What if a former WWE Champion returns to confront Edge on SmackDown?

Edge hasn't been on SmackDown since losing a triple-threat match to AJ Styles last month. Styles, The Rated-R Superstar, and Rey Mysterio all battled for a chance to represent SmackDown in the World Heavyweight Championship match at Night of Champions.

When the Hall of Famer makes his SmackDown return this Friday, it needs to be for a worthy storyline. Could another missing star and former WWE Champion also potentially return on SmackDown to kick off a blockbuster feud between the two?

Bray Wyatt has been absent from WWE programming for several months, even missing the 2023 WWE Draft. Because of his exclusion from the event, he joins Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Omos as free agents.

Creative was reportedly working on plans for the Eater of Worlds' return, so coinciding that with Edge's return to SmackDown would give WWE a huge storyline. The Bloodline angle still dominates WWE, but great stars can work outside of title pictures.

Both the Ultimate Opportunist and Wyatt have proven to be able to do so in their feuds over the last year. Facing off with each other would provide WWE with another non-title main-event level angle that could span the summer.

Edge and Bray Wyatt could have a memorable feud

Bray Wyatt's last action was the Mountain Dew Pitch Black match against LA Knight at the Royal Rumble. The Eater of Worlds defeated The Megastar but drifted off of programming on the Road to WrestleMania. He had targeted Bobby Lashley, but an undisclosed medical issue prevented the feud from materializing.

It left Lashley without a dance partner for WrestleMania 39. Edge, however, felt that he put an end to his lengthy rivalry with the Judgment Day at The Show of Shows. At the event, he faced The Demon Finn Balor in a Hell in a Cell match.

Following that huge match, the WWE Hall of Famer re-emerged to chase the newly-unveiled World Heavyweight Championship. He has yet to appear on SmackDown since then, but that will change this Friday.

The former world champion and Wyatt are both masters of the mic, and each star could cut ominous promos on the other.

With Edge's career winding down, it would make a lot of sense to book a feud between a current Hall of Famer and someone who does Hall of Fame-level character work. Will both men return on SmackDown to kickstart a hot angle for the summer?