The WWE Universe may not have noticed him missing, but Darren Young made his return from injury at last night's Raw brand house show in Wichita, Kansas. The former tag team member of The Prime Time Players tried to make a resurgence under the tutelage of Bob Backlund about a year ago, but the "Make Darren Young Great Again" slogan never caught on with the WWE audience. Now that he's fully healed, the company will have to try and find a new way to get him over with the WWE crowd.

In an effort to ease him in, according to PWInsider.com, his return to action saw Young compete in a Battle Royal to decide the number one contender to the Intercontinental Championship held by The Miz. While Young didn't win—he was eliminated by Apollo Crews—Young did dispatch of his former tag team partner, Titus O'Neil. Crews going after Young was in the defense of his mentor and leader of the Titus Worldwide brand. Perhaps this will lead to something between Young and Crews on future episodes of Raw.

In the end, Jason Jordan won the Battle Royal and went on to face The Miz later in the evening's card. Jordan's attempt to capture the gold was unsuccessful as The Miz retained the Intercontinental Championship after using an exposed turnbuckle to pick up the victory.

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Young has been away from the WWE since January of this year. It was during a match against Epico at a WWE Main Event taping in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Young injured his right elbow while a taking a hard bump off the apron. The injury was classified as a hyperextension and dislocation of the right elbow that required surgery in February with an expected recovery time of about six months. His recovery time was just a touch longer, but he was cleared to start getting back into the ring about a month ago. The WWE simply didn't want to rush things and had nothing for him to do.

For Young, this may be one of his last opportunities to make a name for himself on either Raw or SmackDown Live. While he looks to be in great shape, with the rumored budget cuts and eventual talent layoffs on the horizon, Young is likely in that group of talent who may be considered expendable.

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