4 familiar names who could return with recent WWE acquisition

WWE shocked wrestling fans during WrestleMania weekend. However, it wasn't the finish of a match, a big return, or a title change that left everybody talking. Instead, it was news that took place during the pre-show Countdown to WrestleMania special.

A video package aired revealing that World Wrestling Entertainment is acquiring AAA Lucha Libre, one of the biggest wrestling promotions in Mexico's history. Triple H was then joined by lucha stars from World Wrestling Entertainment, AAA management, and even El Hijo del Vikingo.

Not much is known about how AAA will truly operate under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella, and the deal reportedly hasn't even been finalized yet. Still, fans are highly interested in what comes next.

Part of the evolution of the AAA brand may involve familiar names making a return, either to NXT, RAW, or SmackDown through the Lucha Libre promotion. This article will look at four names in particular who could soon return.

#4. Alberto Del Rio is AAA's main champion

Alberto Del Rio is a former WWE star who won the world title on four separate occasions while part of the sports entertainment juggernaut. He is also a former United States Champion.

Currently known as Alberto El Patron, the former WWE star has found a lot of success in Mexico. In fact, he is even the AAA Mega Champion. This is his second run with the prestigious belt.

Del Rio is seemingly back in the fold now, thanks to being such a key part of AAA, although there are conflicting reports. Who knows, this could even lead to Del Rio showing up on NXT or even on RAW or SmackDown as a representative of the Mexican brand.

#3. Kalisto could return for the AAA promotion

Former WWE star Kalisto found a fair share of success in the company. He held the NXT Tag Team Title, the Cruiserweight, and the United States Title. In fact, he held the US gold on two separate occasions, which only further highlights how well his run went.

The masked star has a bit of a history with AAA. While he hasn't spent much time in the promotion since leaving WWE, he did appear in the past. That said, things could rapidly evolve on that front.

Given his past ties to World Wrestling Entertainment, Triple H, Jeremy Borash, and the TKO team could push for the familiar face to return to AAA. This would get Kalisto back in the fold and could eventually lead to appearances on one of the American-based brands.

#2. La Catalina, aka Katrina Cortez, could return to WWE

La Catalina is a wrestler competing for AAA's chief rival, CMLL. Thanks to her affiliation with CMLL, Catalina has also appeared on AEW programming. More specifically, she has been on Ring of Honor's weekly television show.

In the past, La Catalina was best known to pro wrestling fans as Katrina Cortez. She was part of the WWE NXT system from 2019 until 2021, when she left the promotion. She then dealt with VISA issues.

While Catalina isn't part of AAA, there is speculation that World Wrestling Entertainment will be looking to recruit talent from CMLL and bring them to AAA. If that's the case, she could return to the WWE family through AAA and potentially even end up back in NXT at some point.

#1. Matt Striker could be back as a commentator

Matt Striker is a former WWE star who was known for his gimmick of being a teacher. That gimmick was fitting, as he was actually a teacher outside of the ring.

The former wrestler's last WWE match took place on the October 15th, 2012, edition of RAW. His last documented bout outside of the sports entertainment juggernaut took place over five years ago for EAW on March 14th, 2020.

Towards the end of his run in the company, Striker has been working as a commentator. In fact, he has been a commentator in AAA, too. This could be his way back into the system, as if World Wrestling Entertainment needs him for any other show, it'd be easy to move him from the Mexican-based brand to RAW, SmackDown, NXT, or even EVOLVE.