Vince Russo reveals the last time he popped was when 9-time World Champion returned to WWE (Exclusive)

WWE has seen many iconic returns take place over the years, with some becoming permanently etched in fans' memories. John Cena's quick return from injury at the 2008 Royal Rumble is a moment that no fan can forget, while Bray Wyatt's return to the promotion at Extreme Rules 2022 is one of the best returns in recent times.

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently revealed the last time he actually popped for anything that happened in the promotion. While speaking on the latest episode of Sportskeeda WrestleBinge's BroDown, Russo said that it happened when Chris Jericho returned on the June 30 episode of RAW in 2014.

Jericho had been away from the promotion following his music and acting commitments and hadn't been seen on screen in almost a year. The moment Vince says he can't forget is when Jericho was talking to The Miz after he had returned and the lights went out, only for the Wyatt Family to appear and attack the 9-time World Champion.

The last time I popped on a WWE moment, I'll never forget it. Bray Wyatt was gone for a while, and they were promoting the return of Bray Wyatt. Okay, so they returned Bray on Raw. Then all of a sudden there was a blackout. Wait a minute. Bray's here already. It was Jericho on top of Bray. Bro, Jericho's been with AEW for 6 years. So I know it was at least 6 years ago, guys. You can look that up. You can look at when Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho returned to Raw. Mac, I swear to you, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. That was probably eight years ago, probably. So, that was the last thing that freaking popped me on any WWE show.

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Chris Jericho has since left the Stamford-based promotion and became the first major star, not part of The Elite, to sign with AEW. Jericho went on to become the inaugural AEW World Champion and had two more reigns as the sister-promotion, Ring of Honor's World Champion. He now seems increasingly likely to make a comeback to WWE.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed