5 Superstars who WWE tried to get back but failed

Some WWE Superstars have had multiple runs in the company, often wrestling in other promotions before returning to WWE. This could be due to not having enough opportunities in WWE or having a part-time career in another promotion, or even getting more exposure and improving their craft before getting back to WWE.

Most times these Superstars do return to the company, but, at times, they may not be keen to make a return due to various reasons.

Here, we take a look at five Superstars who WWE tried to get back but failed:

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#5 Trish Stratus

Trish Stratus at SummerSlam last year

WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus last wrestled in WWE at last year's SummerSlam PPV, where she went up against Charlotte Flair.

WWE reportedly tried to bring back Stratus once again, as per Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue. Tom revealed that WWE are gauging interest for the second all-women's Evolution PPV. He said that WWE wanted to have the Evolution 2 PPV a while back and wanted Trish to be a part of it. WWE wanted her to return for another match after the match against Flair but it did not happen.

"They have been trying to gauge interest for a long time now, trying to see if they can make it happen. They initially had the idea that the match between Charlotte Flair and Trish Stratus at SummerSlam last year, they wanted to try and talk Trish Stratus into coming back for another match and that was going to be sort of a marquee match for the show. Stephanie McMahon had mentioned this in interviews before. Now they are trying to relaunch that, again, Stephanie McMahon is a proponent of it."

Trish Stratus was a part of the first Evolution PPV where she teamed up with her old rival, Lita, to face the team of Mickie James and Alicia Fox.

#4 Carlito

The former WWE United States and Intercontinental Champion Carlito was reportedly set to return to the company after being away from WWE for a decade.

Epico Colon, Carlito's cousin, said that Vince McMahon had given the go-ahead to bring back Carlito, but he was offered a paltry sum of money, that was reportedly suitable for just a developmental contract in WWE.

“We talked with Vince, Michael Hayes was behind us and give Vince this signal: The OK signal. Sounds good. Sounds great. So we (Epico and Primo). So let’s bring Carly (Carlito)! But in all this process, 3 months happened and, politically, other people with power within WWE [interfered]. I don’t know if Carly made this person mad, but when he (HHH?) called Carly, he just offered him the money [on the level of a] development contract. Take it or leave it. So Carlito said, ‘No. I don’t need the WWE, the WWE needs me’.

Carlito rejected the deal despite him getting the green light from Vince McMahon and also having a good relationship with the WWE Chairman.

#3 Eli Drake

Eli Drake

Eli Drake, who was previously a part of IMPACT, was briefly a part of WWE between 2013 and 2014. Drake was released in 2014, but he revealed that WWE wanted to re-sign him a few times since his release:

"They made an offer to me in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2016, I didn't take it because Impact was giving me a big raise. I'd never seen money like they were giving me, and the money that WWE were offering me was very low. It was not great, so I was like, 'Well, okay, I'll take a year at this [Impact] money.' I checked them out a year later, and it was the same offer and I had a raise with Impact again."

He said that WWE returned with the exact same offer in 2018, and he was willing to take up the offer, but a few personal issues in his life caused him to stay at Impact rather than move to WWE.

Drake also said that he would be very interested in being a part of WrestleMania, but was apprehensive about joining WWE after talking to a few WWE Superstars, and "the way the climate is" in WWE currently.

#2 Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle was one of many Superstars, writers, and producers to be released by WWE in 2020, but WWE was keen to re-sign the WWE Hall of Famer to manage a Superstar.

Angle recently revealed that he rejected an opportunity to manage Matt Riddle, who was recently moved to SmackDown. He revealed that his new business was one of the reasons why he rejected the idea of being Riddle's manager.

"WWE offered me a job to manage Matt Riddle. Unfortunately, I turned it down. I just have so much going with my business, Physically Fit Nutrition, and I need to make sure it succeeds before I do anything else. It was almost a blessing in disguise that WWE released me. The business started picking up orders, and we’re at a point where I really need to be here.”

Angle has said that he will not return to the ring and is rehabbing his body to get back to a healthy lifestyle. He also said that he may return but only if he gets "to the point where I feel I can do it".

#1 Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan

This year's WrestleMania did not have the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal due to the restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. If the match had happened, there could have been the possibility of seeing a WWE Hall of Famer return to the WWE ring for the first time in 14 years.

Hulk Hogan was touted to return to the ring and be a part of the Battle Royal, where he would've taken a few bumps and eliminated a few Superstars to get the win.

"The idea was he wouldn’t take any bumps. We would work it so he would only have to eliminate one or two guys at the end and then he would get his big celebration at the end with his music. It would have been perfect because he lives in the Tampa area.”

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon gave the go-ahead to this idea, but WWE and Hogan could not agree on a deal due to the finances. The match would have anyway been scrapped later as WWE did not want many Superstars in the ring at the same time during the pandemic.

Hogan's last match in WWE came at SummerSlam 2006 where he faced Randy Orton.