carries himself like a professional, and is a three-time world champion, a feat he never would have achieved earlier in his career.

Rhodes bet on himself, succeeded, and came back to the place that introduced him to the wrestling world as a bigger, more important star.

Not to mention the highest-grossing babyface in the company's long history.

2. Roman Reigns

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Unlike others on this list, Reigns' second act did not come about because of a premature retirement, but because of his battle with leukemia. A two-time survivor, he understandably stepped away from WWE in March of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential health risks involved for him and his family had he contracted the illness.

Upon his return five months later, he had a new attitude and Paul Heyman by his side. Now, the Tribal Chief kicked off one of the greatest runs in WWE history, one that continues today.

A historic reign as Undisputed WWE Universal champion, six consecutive WrestleMania main events, unprecedented business at the forefront of The Bloodline, and a legacy that cannot be argued.

The reigning world heavyweight champion and once again the Head of the Table in The Bloodline, Reigns remains the centerpiece of WWE's creative efforts, at least on the Raw side of things.

Considering there were concerns about his long-term health just eight years ago. He was routinely booed out of arenas before that as the latest "face of the franchise" to be shoved down the audience's collective throat. It is somewhat miraculous that he has emerged on the other side, bigger, more successful, and with historic championship runs.

1. Shawn Michaels

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A back body drop bump over the top rope that ended with his back crashing into the edge of a casket threatened to rob wrestling fans of one of the greatest careers in the industry's long history in 1998, when Shawn Michaels suffered a debilitating back injury.

After dropping the WWE Championship to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14, he went home for four years, battled the injury and an addiction to pain medication, and found religion.

Upon his return to the industry in 2002, Michaels was a changed man, both spiritually and physically. The result was the greatest second act in pro wrestling history.

Not only did Michaels build on the legacy he had already established for himself, but he also one-upped it, delivering all-time great matches against the likes of Triple H, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Randy Orton, John Cena, Ric Flair, and Edge.

Working with a new generation of WWE stars, he elevated expectations for his matches to a level few could only imagine meeting, yet he did so more often than not.

By the time he retired in 2010 following a WrestleMania main event loss to The Undertaker, he had put an exclamation point on his argument for recognition as the greatest professional wrestler of all time.