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At the beginning of 2018, nobody would have thought it was realistic for WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels to reverse his decision to retire.
"The Heartbreak Kid" lost the final match of his career against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI in 2010 and he has since reiterated in several media interviews that he has never felt the need to return to the ring.
However, ahead of the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on November 2, it has been confirmed that Michaels will compete in an official match for the first time in eight-and-a-half years when he teams with Triple H against The Undertaker & Kane.
So, will HBK show in this old-school tag match that he never lost a step? Will his return lead to more matches in the future? Will he ultimately regret his decision to come back?
In this article, let's take a look at what happened when five 'retired' WWE Superstars made their return to the ring.
#5 Daniel Bryan
Nine months on from his last WWE match, Daniel Bryan was forced to confirm his retirement in February 2016 due to medical issues.
The former World Heavyweight champion was intent on returning to the ring one day and visited doctors across America in an attempt to be medically cleared.
In March 2018, it was confirmed that Bryan had finally been cleared to return by WWE's doctors, and just one day later he was involved in a physical altercation with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on SmackDown Live.
He made his in-ring return at WrestleMania 34 in April 2018, teaming with Shane McMahon to defeat Owens & Zayn in a tag match.
#4 Brie Bella
The WrestleMania 32 kickoff show featured a match between Team Total Divas (Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Natalya & Paige) and Team B.A.D. & Blonde (Emma, Lana, Naomi, Summer Rae & Tamina).
Team Total Divas won the match, with Brie making Naomi submit to the "Yes!" Lock, and the former Divas champion said after the event that she had just competed in her final match.
She later clarified that she didn't want to rule out a return one day but her priority was to start a family with her husband, Daniel Bryan.
In January 2018, 20 months on from her 'retirement' match, Brie returned to compete in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble.
She entered at #28 and formed a brief alliance with Nikki Bella before being eliminated by her sister.
#3 Ric Flair
One of the most legendary careers in wrestling history came to an end in March 2008 when Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in a retirement match at WrestleMania XXIV.
Flair honoured the retirement stipulation for over a year before returning to face former Evolution member Randy Orton on Raw in June 2009. Technically, as the match was classed as 'unsanctioned', it can be argued that it doesn't count as a comeback.
However, there can be no doubting his next match, which came against Hulk Hogan in November 2009 on Day 1 of the 'Hulkamania - Let The Battle Begin' tour of Australia.
The two veterans competed in four matches against each other over the course of a week, with Hogan picking up the victory every time.
Flair went on to compete in over a dozen matches before ending his career with a defeat against Sting at an Impact taping in September 2011.
#2 Mick Foley
One of the most memorable retirement U-turns in WWE came when Mick Foley returned to compete in the main event of WrestleMania 2000 against Triple H, The Rock and The Big Show.
Foley, portraying his Cactus Jack character, lost against Triple H in a barbaric Hell In A Cell match at No Way Out in February 2000, with the stipulation stating that he would be forced to retire if he failed to win.
The fans gave Foley a standing ovation as he left the arena and the veteran was legitimately supposed to retire following the show.
Five weeks later, however, with Vince McMahon concerned that Chris Jericho wasn't a big enough star at that point to join HHH, The Rock and Big Show in the Fatal 4-Way 'Mania main event, Foley returned at McMahon's request for one final match.
"The Hardcore Legend" lasted 19 minutes in the 36-minute elimination match before taking a four-year break from in-ring competition.
#1 Lita
Lita called time on her WWE career in November 2006 following a match against Mickie James at Survivor Series.
Speaking to Colt Cabana on the 'Art of Wrestling' podcast in 2012, the four-time Women's champion explained that she left WWE because she felt she had done everything there was to do as a woman in the wrestling business.
She has since made sporadic wrestling appearances, including at a Raw show against Heath Slater in the build-up to Raw 1000 and at an MCW event in March 2017, but her competitive WWE return came over 11 years after her retirement when she entered the first-ever women's Royal Rumble in January 2018.
The Hall of Famer entered at #5 and eliminated Mandy Rose and Tamina before being thrown over the top rope by Becky Lynch.
She is currently preparing for another return match on October 28 at WWE Evolution, where she will team with Trish Stratus to face Mickie James & Alexa Bliss.
