When a star leaves WWE, it hardly ever means goodbye forever. While it takes some stars a long time to come back, and not everyone ends up doing it, Vince McMahon has demonstrated his willingness to let bygones be bygones time and again, particularly if WWE stands to make money off of mending fences. Over the years, legends who looked as though they’d burned bridges like Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, The Ultimate Warrior, Alundra Blayze, and Jeff Jarrett have all made nice with WWE for Hall of Fame inductions and to partner in various projects. Moreover, we’ve seen talents like Alberto Del Rio and Gail Kim each come back once after initial ugly departures from the company.
Not every WWE star leaves on bad terms, and there are plenty who had simply run their course as far as WWE creative was concerned, or who had burned out or wanted to try other projects. The door is often quite open for these stars, once the two sides get to talking.
Just because someone can come back, doesn’t necessarily mean fans want to see him or her, or that it’s in WWE’s best interests. This article takes a look at ten big WWE returns that would be terrific news for the company if they could pull them off in 2019. Additionally, this article looks at ten cases of stars who could conceivably get re-signed, or brought back to television out of a legends deal, whom nonetheless ought to stay out of the WWE spotlight.
20 Must Return: John Morrison
John Morrison is that rare talent to have left WWE of his own volition and thrived in the aftermath. He has described in interviews that he left WWE because he wanted the time and freedom to pursue projects outside of the company. He made good on that with movie work, in addition to pursuing wrestling in companies like Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling, where he has been cast as a top star.
Morrison has probably passed his window when he might have been a world champion in WWE.
Nonetheless, he’s one of the most talented wrestlers in the world not signed to the company now, and could readily slide back into the upper mid-card role he previously occupied, and produce some great matches.
19 Shouldn’t Return: Hulk Hogan
Let's hope his Crown Jewel appearance was a one-off, aimed at providing some nostalgia for a new live audience. Hulk Hogan is a WWE legend, and for all of the noise that have surrounded him in recent years, there was a fair enough argument to reinstate him and have him do ambassador work for the company. However, WWE doesn’t need, nor should place Hogan back on its television programming.
For all of Hogan’s baggage, he’s a difficult guy for WWE to safely book without risking alienating fans.
On top of that, Hogan doesn’t bring all that much value to the table anymore. He’s past the point where he ought to be doing anything in the ring physically and he’s not such a uniquely great talker to justify booking in today's WWE climate. It’s best for Hogan to stay away from WWE programming.
18 Must Return: Melina
Melina was a talented and unique performer in her day in WWE who may well have gone much further with her craft had she worked for the company in an era when it celebrated women’s wrestling. Today, Melina could come across as a legend, while still being youthful enough to go in the ring.
As an added bonus, with the prospect of WWE re-signing John Morrison, and with Joey Mercury an experienced WWE agent who is now working the indies, WWE could go so far as to book a return of MNM. This could work for either a full blown nostalgia run, or at least a one off appearance.
17 Shouldn’t Return: Austin Aries
Austin Aries had a brief run with WWE, during which he was good in NXT, and broached greatness for 205 Live as a heel commentator, and then rising up as a challenger for Neville.
Aries has a huge personality and tremendous in ring skill, and it’s little surprise that he wound up starring as Impact Wrestling’s top champion not long after leaving WWE.
It’s also not a surprise, though, that Aries left Impact on abruptly, no-selling his defeat in the main event of Bound For Glory—the biggest show of the year—and seemingly walking out of the company.
With Impact, there’s always a chance it was a worked shoot.
Regardless, it speaks volumes that people would readily believe Aries left on ugly, unprofessional terms. WWE doesn’t need a guy like him adding drama to the locker room.
16 Must Return: Cody Rhodes
When Cody Rhodes chose not to re-sign with WWE, he had some buzz around him. As the son of Dusty Rhodes, and a talented wrestler who had never before worked the indies, there was a fair amount of intrigue around what he might accomplish out on his own.
Rhodes has exceeded about any realistic expectations set out for him. Not only has he won the ROH and NWA Championships, and starred for New Japan and Impact, but he has also gone into business for himself co-promoting the All In independent extravaganza. Both as a wrestling star, and a budding entrepreneur in the business, he’s absolutely someone WWE should try to get back in the fold.
15 Shouldn’t Return: Katie Lea Burchill
Katie Lea Burchill may be best remembered in WWE for her work alongside her kayfabe brother Paul as a pirate themed couple that may or may not have had an incestuous connection. She stayed with the company for some time outside that gimmick, but was typically a background player.
