‘It’s just going to be another boring show… wait… is that? OMG it is him…’ this will probably be the reaction of almost all the WWE fans who are witnessing a ground breaking return in professional wrestling.Surprising returns are those moments that remind us how beautiful wrestling could be and looking back into the archives, there have been many such moments where we completely lost our mind seeing a returning superstar walk down that ramp.We are bound to see many more returns in the years to come but before we are swept away once again, here is a look back at some of the most shocking returns in WWE history.
#10 CM Punk Raw, 2011
CM Punk is not a stranger to controversial angles and back in 2011, he was the protagonist of an angle that made the fans lose track of what was reality and what was kayfabe. Punk’s contract was coming to an end at Money in the bank where he was slated to face John Cena.
Punk promises that he will walk out with Cena’s title at Money in the bank and live up to his promise as well. So WWE was left without a champion after Punk’s exit and Vince McMahon decided to contest a tournament to decide the new champion which was eventually won by Cena.
And just when Cena was celebrating his title win, Punk made his triumphant return and stunned the world as they were seeing two legitimate champions in the same ring.
#9 Edge Survivor Series, 2007
Edge suffered an injury back in 2007 which forced him to sit out of the action for nearly four months. The Rated R superstar was sure to make his return at some point or the other but the way he did it made everyone jump out of their seat.
Undertaker was facing Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at 2007 edition of Survivor Series in a Hell in a Cell match. The nature of this match makes outside interferences almost impossible, but that wasn’t enough to stop Edge.
Right before Undertaker was going to secure a win, Edge, who was disguised as a camera man nailed Taker which in turn cost the Phenom his title.
#8 Stone Cold Steve Austin Backlash, 2000
The Texas Rattle Snake was taken out of action for nearly six months back in 2000 after an unexplained parking lot accident. Austin’s helped Triple H to thrive as the New WWE champion with some help from the McMahons and one of Hunter’s title defenses came at BackLash, 2000.
Rock had the odds stacked against him thanks to the McMahons and their stooges being all around the squared circle. Things worsened for the Brahma Bull when the referee was knocked out but things leveled up thanks to a returning Austin.
Austin soon cleared out the ring by taking out the lights of Triple H, Gerald Brisco, Shane McMahon, Pat Paterson and Vince McMahon and gifted the win to The Rock.
#7 John Cena Royal Rumble, 2008
No matter how big superstar you are, getting injured demands taking time off from the wrestling programming. Cena was no different. The Cenation leader suffered a pectoral tear in October, 2007 and was expected to be out of action for 2008 WrestleMania and beyond.
However, Cena surprised everyone when he came out as the last entrant of the 2008 Royal Rumble match. And though many expected this to be a cheap cameo by the superstar, Cena further shocked everyone when he went all the way to win the Rumble.
The never give up attitude of Cena was there to be seen in plenty and this was one of those instances where he actually deserved a lot of credit.
#6 Bret Hart - Raw, 2010
Bret Hart left WWE after what went down in history as one of the most controversial segments in the wrestling business. At the 1997 edition of Survivor Series, Bret was legitimately screwed by Vince McMahon and that was supposed to burn all the bridges between Bret and WWE.
However, the Hitman shocked the entire world when he made his return into a WWE squared circle after a decade and three years. He was in no shape to wrestle and his prime days were well behind him but Hart returning after such a swerve once again proved that anything could happen in WWE.
He went on to have a match with Vince at WrestleMania as well after that return but still everyone will be regretting about Hart missing out the Attitude Era as it would’ve been a whole different with him in the picture.
#5 Undertaker WrestleMania XX
The Undertaker’s American badass gimmick might not be one of the most celebrated spells of his career, but it did provide the stage for a memorable return from the Phenom.
Taker went missing after he was buried alive by Kane in the 2003 Survivor Series and just months after that, Kane started getting cryptic messages. An announcement came that Undertaker would return at the 2004 WrestleMania and face Kane, but no one saw Taker in flesh.
There were a lot of mysterious things happening around, but none of them confirmed Taker’s presence. So when the WrestleMania match was actually going to happen, everyone held their breath expecting the unexpected. Taker did make his return and went on to win the match against Kane as well.
#4 Shawn Michaels Raw, 2002
Shawn Michaels went on to have a great singles career once he broke up with his rockers partner Marty Jannetty. The Heart Break Kid had some memorable feuds with the lights of Razor Ramon and Bret Hart, but an injury that he suffered during the 1998 Royal Rumble forced Michaels to retire from active competition.
That retirement however lasted only three years as returned in the June 3, 2002 edition of Monday Night Raw as the newest member of WWE’s New World Order. The prospect of seeing Michaels in between the ropes after such a long layoff proved to be an epic moment for everyone.
The NWo had only started in WWE as a heel stable after WCW sank and the surprise addition of Shawn Michaels was a big boost. NWo angle didn’t survive much longer, but Michaels did go on to have a great feud with Triple H afterwards.
#3 Brock Lesnar Raw, 2012
WWE invested everything they had in Brock Lesnar from the moment he made it into the main roster. He was built up as a monster that everyone feared but Lesnar had other plans.
Instead of sticking with the wrestling business, Lesnar wanted to venture elsewhere and he soon made his wish clear to the company. WWE had no choice but to let him go and wanted Lesnar to stay away from other wrestling promotions.
Lesnar didn’t fulfill that demand and this led to a law suit between WWE and the Beast. It was later settled out of the court and Lesnar went on to make it big in UFC. So after all this when Lesnar made his return into WWE programming to confront John Cena, it was a moment worth cherishing.
#2 The Rock Raw, 2011
The Rock left WWE to explore his love for acting. A majority of the fans concluded that they were not going to see Rock again in between the ropes, but that wasn’t the case. After a seven year break from wresting, Rock was announced as the WrestleMania host in 2011.
His return and trademark promo forced the fans to go wild and reminded them about what they were missing due to Rock’s Hollywood career.
And it didn’t end with just a mere WrestleMania hosting segment. Rock then went on to put the foundation for his feud against John Cena which gave the fans two epic showdowns at the WrestleManias that followed.
#1 Triple H Raw, 2002
After the infamous quadriceps tear, Triple H was sidelined for a whopping eight months back in 2001. He went out of the programming while reigning in as a main event player so the fans were heads over heels crazy about Hunter’s imminent return.
He was a heel when he was taken out of action but when he made his return after those eight months, Hunter was given a hero’s welcome by the WWE fans. Everything fell perfectly for the cerebral assassin and WWE wasted no time in pushing him back to the top.
Hunter went on to win the Royal Rumble that year and headlined WrestleMania where he defeated Chris Jericho to become the undisputed WWE champion.
