Will Wrestling's Past Come Back to Haunt Its Future in the WWE?

In the past six months, we have heard over and over again about how former WWE superstars want to get back in the ring for one more match.

While the idea of Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Batista and Chris Jericho, among others, coming back to the WWE thrills and delights many fans both young and old, I find it somewhat uneasy. Therefore I am not among the fans that want to see older wrestlers who have been away from the scene jump back into the ring to prove they "still have it."

Look at it this way, wrestling is in such a strange place right now with changes in WWE and TNA happening all the time with roster cuts, releases, signings and firings in the corporate offices, the idea of former stars reigniting the brands is cool, but lately we have seen it fall flat on its face and therefore, fans lose interest.

While a Kevin Nash and the "angle" he is working or trying to avoid is not great for WWE, someone like a Chris Jericho or Shawn Michaels coming back in some capacity is good for ratings.

But, it is not for everyone.

Have we considered that our former stars may actually be a cancer to our guilty pleasure?

How about this; do we really think Batista with his weight loss, Goldberg with years away from the ring and Mick Foley and the Undertaker with bruises and pain, will be the same they used to be?

We all know Steve Austin wouldn't be with his injuries he suffered before he retired. We also know recent matches (Sting/Ric Flair or Sting/Kurt Angle or Triple H at Vengeance) proved to be a big disappointment rather than a ratings boost.

We often confuse the past with what we think will happen in the future. If this is what fans truly want to see, an older slower, weaker version of our former heroes, then why don't we bring back the likes of Harley Race, Bruno Sammartino and Nick Bockwinkle while we are at it?

Terry Funk, Jake Roberts and Jerry Lawler all still wrestle from time to time and they link the past to the present, but they are not the same "faces" we remember. Ric Flair cannot wrestle and cannot speak. The Undertaker will make his appearance at WrestleMania, but he took the year off because of injuries suffered in the ring and we cannot expect him be the same he was last year when he beat Triple H.

It ruins the image we had of our heroes in their prime.

Wrestling is great because it is timeless and while we see the greats from time to time get back into the ring, we don't need everyone to make a comeback.

Honestly, The Rock can make the transition back. Jericho can make the transition back. Maybe Brock Lesnar and two or three others. But in my opinion when it comes to the rest, we all will be sadly disappointed.

And when we are disappointed it means will will lose a little love for the very thing we all have in common about this business.