Since leaving WWE, Burchill has succeeded for other promotions, including Impact Wrestling, now billed as Katarina. While she certainly has the chops to hang with the women’s roster, her window to head up the division has long passed. WWE doesn’t really need her and, for her part, Burchill is probably best off working on smaller stages where she can be better featured.
14 Must Return: Evan Bourne
Evan Bourne did nicely playing a plucky undersized underdog during his WWE tenure. His obvious talented helped him maintain a rock solid mid-card spot, which occasionally showed glimmers of him moving up the card.
In the end, Bourne’s size kept WWE from seeing him as more than a side attraction, though, besides which his substance use issues meant trouble in regards to the company Wellness Policy.
In today’s 205 Live, Bourne could thrive as a recognizable face and incredible athlete.
While the cruiserweight division has a lot of exceptional talent, it’s still relatively low on star power, and someone with Bourne’s talent and credentials could be an excellent fit to push the whole brand.
13 Shouldn’t Return: Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash built an impressive career for himself, rooted in his tremendous size and his political savvy. He’s close personal friends with Triple H and as such, despite his age, we can never quite say never in regards to Big Sexy making a comeback.
While seeing the nWo in a one off TV appearance could be harmless fun, Nash doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to overstaying his welcome or overshadowing young talents. WWE should absolutely not bring back Nash in any sort of wrestling role, and he’s probably best served working only as a guest on Network specials or maybe the occasional pre-show panel.
12 Must Return: Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus is one of WWE’s best female stars of all time. Her heyday, however, came before WWE was fully pushing women’s wrestling—in a time when, instead, her work with the likes of Lita, Victoria, Jazz, Mickie James, and company was so good WWE couldn’t deny it.
Stratus retired while she was still more or less in her physical prime, and she has remained in tremendous shape since.
She’s the kind of athlete who could re-enter the women’s division full time and hang. It would be pretty intriguing if WWE were to bring her back for at least a multi month run to extend beyond her intergenerational match at Evolution, and include proper one on one matches with the likes of Alexa Bliss or Charlotte Flair. Heck, if rebuilt correctly, Stratus could even be that rare wrestler to pose a kayfabe credible challenge to Ronda Rousey.
11 Shouldn’t Return: Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Del Rio was treated as a top level star in his first WWE tenure, and had a chance in his second run, before the wheels fell off and it was clear neither Del Rio nor WWE really wanted to be in business together. Still, he’s a big name with a good look and the unique potential to tap into the Latino fan base. That's why, despite twice leaving the company on poor terms, his name still pops up in the rumor mill for a comeback.
Del Rio has burned bridges with not only WWE, but plenty of other wrestling promotions since then. The one consistent conclusion we can draw about him is that he can’t be relied on to not create drama or even no-show events. WWE simply doesn’t need him now.
10 Must Return: Justin Gabriel
Justin Gabriel was a featured part of The Nexus stable, for which his relatively polished ring work and injury to Ryback rocketed him to the number two spot in the faction, right behind Wade Barrett. He was largely successful in that role, but once the stable disbanded, he quickly got lost in the shuffle.
Gabriel has since demonstrated more personality, carving out a name for himself as The Darewolf PJ Black on Lucha Underground and the indies. While he’s showing more charisma, and WWE now has a proper showcase for a man of his talents in 205 Live, now could be the perfect time to reintroduce Gabriel to WWE.
9 Shouldn’t Return: Neville
Neville is a supremely talented wrestler who particularly thrived as NXT Champion and as the face of 205 Live as the cruiserweight brand started to find its footing. The details remain sketchy on why or how he fell out with WWE, but outcomes were clear enough. He wasn’t happy with the company and decided not to work anymore.
WWE didn’t use him, but also wouldn’t let him out of his contract for the better part of a year.
In the end, Neville falls into the category of guys who have more than enough talent to be a WWE star, but whom WWE never used to his full potential, and who wasn’t willing to play ball within the corporate system. All indications are that he’s happier back out on the indies, and WWE isn’t really missing him.
8 Must Return: Matt Cross
Matt Cross may not be too familiar of a name to WWE fans, but he worked a handful of matches for the company and, most memorably, was featured on a season of Tough Enough, only to experience a surprisingly early elimination despite pretty clearly being one of the most talented guys in the field.
