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- WWE fans absolutely love returns. The moment a familiar beat of music hits, arenas often erupt, even if those returning aren’t necessarily main eventers or top stars. Over the years, some returns have seen some success, whilst others were complete failures. At times, expectations for a return can be so high that it can be hard to be as good as people want, and at times, expectations are also low. These are both obstacles to surpass, and some returns have done just that, with them being better than expected. However, often these expectations can be too high, the hype can be overdone, and they end up flopping for whatever reason, whether that be bad luck, poor booking, or a lack of drive.
Returns in wrestling are both an expected part of the art form and an exciting and surprising shake-up to the normal flow of the show. For example, we expect to see returns at Royal Rumble every year, but they are often surprises to the fans and even some wrestlers involved in the Royal Rumble.
When a return is done right in WWE, it can be a euphoric moment that is talked about for years. However, it can be panned for years or quickly forgotten when done poorly. So let's go through the top five returns that went better than expected and the bottom five that flopped instantly.
UPDATE: 2022/09/15 15:30 EST BY Andrew Kelly
WWE fans absolutely love returns. The moment a familiar beat of music hits, arenas often erupt, even if those returning aren’t necessarily main eventers or top stars. Over the years, some returns have seen some success, whilst others were complete failures. At times, expectations for a return can be so high that it can be hard to be as good as people want, and at times, expectations are also low. These are both obstacles to surpass, and some returns have done just that, with them being better than expected. However, often these expectations can be too high, the hype can be overdone, and they end up flopping for whatever reason, whether that be bad luck, poor booking, or a lack of drive.
14 Drew McIntyre - Better Than Expected
When Drew McIntyre left WWE the first time around, he was very much an example of failed potential. He resurrected his career on the independent scene, becoming a mountain of a man and an even more polished performer, before finally coming back to WWE. Whilst he was now a different and more complete star, there was still no way of telling how he’d fair this time around.
There are few who would have imagined him to win the NXT Title, Royal Rumble, headline a WrestleMania, and win the WWE Championship on two occasions, with this run in WWE providing countless positives, with him now being cemented as one of WWE’s biggest stars.
13 Ronda Rousey - Flopped
Whilst rumors were rampant on the day of the event, Ronda Rousey still got a huge pop at the 2022 Royal Rumble, where she entered and won the match. However, her ring rust was evident with a lethargic performance. From there, Rousey was presented as a pandering babyface, which neither she nor the fans were really on board with.
Her momentum lessened quite quickly, with her promos not being great. Her WrestleMania feud with Charlotte Flair was lackluster, and she would lose in a cheap finish, cheapening her aura and ruining the impact of her return. Her character is recovering several months later with a new edge, but it initially flopped in a big way.
12 R-Truth - Better Than Expected
In 2000, K-Kwik began to make a small name for himself as he teamed up with Road Dogg, but aside from singing the song ‘Get Rowdy’, he didn’t accomplish much, being released a few years later. He did some strong work outside WWE, before returning in 2008, with very little expectations for him overall, although he managed to always gain a positive reaction with a natural connection with the audience.
Whilst Truth has often been a background character, with only a brief visit to the main event scene, he has etched what will surely become a Hall of Fame career, with him being one of the more successful and genuinely funny comedy characters of all time. Truth has shown that even without a huge array of titles, you can etch your name in WWE history, with his second run going far better than anyone would have thought.
11 Bobby Lashley - Flopped
Bobby Lashley’s post-WrestleMania return in 2017 was met with a big reaction, as he had been doing some great work outside of WWE. However, Lashley was given very little personality, with his return coupled with some truly awful segments and feuds.
His interview regarding his sisters was peculiar, and his rivalry with Sami Zayn killed any sort of momentum he may have had. The “Lashley Sisters” segment is among the very worst Raw had seen for quite some time. For well over a year, Lashley was involved in some terrible feuds with little direction, and that all started with his poor return.
10 Elias - Better Than Expected
Elias had a middling career without any title success. As a character, Elias was over with the fans. However, his last run was dreadful. He had a partnership with Jaxson Ryker that wasn't well received and then a feud with him that went nowhere. After that, Elias disappeared and did a few vignettes that promised a new character and showed a tombstone for Elias.
He disappeared for a long time, and it seemed like WWE didn't have a plan for him. Then he returned as Ezekiel, the younger brother of Elias, and started a hilarious feud with Kevin Owens. The Ezekiel character is routinely one of the best parts of Raw. Also, the character has course-corrected his career.
9 Batista - Flopped
Batista is a huge star both inside the ring and outside the ring. In the Ruthless Aggression Era, Batista was in one of the greatest heel factions of all time, Evolution. He was also one of the biggest babyfaces on SmackDown. So when he returned in 2014, WWE figured he would be able to pick up where he left off and main event WrestleMania against Randy Orton.
