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. 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 title-winning tag team.

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 fluid, consistent in-ring work, but also a willingness to be the baddest 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 Scotland-born performer and one that could have led to him leaving the industry he loved and never achieving the goals he had set for himself.

Instead, McIntyre worked hard in independent promotions around the world, looking to prove 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 headlined WrestleMania, battled every major star the industry has produced over the last 20 years, won the top prize in the company three times, and delivered one of the all-time great Hell in a Cell battles with CM Punk.

He now has a blossoming movie career to boot.

Once a promising young prospect who did not fully capitalize on his initial WWE run before his release, McIntyre has returned and maximized his subsequent opportunities, building a resume worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.

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) said 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 WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory, it was a devastating moment for him and his fans.

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 AEW, where he and Kenny Omega had a once-in-a-lifetime dream match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 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 primary reason Danielson does not rank higher here is his ongoing issues with the neck injury that once forced him away from wrestling, limiting how much more he can add to his already exceptional AEW body of work.

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 the following year, and had that been the end of The Rated R Superstar, it would have been a well-deserved honor.

Fast forward eight years, though, and he returned to the squared circle as his most recognizable name, 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 AEW, where he has worked to prove he still belongs at the top level. He has engaged in brutal matches with Jon Moxley, shown he can still hang with the younger generation, reunited with longtime partner-turned-rival-turned-partner Christian Cage, and challenged for the company's world championship.

For a man who grew up dreaming of becoming a professional wrestler and once believed his journey had ended too soon, the last six years of Copeland's career have been deeply rewarding for both him and his fans, who serenade him with his theme song, "Metalingus" by Alter Bridge, in arenas around the world.

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 with AEW, he proceeded to work with a new generation of stars in front of the camera, including Powerhouse Hobbs, Penta El Zero Miedo, Ricky Starks and 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, Triple H.

Since putting pen to paper with WWE again, Punk has only elevated a second act that began with him reestablishing his excellence in AEW. That resurgence has continued in WWE, where he fulfilled his career-long dream of headlining WrestleMania twice, produced a Match of the Year contender with Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell, captured the World Heavyweight Championship twice, and most recently returned from a short absence to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Punk is arguably as good now as he has ever been, and he has consistently made a point of working with and elevating underrated talent and the next generation of superstars in an effort to leave the business better than he found it.

Not bad for a guy once perceived to have 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 badly strained by a WWE system in which he felt repeatedly overlooked 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.

When his contract with the company he helped create expired, The American Nightmare had the opportunity to return to the place where it all began — not as Stardust or a generic incarnation of his old self, but as the authentic article, the version that sold out arenas and helped revolutionize the industry.

At WrestleMania 38, he returned to WWE as the version of himself he had created. His logo and "American Nightmare" nickname flashed across the video screens inside AT&T Stadium as he rose from the stage and into the history books, with Downstait's "Kingdom"—a song written for and about him—blaring over the PA system. The prodigal son had returned home, but this time, on his own terms.

Since then, he has become QB1 for WWE — the face of the franchise and the babyface whose image and likeness dominate the company's marketing and merchandising. He handles the bulk of the media appearances, grants wishes for Make-A-Wish, carries himself like a consummate professional, and is now a three-time world champion — a level of success that felt out of reach earlier in his career.

Rhodes bet on himself 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 WWE'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 diagnosis with leukemia.

A two-time survivor, he understandably stepped away from WWE in March 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.

There followed 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 the Head of the Table in The Bloodline again, Reigns remains the centerpiece of WWE's creative efforts, at least on the Raw side of things.

Considering there were serious concerns about his long-term health just eight years ago—and that he had previously been routinely booed as the latest "face of the franchise" perceived as being pushed too hard—it is remarkable that he has emerged on the other side even more successful and popular.

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, worked through the injury and an addiction to pain medication, and ultimately 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 HBK build on the legacy he had already established, 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.