5 WWE Superstars who might come back after the fans return

2020 has been a year of uncertainty for WWE. The company has released multiple Superstars over the year, and the product overall has looked very different due to restrictions put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout 2020, fans have seen events take place in an empty WWE Performance Center, and shows and pay-per-views have recently gone down in the innovative virtual fan experience, WWE ThunderDome.

Currently, multiple big-name WWE stars are absent from television, for a variety of reasons. Their absence is very much felt at the moment on WWE programming, and for most, it is still uncertain when they will return.

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#5 Former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi

Naomi has been contracted with WWE since 2009 when she became a part of Florida Championship Wrestling. The former developmental territory ran until 2012 when it was rebranded as NXT.

Over the past 11 years, Naomi has had quite a varied WWE career. She first rose to prominence with Cameron as The Funkadactyls on RAW. The divas acted as valets for Brodus Clay before they broke away and worked as a tag team, often feuding with The Bella Twins.

Naomi is also a long-running cast member of Total Divas, alongside Natalya and Carmella. In 2015, the performer became a huge part of WWE's Women's Revolution as a part of Team B.A.D with Tamina and Sasha Banks. She later became SmackDown Women's Champion in 2017 and has participated in all three women's Royal Rumble matches.

More recently, Naomi has been involved in various, short-lived storylines. There has been some online backlash against Naomi's recent standing with WWE as fans created the hashtag, #NaomiDeservesBetter, on Twitter.

Naomi was last seen on WWE SmackDown in September. During the recent WWE draft, the Superstar joined RAW, but she is currently on a break following surgery.

It is currently unclear when Naomi will return, but her move to the red brand has caught the attention of MVP of The Hurt Business. There could be a possibility of a push for Naomi when she returns, and WWE may just wait for fans to return to shows before it starts.

#4 12-time WWE women's champion Charlotte Flair

Charlotte Flair was an integral player in WWE's Women's Revolution ever since her days in NXT in 2012. Flair was the last ever performer to hold the WWE Divas Championship before the company retired the title, as well as a two-time NXT Women's Championship. She has also enjoyed several RAW and SmackDown women's title reigns.

As one of the Four Horsewomen of WWE, Flair has been one of the top stars in the company for quite a while. Over the summer, she announced that she would be taking a break from WWE to undergo surgery. WWE wrote her off television when she was the victim of an attack at the hands of Nia Jax on RAW.

WWE hasn't addressed when Charlotte Flair will return, but she is often quick to squash any false rumors about her comeback on her social media accounts. Due to her status with the company, WWE could be possibly holding off for fans to return before Flair comes back to wrestle.

#3 Former WWE RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey is one of a handful of MMA stars who successfully transitioned into a WWE career. After appearing for WWE occasionally, Rousey signed with the company in 2018. The Baddest Women on the Planet appeared at the Royal Rumble that year to confront the reigning SmackDown and RAW Women's Champions, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss.

Shortly after her tenure with WWE began, Rousey won the RAW Women's Championship from Alexa Bliss. The former MMA fighter kept her title until WrestleMania 35 where Becky Lynch pinned her in the Triple Threat Winner-Takes-All match in the main event.

Ronda Rousey hasn't wrestled for WWE since this event. She also starred in the reality show Total Divas. On the series, she told Natalya that she wanted to take a break to spend more time with her family.

Over recent months, Ronda Rousey has been seen training and she has posted images of herself possibly preparing for a return to wrestling on social media. She has also made comments about her former rival, Becky Lynch, on gaming streams on her Facebook page. Sources have claimed that Vince McMahon is eager Rousey to return to WWE soon, and perform at WrestleMania.

All signs seem to point to an imminent return. However, as she has previously proven to be such a big draw, it makes sense for WWE to hold off on this until fans are back in attendance.

#2 WWE Hall of Famer Edge

After a nine-year retirement, WWE Hall of Famer Edge made a surprise return in this year's men's Royal Rumble match. The Rated-R Superstar made it to the end, getting down to the final three before Roman Reigns eliminated him. Following his return, he started a feud with Randy Orton, who attacked him on RAW and later RKO'ed his wife, Beth Phoenix.

The rivalry lasted well into the year, the pair faced off in a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36, and later at Backlash in what WWE billed as The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever in the build-up to the event. Edge lost the match against Orton, and it was his last WWE appearance of 2020.

Following the match, WWE announced that Edge had suffered two torn biceps, and he could be out of action for up to eight months.

Given Edge's status as a legend and the nature of his injury, it would make sense for WWE to wait until fans return for him to reappear on television. Edge's recovery and return date may coincide with the return of live crowds.

#1 Former WWE RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch has been signed with WWE since 2013 as an NXT Superstar. She later played an integral role in WWE's Women's Revolution as one of the Four Horsewomen, and a member of Team PCB on RAW.

In 2018, Lynch rocketed to the top of WWE and became a fan favorite for her no-nonsense attitude after years as an underdog, receiving comparisons to Stone Cold Steve Austin in his heyday. After she became The Man, Lynch enjoyed high-profile feuds against Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey and later faced them both in a WinnerTakesAll match at WrestleMania 35. The trio were the first women to ever headline the event.

Lynch defeated both of her rivals at The Showcase of the Immortals and became the first woman to hold both the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championship concurrently. The 2019 Royal Rumble winner broke records as RAW Women's Champion. Her reign lasted for a staggering 399 days, meaning the Irish Superstar successfully defended the title for over a year.

The day after Money in the Bank 2020, Becky Lynch revealed to the winner, Asuka that the content of the briefcase wasn't the contract. Instead, it was actually the RAW Women's Championship, which she relinquished to her as she announced that she was expecting her first child with Seth Rollins.

Since May, Becky Lynch has been on maternity leave from WWE. As of now, her return date is unknown, but there are rumors that Vince McMahon is eager to bring her back for WrestleMania 37 for a match with Ronda Rousey.