One of the greatest parts about wrestling is the surprises, the things that WWE pulls out of the bag without fans ever knowing. The best examples of these are when the company brings out a returning wrestler, without having warned fans. Not only does it add to the roster and create dream matches, but it provides unforgettable moments.
Because even though the product is based around bell to bell action, it is the moments that fans remember most. The loud pop and the rush of feeling of someone unexpected coming from behind the curtain always provides exactly that. So, within this list, we will rank the ten best surprise returns of this decade.
10 Dudley Boyz
The night after WrestleMania has become famous for surprises, but lately, WWE has started trying to make the post-SummerSlam show the same. In 2015, that episode of Raw gave us a return of the Dudley Boyz.
It was a brilliant moment that nobody saw coming as their classic music hit and the fans went insane. The reception is exactly what the duo deserved and it created a very memorable moment. They arrived and quickly busted out the tables as Xavier Woods was sent crashing through the wood. Reminding everyone why they're one of the best tag teams ever, the fans were clearly ready for one final run from them.
9 Seth Rollins
He might not be the most popular man around WWE right now, but clearly absence made the heart grow fonder when Seth Rollins was sidelined with his knee injury. After having to vacate the WWE Championship and sit out of WrestleMania, Rollins finally made his return in 2016.
Nobody saw this moment coming and it created one hell of a pop, as Extreme Rules went off the air. After Roman Reigns had just won the main event of the show, he was attacked and hit by a Pedigree from his former Shield brother. Rollins made it clear he was back, and back with a bang. It was an amazing moment that quickly put Rollins right back to the top of the card, establishing him as a title contender instantly.
8 CM Punk
While WWE could have one of the greatest return pops of the next decade if CM Punk was to return again, he did create a great moment in this decade. After walking out as WWE Champion at Money in the Bank, fans weren't sure if Punk was ever going to return.
WWE opted to create another WWE Championship and John Cena was the man who held the title when Living Color's Cult of Personality began to play. Fans weren't sure what was happening until Punk walked out with the original title. While this moment could have been more impactful had WWE kept Punk away for longer, it was still a fantastic return.
7 Rey Mysterio
The Royal Rumble is always a perfect location for a surprise return, as WWE often likes to bring names back from the past to pop the crowd. However, nobody expected Rey Mysterio to ever be one of those names.
Most fans had presumed his WWE career was done until a Hall Of Fame induction, but clearly he felt otherwise. Popping up at the Rumble to an amazing ovation, Mysterio proved he had tons left in the tank. Since then he has gone on to have a tremendous run with the company, putting on some amazing matches in the process.
6 Edge
As we just mentioned, the Royal Rumble always provides amazing surprises and returns and in 2010 WWE did just that. Creating one of the greatest moments in the history of the Rumble, Edge made his long-awaited return from injury.
WWE had claimed that the Rated-R Superstar was set to be out of action for much longer than he was, which made his return even more surprising. The pop he received was insane, and he looked as sharp as ever when hitting the ring. Edge mixed it up with the likes of Chris Jericho and John Cena as he went on to win the entire match.
5 Brock Lesnar
It might feel like Brock Lesnar has been back with the company forever at this point, but the Beasts return was in this decade. While there had been a lot of reports that Lesnar was coming back, it was something that fans didn't believe until it happened.
The night after WrestleMania 28 was when it finally did. After being beaten by The Rock the previous night, John Cena was contemplating what was next for him and his career. The answer? An F5 from the Beast. Lesnar got an amazing reaction as he made his return to the company, and since then he has had one hell of a run with the company.
4 Shane McMahon
What a moment this was! WWE returns are best when there are no rumors, no reports, nothing. Thankfully, with Shane McMahon's return to the company, that is exactly what happened. There had been no rumblings about him coming back, nothing was expected and then all of a sudden his music hit. The fans in the arena went absolutely wild for one of the biggest pops in WWE history.
From then on, Shane had a brilliant run with the company. Putting on fantastic matches when called upon and always entertaining the fans whether as a heel or a babyface, this return was simply perfect.
3 Sting
While technically, this wasn't a 'return' and was more of a debut in WWE, it was still Sting coming back to mainstream wrestling. After stating he would never work for WWE, nobody expected him to pop up at Survivor Series in 2014.
Even though he agreed to work with 2K for the video game, fans didn't think it would lead to this. However, when the mysterious music hit and the Stinger walked out, the live audience went absolutely nuts. Because it was something nobody ever expected to see happen it made the entire moment even greater. With Sting heading in to take out Triple H, the wrestling fans were just left stunned at it all.
2 The Rock
The Rock has made many surprise appearances in WWE during this decade, but the best is still his first which was in 2011. Being revealed as the host of WrestleMania 27, the WWE Universe went insane when his music hit.
There are few pops that will ever match that of The Rock's return and rightfully so. Having been gone for several years to build up his acting career, fans had desperately wanted Rocky to return at some stage. Thankfully, his return wasn't a one-off either. The Rock would give WWE one final run that included several matches, a WWE Championship run and some of his most memorable moments.
1 Hardy Boyz
Making their return at WrestleMania 33, the Hardy Boyz coming back created one of the loudest pops in wrestling history. Fans had no idea it was coming as the ladder match was about to begin, but when it did the Orlando crowd went nuts.
The Hardy's had been gone for years and were two of the hottest wrestling in the industry at the time following the Broken Universe gimmicks. However, given that they had just worked for Ring Of Honor the day before, they weren't expected to appear. There were rumors and a few rumblings, but fans had pretty much given up on the idea. That was until WrestleMania hosts, The New Day came out to add another team to the title match, and the rest is history.