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Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton aren't the only WWE Superstars who were attacked or challenged by returning legends. In fact, there have been many instances of the same throughout history.
There's no doubt that wrestling fans miss the WWE Superstars who made their names in the 80s and 90s. And when these legends return for a one-off appearance or a brief run, the fans' reaction says it all. The nostalgia factor kicks in as soon as their music hits. In short, some of the biggest moments in WWE history have featured WWE legends making their iconic returns.
In order to create an impact right off the bat, many returning legends attack full-time or part-time WWE Superstars on the roster. Sometimes, this tactic is used merely to get the crowd to pop. In other instances, such an angle takes place to initiate a feud.
That being said, here are 5 WWE Superstars who were attacked by returning legends.
#5 WWE Superstar Seth Rollins (Attacked by Sting on the post-SummerSlam 2015 edition of WWE RAW)
To say that 2015 was the year of Seth Rollins would be an understatement. The Architect won his first WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 31. Over the course of his 220-day World Title run, he feuded against WWE Superstars Roman Reigns, John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, and others.
At WWE SummerSlam 2015, Rollins defeated John Cena to become the first-ever Superstar to hold both the WWE and United States Championships at the same time. For this tremendous achievement, The Architect was promised his own bronze statue.
The statue reveal was planned for the post-SummerSlam 2015 edition of WWE RAW. But little did Seth Rollins know that he was in for an "iconic" shock. What was supposed to be a night of celebrations for the WWE Superstar ended with Sting crashing the party and attacking the then-WWE Champion.
This was Sting's first WWE appearance since the post-WrestleMania 31 edition of Monday Night RAW.
#4 WWE Superstar Elias (Attacked by Edge at WWE SummerSlam 2019)
No one expected to see WWE Superstar Edge wrestle in a WWE ring after the Rated-R Superstar announced his retirement in 2011. Yet, he was able to make a miraculous comeback last year.
But the Royal Rumble wasn't the first time when Edge made a triumphant return to WWE. In fact, seeds of his comeback were planted back in August 2019. During the SummerSlam 2019 kick-off show, WWE Superstar Elias decided to sing a song.
But before the Drifter could wrap up his song, he was interrupted by Edge. The 11-time World Champion kept things short and sweet and hit Elias with a spear. This was his first spear in over eight years. Not only that, but this segment also prompted the wrestling community to start talking about Edge's "potential" in-ring return.
Despite WWE SummerSlam 2019 being an eventful pay-per-view, Edge and Elias' segment emerged as one of the most talked-about parts of the night. It will be interesting to see if Edge and Elias ever get to share the same ring again.
#3 WWE Superstars The New Day (Attacked by The Dudley Boyz on WWE RAW in 2015)
Even though WWE receives criticism for how it books the tag-team division, there was a time when WWE Superstars in tag teams were a focal point of both RAW and SmackDown. The time being referenced here is the Attitude Era.
One such tag team was The Dudley Boyz comprised of WWE Superstars Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. Not only did this duo achieve tremendous success in WWE but they also made their mark in other promotions such as NJPW and IMPACT Wrestling.
After conquering the world, The Dudley Boyz decided to return to WWE in 2015. They made their shocking comeback on the post-WWE SummerSlam 2015 edition of RAW by attacking all three members of The New Day.
The pop that Bubba Ray and D-Von received when their music hit was among the loudest ones in recent times. And why wouldn't the fan reaction be massive? After all, it was the first WWE appearance of one of the most decorated tag teams of all time in over 10 years.
#2 WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar (Attacked by The Undertaker on the road to WWE WrestleMania 30)
Ever since his WWE return in 2012, WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar has been a part of many big matches. The number of pay-per-views he has headlined in the last eight years despite being a part-timer is impressive to say the least. This speaks a lot about how big of a deal the Beast Incarnate truly is.
As soon as 2014 kicked in, Brock Lesnar expressed his willingness to go after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, his request was denied. Instead, the eight-time World Champion received an open contract that allowed Lesnar to choose any wrestler other than Batista or Randy Orton as his opponent at WWE WrestleMania 30.
However, the Beast Incarnate wasn't impressed with the proposal and decided to skip WrestleMania. As soon as he was about to leave the ring, The Undertaker's music hit for the first time in nearly 10 months. After a brief staredown, The Undertaker sent the WWE Superstar through the table with a chilling chokeslam and signed the open contract.
This segment laid the foundation for one of the most shocking moments in WWE history - The End of The Undertaker's legendary WrestleMania streak.
#1 WWE Superstar CM Punk (Attacked by The Rock on the road to WWE Royal Rumble 2013)
On the 1000th episode of WWE RAW, The Rock announced that he would challenge for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2013. With a gap of six months between the announcement and the said match, there were endless possibilities of who would face arguably the greatest WWE Superstar of all time.
Fast forward to January 7, 2013, and CM Punk was confirmed to be The Rock's opponent. On the same night, The Brahma Bull made his heavily-hyped return to WWE. The Royal Rumble opponents confronted each other in the show's last segment.
After an intense promo exchange, The Rock laid out the Second-City Saviour with a Rock Bottom to close the show on a high note.
At WWE Royal Rumble 2013, The Rock would defeat CM Punk to put an end to the WWE Superstar's historic 434-day title reign. While this decision was met with a mixed reaction, The Rock's run through WrestleMania 29 was highly entertaining.
As for CM Punk, he would eventually be phased-out of the WWE Championship picture after Elimination Champion 2014.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
