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The buildup to Super ShowDown on February 27th was the main topic of conversation this week on SmackDown since it had been advertised already that Goldberg would be making his WWE return and seemingly set up a match in the Middle East.
Two other returns that were already expected were Daniel Bryan and The Fiend, who missed last week's show after their brutal match at The Royal Rumble. The Fiend was revealed as Goldberg's opponent in Saudi Arabia whilst Daniel Bryan's change of personality continued and even though these three stars did return, there were a number of other more shocking returns throughout the show as well.
We are now on the Road to WrestleMania, which means that the returns will continue throughout the next few months as the WrestleMania card begins to take shape.
#5. Lance Storm
Lance Storm is best-known as a former Intercontinental Champion but after his wrestling career ended, Storm went on to open his own wrestling school and helped train a number of up and coming stars, including WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix. Storm announced that he had returned to WWE back in November but last night was the first visual the WWE Universe had seen from Storm in years.
Last night on SmackDown, John Morrison and The Miz showed the trailer for their new movie "Once Upon A Time on The Dirt Sheet" and interestingly Lance Storm was seen as one of the backstage staff who were working with both Miz and Morrison at the time. Lance told Miz "You're better than that," in what was a parody of the "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" movie from last year.
He was alongside fellow Backstage Producer Adam Pearce who has been seen a number of times in recent weeks, mostly working with the Women's Division throughout Bayley's reign as SmackDown Women's Champion.
#4. Renee Young
Renee Young hasn't been seen on WWE TV since she was moved over to her role on WWE Backstage, the former commentator talked about how much she disliked being part of the commentary team and had now found herself much more at home on FOX's WWE Backstage.
Interestingly, Young was a familiar face last night in San Jose when she appeared in the ring to interview Braun Strowman following his first singles Championship win of his career last week on SmackDown.
Strowman defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to lift the Intercontinental Championship, but when he tried to talk about the victory he was interupted by Sami Zayn and the former Champion and a rematch was confirmed between the two men. The Revival then ended the segment when they attacked Strowman from behind.
It's unknown why Young was chosen to be part of last night's show since she was only seen for a few seconds, it could have been that young was in the area at the time and was asked to be involved in the weekly show as a one-off, or that Young is still able to make regular appearances despite her role on WWE Backstage.
#3. John Laurinaitis
John Laurinaitis is Daniel Bryan's stepfather and the husband Brie and Nikki Bella's mother Kathy. Best-known as the General Manager of Monday Night RAW, or under the ring name Johnny Ace, Laurinaitis has taken up a number of jobs in WWE over the years.
Most recently Johnny was seen on Total Bellas and hasn't been used as an on-screen talent in WWE for a number of years, even though he has still continued with his usual backstage duties.
Last night on SmackDown, the former RAW General Manager was spotted as part of the screening of "Once Upon A Time On The Dirt Sheet" where he was seen talking to The Miz backstage.
Miz's dad was obviously the star of the trailer which intended to promote the fact that Miz and Morrison believe that they will be Tag Team Champions once again when they travel to The Middle East at the end of the month, but it was nice for the members of the WWE Universe to see John Laurinaitis after a number of months out of the public eye.
#2. Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews was once one of NXT's hottest prospects and was being backed for promotion by WWE COO Triple H, who even helped him with his new finisher. Interestingly, there was a slight push for Crews at one point, but after he was aligned with Titus O'Neil and Dana Brooke in Titus Worldwide, he was unable to climb back up.
Crews' last match was back in October when he faced Ricochet in a losing effort on RAW before he made his way over to SmackDown and has been waiting for something to do for the past few months,
Sadly, it wasn't the return that Crews would have wanted since he was brushed aside by Sheamus in a matter of seconds before Shorty G then came out and continued his feud with The Celtic Warrior.
This was obviously just a squash match for Crews since he was just a way to get Sheamus in the ring so Shorty G could attack. Hopefully, things change for Crews soon and WWE manages to slot him into a decent storyline that proves he has what it takes to be on the main roster.
#1. Heath Slater
Heath Slater has gone through a number of changes over the past few years, from having a gimmick where he needed to win back his job because he has children to feed, to winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with Rhyno and then being made a referee by RAW Constable Baron Corbin.
Slater has since been able to return to the ring and last night was a rough night for the former Champion when he somehow managed to rub Daniel Bryan the wrong way when he talked about his match with The Fiend at The Royal Rumble.
Bryan's current mindset is unknown and Slater's on-going conversation meant that Bryan challenged him to a match. The former World Champion was so angry that he went on march straight to the ring and wrestle Slater for his comments.
Slater lost the match since it was seemingly Bryan's way of telling him to mind his own business and made it clear that he wasn't going to warn Goldberg about what he was getting himself into by challenging The Fiend at Super ShowDown.