However, WWE completely overlooked the rise of Daniel Bryan. Batista was a victim of bad timing. He won the Rumble and took the spot everyone wanted Daniel to take. This caused fans to completely turn on Batista, dooming his return.
8 Lita - Better Than Expected
Lita's retirement was a disaster. She had spoken about how she wasn't okay with it and even tried to get it changed before it happened. Lita was humiliated on her way out of WWE and returned a couple of times for Royal Rumble, Evolution, The Hall of Fame, and the Raw Women's Title presentation. However, she hadn't done anything long-term in the ring.
When she returned in 2022 to feud with Becky Lynch, fans had to wonder if she could wrestle at a high level and if WWE would treat her well. Lita's return was excellent; the segments stole the show on Raw, and the Elimination Chamber match was incredible.
7 The Rock - Flopped
The Rock belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Wrestling and the Mount Rushmore of Stars in general. His body of work speaks for itself, but even The Rock sometimes missed. WrestleMania 32 was one of those times. He returned to WrestleMania, which should have been awesome, except he couldn't have a real wrestling match.
Stone Cold called The Rock's Wrestlemania 32 appearance the lamest thing he has seen him do in an interview with ET's Sophie Schillaci. In addition to Rock's long-winded promo, he buried the Wyatt family by beating Erick Rowan in a 6-second squash match.
6 Cody Rhodes - Better Than Expected
When Cody Rhodes was in the WWE the first time, he had a lot of success in the midcard and tag scene, but he could never break through to the world title picture. After going to AEW, nobody had any idea how WWE would treat Cody when he returned. Many people expected that he would be buried when he returned under contract. However, the opposite happened.
Cody returned at WrestleMania 38 and had one of the best matches on the card. Cody beat Seth at WrestleMania and WrestleMania Backlash, and Hell in the Cell. Before Cody got injured, he was treated like one of the biggest stars in the company. He is one of the favorites to dethrone the seemingly unbeatable Roman Reigns as well.
5 Eva Marie - Flopped
When Eva Marie made her initial run in WWE, she was actually doing really well. She was on Total Divas and was one of the show's bigger draws. When the WWE did the brand split, Eva had the perfect gimmick of being a diva who kept finding reasons to get out of wrestling. This story blended into the real-life perception that she was using wrestling as a stepping stone, and she had massive heat with fans. Eva and WWE parted ways before the story could pay off.
When she returned, her vignettes looked fantastic, and it seemed like she would pick up where she left off. However, then she was used as manager for Doudrop, which didn't go well. Then Doudrop broke away way too soon, and Eva's character got used less and less until she was fired.
4 John Cena - Better Than Expected
John Cena had a mixed run back in 2007. He had great matches, and the younger fans loved him, but the hardcore older fans were tired of seeing him always overcome the odds. Then out of nowhere, Cena got injured in a match with Mr. Kennedy, and he tore his pectoral muscle and was going to be out for six to eight months.
This meant John Cena was going to miss WrestleMania. Things were looking grim for Cena and his fans. Then in 2008, John Cena returned at the Royal Rumble in half the time of his estimated recovery and won the Royal Rumble. It was one of the best wrestling surprises of the 21st century.
3 Aleister Black - Flopped
Aleister Black was taken off TV after a mediocre run on the main roster. However, it seemed like a good thing when SmackDown started airing vignettes for his return in 2021. It seemed like WWE was finally going to establish Black's character. The vignettes were excellent, and people were really interested in them.
However, he debuted and did a run-in on Big E, costing Big E the Intercontinental Championship, and after that, he was fired. Weeks and weeks of build-up and a SmackDown cliffhanger, and then he was just let go. We will never know how his return was supposed to go, although his time in AEW was perhaps an indication of where he imagined his character.
2 Stone Cold - Better Than Expected
Owen Hart initially injured Stone Cold with a Piledriver that went wrong. Austin's career was shortened, and he left wrestling a few years later and stayed out of the ring for two decades. When it was rumored he would be returning at WrestleMania 38, people wondered if Austin could still put on a decent match due to his age and injury history.
Then it seemed that Austin and Kevin Owens wouldn't be having a match and instead would be doing an interview. When Austin returned, he had an excellent match with Owens and even beat him. Then he returned the next night and delivered some fun Stunner to Pat McAfee, Theory, and Vince McMahon. Austin's return ended up being way better than we could've imagined.
1 Emmalina - Flopped
Emma is an excellent wrestler who helped propel the women's revolution forward by getting people interested in high work rate in women's wrestling matches. In addition to her great matches with Paige in NXT, she also had a pretty good run on the main roster with Santino Marella as a fan-turned-wrestler. Emma showed she had versatility as a character.
However, while she was in a dry spell, WWE had the idea to turn Emma into femme-fatale Emmalina. However, after an exuberant amount of vignettes for the new character, WWE realized that it wasn't right for her. So on the night of her debut, they had her announce she would just go back to being Emma.