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WWE Superstars often have to take hiatus' from the ring to recover from injury or illness which can mean months on the sidelines but the good thing about a lengthy hiatus is the fact that there will always be room for a fantastic return.
Over the past 12 months, there have been a number of high rated WWE returns which included many legends since WWE allowed the women in the company to have their own pay-per-view and their own Royal Rumble back in January.
As well as the female legends that have returned to the company, there have been many other stars who have been able to return from injury and make quite the impact since they had left quite the gap in the company during that time.
#10 Lita
Many of The WWE Universe were shocked to find out that Lita wasn't invited to Raw's 25th anniversary the week before The Royal Rumble back in January, but it was later pieced together as part of WWE's plan to ensure that her entry in the first ever Women's Royal Rumble was seen as one of the biggest surprises.
Lita was number five in the Rumble match and went on to eliminate both Mandy Rose and Tamina before she was eliminated herself by Becky Lynch after just five minutes in the match.
Lita made quite the entrance and delivered a fantastic moonsault that showed that the former four-time Women's Champion may have retired more than 12 years ago, but she definitely still had it. Trish and Lita returned later in the year to be part of Evolution, where they teamed up to take on the team of Alicia Fox and Mickie James after Alexa Bliss was forced onto the sidelines following an injury that was sustained at a WWE live event.
#9 Ruby Riott
Ruby Riott has been the valiant leader of The Riott Squad ever since their debut on the main roster back in 2017, but following Money in the Bank back in June, Riott suffered a knee injury which sidelined her from Raw and left Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan to compete alone on Raw for a number of weeks.
A few months later as the two women looked to battle Bayley and Sasha Banks on an episode of Raw, Riott made her triumphant return to show that she was back and ready to help her team win at all costs. Logan and Morgan picked up the win that night on Raw and have since gone on to make quite the impact on WWE's flagship show as part of their most recent feud with Natalya.
#8 Aleister Black
The biggest story of the summer centered around Aleister Black and the fact that he was unable to compete at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn because of an injury. WWE wrote him off WWE TV after he was attacked in the parking lot at Full Sail University ahead of the show, which later became a huge mystery on NXT with every superstar becoming a suspect.
Black was out of action for a few months but made his valiant return a few weeks ago when he interrupted Nikki Cross' match against Bianca Belair to ask who it was who attacked him and then targetted Johnny Gargano.
The two men later collided at Takeover: War Games, but it appears that their feud is still far from over as Takeover: Phoenix approaches in the new year and the two men are still struggling to move forward.
#7 Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels is widely considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and it was thought that when Michaels retired from the ring more than eight years ago, he would never return. Michaels stated that he wanted to be the one wrestler that honoured his retirement and for almost a decade he was able to stick to this plan.
This year Michaels was offered the chance to compete in a huge match that went on to headline Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia and the money was too much for Michaels to turn down.
For the first time since WrestleMania 26, Michaels stepped back into the ring to partner Triple H and help The Game to victory over Kane and The Undertaker in what was seen as a nostalgic outing for the WWE Universe.
#6 Kane
Kane was elected Mayor of Knox County in Tennessee earlier this year, which is why he hasn't been the focus on SmackDown Live over the past few months. Kane was forced to give up his full-time career as a WWE superstar after he was elected Mayor, but this was after he was able to return to partner his old friend Daniel Bryan.
Bryan returned to the ring after two years on the sidelines ahead of WrestleMania, but after the show of shows was over he was attacked by The Bludgeon Brothers on SmackDown Live. Kane made the save as Team Hell No joined forces for one last time and looked to capture the Tag Team Championships, but sadly Kane suffered a foot injury which played a part in the two stars losing their Championship match at Extreme Rules.
#5 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre already had a memorable run in WWE before he was released back in 2014, this run saw him become part of 3MB, but his release allowed him to mold himself into something new and force WWE to resign him.
Over the past few years, McIntyre has been working on his craft in NXT where he's a former NXT Champion, but he was able to bring his skills to the main roster alongside Dolph Ziggler earlier this year.
Following the Superstar Shakeup back in April, Drew McIntyre made his re-debut on Raw where he aligned himself with Ziggler and attacked Titus Worldwide. Over the past few months, McIntyre has been pushed as one of the main stars of Raw and this seems to be the direction that the company is now going in moving forward.
#4 Beth Phoenix
It's been a fantastic year or the women of WWE with the likes of Michelle McCool, Kaitlyn, Torrie Wilson, Kelly Kelly, Maria Kanellis, Alundra Blayze and even Molly Holly making their returns to the ring this year, but one WWE Hall of Fame stood out amongst the rest.
Beth Phoenix was one of the names in the 2018 Women's Royal Rumble and she proved why she was one of the most feared female wrestlers in WWE history when she stepped into the ring at number 24 and stepped up to Nia Jax.
Phoenix's addition to the Women's Royal Rumble means that the WWE Hall of Famer now has the unique distinction of being the only woman in WWE history to have been part of a male and female Royal Rumble match. Phoenix later returned to add commentary to Evolution, even though she was originally expected to be part of the show.
#3 Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley is best remembered as the star who was part of The Battle of The Billionaires back at WrestleMania 23, where he defeated Vince McMahon's hand-picked beast Umaga and then helped Donald Trump to shave McMahon's head in front of the live crowd.
In the years that have followed, Lashley has dipped his toe in many ponds including MMA and working for promotions like TNA, but earlier this year it was decided that The Dominator would make his return to WWE as part of The Raw After WrestleMania. Lashley made quite the statement against Elias and has since risen through the ranks with The Hype Man Lio Rush by his side.
The future is looking bright for The Man of The Hour and Lashley moving into 2019, after what could be seen as an underwhelming re-debut in WWE.
#2 Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is one of the best-known wrestlers in the world, at 165 pounds the masked star was able to define a generation and defy belief when he lifted the World Heavyweight Championship.
Mysterio requested his release from WWE back in 2015 and has since been working for a number of promotions around the world whilst also focusing on staying in shape. Mysterio made his shocking return to WWE as part of The Royal Rumble back in January where he stole all of the headlines since he seemed to be in the best shape of his career.
WWE went on to chase his signature for most of the year before they were finally able to sign him to a contract ahead of SmackDown's 1000th episode where Mysterio competed in his first singles match for WWE in almost four years.
#1 Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose was sidelined with a torn bicep back in 2017, which left Seth Rollins alone throughout 2018. Rumors stated that Ambrose could have returned to WWE at any time in the early months of the year, but it was made obvious that Ambrose was still yet to be cleared as he struggled with a number of health issues.
Finally, Ambrose returned to help Seth Rollins overcome the threat of Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre in the build-up to SummerSlam back in August. Ambrose's return was one of the most anticipated of 2018 and WWE were able to pull it off without a hiccup, which is why it was seen as one of the best of the year.
Ambrose and Rollins' relationship has changed over the past few months, but this doesn't lessen the impact that Ambrose's return had on the WWE Universe and the pop that The Lunatic Fringe received when it mattered.