Cross has, since that time, thrived on the indies and in particular captured the imagination of Lucha Underground fans working as the masked Son of Havoc. He’s built up his musculature and proven his ability to get over in just about any context. He could be a fine fit for WWE now, particularly in NXT or 205 Live.
7 Shouldn’t Return: Carlito
Carlito has name recognition and a family legacy behind him as the son of Carlos Colon, and kin to current under-utilized WWE stars Primo and Epico. Throughout his WWE tenure, he was plagued with allegations of being lazy and more generally having attitude problems, though, which limited his potential.
Carlito seemed as though he was given the chance to be a big deal in WWE, including beating John Cena to win his first US Championship. The time for him to be a major star in WWE is at least a decade in the past now, and the best he could hope for now would be to get a nostalgia pop as a mid-card guy. From both WWE and Carlito’s perspective, it’s best to let him ride out his career on smaller stages.
6 Must Return: Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer is a legend to be sure, who cobbled his legacy not out of Herculean feats in the ring or starring for WWE or WCW, but rather out of being a hard worker, an earnest guy, and part of the bedrock of the original ECW. As discussed numerous times on Edge and Christian’s podcast, Dreamer is particularly unique for having been the guy to put quite a few eventual stars on WWE’s radar.
No, Dreamer doesn’t really have much business working in a WWE ring these days.
He’s still a great wrestling mind, tapped into the indies like few others, though. He’d be fun to have around for some nostalgia spots, besides which he’d be invaluable in helping WWE scout out the next round of NXT recruits.
5 Shouldn’t Return: Mr. Kennedy
There are few greater failed experiments in the last twenty years for WWE than Mr. Kennedy. The guy was a hot prospect whom the company booked to win Money in the Bank, and positioned for major storylines with Mr. McMahon twice, only for a combination of injuries and bad breaks to stall his momentum time and again. Add onto that the perception he was injury prone and whispers of backstage issues, and Kennedy simply didn’t work out in WWE.
After mixed success in Impact Wrestling, there’s some rationale to give Kennedy one more shot as a veteran mid-card guy. However, given how poorly things went at first, that the guy seems to have a chip on his shoulder, and that his run with Impact exposed him as less of an impressive personality than a guy who was reckless on the mic, WWE simply doesn’t need him.
4 Must Return: AJ Lee
AJ Lee was one of the true pioneers for the current women's evolution in the WWE. While it's unfortunate that Lee reportedly declined a return for WWE's all-women's Evolution event, it's something Vince and co. should re-explore in 2019. While Lee's relationship with WWE may be a little tense, there should be some sort of middle ground that both sides can meet. There are just so many potential matchups for Lee to have in the WWE and after seeing so many former names return recently, it'd be good to have a face that most modern fans associate with the recent revival of women's wrestling.
3 Shouldn’t Return: Ryback
Ryback has a sensational look and good charisma, but never quite put the pieces together as a top tier act in WWE. He hasn’t hesitated to communicate his criticisms about the company or certain colleagues like John Cena since leaving, as he regularly turns heads with his outlandish proclamations on his podcast.
The Big Guy is a unique enough athlete that he could probably always have a place in WWE.
However, his podcast work and the way in which he has mostly priced himself out of the independent wrestling scene. As it stands, he’s not worth gambling on for WWE at this point.
2 Must Return: Chris Masters
When WWE fans first saw Chris Masters they saw bulky muscle man with limited in ring skills. Hardcore fans in particular were justifiably skeptical of the young prospect. It’s telling that when WWE cracked down on its Wellness Policy, and Masters accordingly got clean and trimmed down, he actually emerged a much better wrestler.
Through his two runs with WWE, Masters proved himself to be a steady mid-card hand. With the benefit of additional seasoning after working Impact Wrestling and the indies, Masters could be a find player coach type. In particular, he might mentor younger talents, and specifically help muscular guys from his mold figure out how to be more complete performers.
1 Shouldn’t Return: Kelly Kelly
Kelly Kelly was the de facto face of women’s wrestling for WWE for a spell in the early 2010s. There was a certain logic to pushing her as a beautiful young woman with an athletic look. Unfortunately, she was never all that skilled as an actual wrestler.
Reports have come up about WWE being interested in bringing Kelly back. At 31 years old she still could resume her WWE career readily enough, and a one off appearance in the 2018 women’s Royal Rumble showed she can still go in the ring at about the level she could when last WWE fans saw her. The trouble is that it also exposed just how limited and awkward Kelly has always been in the ring, relative to the far more polished women wrestling for WWE today.