Every Impossible Wrestling Return Ranked From Worst To Best
This isn't a list about jumps: this is a list about who best made the impossible possible...
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00:00 So many times over the years, we as fans have gone "Well that wrestler is never coming
00:04 back" be it the way they left a company or the fact they were forced out due to injury,
00:08 everything is telling us that they're done. This is wrestling though, somehow the unthinkable
00:13 keeps happening.
00:14 Regardless how they do return, the joy is always in the fact they did come back at all.
00:18 But just for fun, I'm Simon from WhatCulture, please hit that subscribe button, and here's
00:23 every impossible return, ranked from worst to best.
00:26 11. Bret Hart
00:27 Let me make this very clear, Bret Hart is number one on my all time list and for me
00:32 is the best. Seeing him get his due over the last few years has been wonderful.
00:36 When he did leave the then WWF in 1997 after the Montreal Screwjob though, come on now,
00:42 not only did no fan think he was ever coming back, Hart would tell you this. Constantly.
00:46 He got done over by Vincent Kennedy McMahon, so that was that.
00:49 As already mentioned, you never say never, and in 2010 it was announced that the Hitman
00:54 was going to be on Raw. I remember being stunned by this because I could not believe it, and
00:59 I'm still a little mad that he didn't get a bigger reaction. People should have lost
01:03 their minds.
01:04 It of course tied into an angle with McMahon, and this is when things fell down a little
01:07 bit. We had the story all ready to go in real life, but for some reason we added weird twists
01:12 to it such as a car accident. It didn't make any sense.
01:16 Hearing Bret talk about his WrestleMania 26 match will put it into context as he needed
01:20 that after the Survivor Series and the awful stroke he suffered, but this was never going
01:24 to be able to live up to expectations. Sadly Hart was too hurt, and WWE didn't really
01:29 get what they had.
01:30 Who's ever.
01:31 10. Shawn Michaels
01:32 I don't get all this "he ruined his legacy" nonsense. Did he? Or can we just ignore the
01:37 part we didn't like and pretend it never happened? Yes, yes we can.
01:41 This is the best way to treat Shawn Michaels' comeback in 2018, as a massive paycheck was
01:45 enough to convince the Hart Broke Kid it was worth doing one more match and he was right.
01:49 Would any of us have turned down this much money? No we wouldn't have.
01:52 That's not to say it worked out, because it didn't. At all. It was like the wrestling
01:57 powers in the sky decided this tag bout between him and Triple H vs the Brothers of Destruction
02:01 had to be cursed. I mean I started looking around for Danhausen.
02:05 Because the Game tore his peck, Kane's mask fell off, The Undertaker was not at 100%,
02:10 and Shawn at one point fell on his head, it was terrifying.
02:13 Don't think these four didn't know this afterwards either, just look at Michaels'
02:16 face when all was said and done, or listen to his interviews. He knew, and I'm sure
02:20 now he just laughs his ass off. That's the healthy way to do it.
02:24 This still doesn't mean it was a successful comeback though. It most definitely wasn't.
02:28 9. Shane McMahon
02:29 I don't think anybody thought Shane McMahon was about to make his return to Raw in early
02:34 2016. Or at least I didn't. I remember hearing "here comes the money" hit and genuinely
02:39 being stunned. That was quite the moment.
02:41 He got a mega pop as well which made this feel like a massive deal when we learned that
02:45 he would be facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, with the contents of a lockbox being the
02:50 focus.
02:51 It was also true as even though he lost to the Deadman, Shane was still made the GM of
02:55 Raw, making this whole thing pointless but look. He took that crazy bump off the top
02:58 of the cell, he then had a really good match with AJ Styles, and got involved with some
03:02 other nonsense. The less said about the Braun Strowman stuff, the better.
03:05 But it was decent all things considered, aside from the times McMahon was allowed to book
03:09 himself as on par with some of the best wrestlers in the world. We all know the deal though,
03:14 let's just accept it for what it is.
03:16 8. Goldberg
03:17 So this one is just gonna divide the audience. I have enjoyed a lot of Goldberg's performances
03:22 since he did surprisingly come back in 2016, and his series with Brock Lesnar was awesome.
03:27 Proper big men hitting man meat stuff.
03:29 Outside of that however, the jury is out. We all remember the stuff with The Fiend,
03:33 we did not need that match with The Undertaker, but there were bright spots with Bobby Lashley
03:36 and Dolph Ziggler. Proper up and down stuff.
03:39 The true shocker was that we got here to begin with. Bill had left WWE in 2004 with no interest
03:44 in ever working with Vince McMahon again, and yet here we were.
03:48 And do you want to know what clicked second time around? Because WWE used Goldberg as
03:52 Goldberg. No silly wigs, no 10 minute plus matches, just the old steam train that underlines
03:57 why he reached the heights he did.
03:58 I would assume he's not done either, and as long as we keep him away from the world
04:01 title and let younger talent beat him, cool. Go nuts. Although if you are worried this
04:06 may not be the plan, and instead Vince sees this as a "in case of emergency smash Bill"
04:11 - yeah I get it, it's number 7 edge.
04:13 This one was truly surreal. When Edge left in 2011 he was forced to because of his neck.
04:18 He was so badly injured doctors told him one bad bump could kill him. He had no choice
04:22 to walk away, even as World Heavyweight Champion. I can't even imagine it.
04:26 Adam Copeland then went and did pretty damn well as an actor before his awesome comeback
04:30 in 2020. He did it right by returning in the Raw Rumble, and seriously, I could watch that
04:35 every day. It is emotion personified.
04:37 Sadly the pandemic then slowed down his feud with Randy Orton, which was totally finished
04:41 off after he suffered a tricep injury. But when he rehabbed that we had all that good
04:45 stuff with Seth Rollins. It was fantastic.
04:47 His Mania 37 main event is also far better than people give it credit for. At the moment
04:52 he's gone full bad guy alongside Damien Priest and loves sitting in big chairs. This is a
04:57 bit strange but it's early days and if anybody can make it work, it's Edge.
05:00 I don't really care to be honest with you though. Even if he had just been in the Rumble
05:04 and then left again, it would still be one of the best moments ever.
05:07 6. Christian Cage
05:09 And it is the same for his best friend and once brother Christian. WWE as ever had no
05:13 idea of his quality as his Rumble return was treated as slight shock as opposed to "oh
05:17 my gosh" - but this is likely why Mr Cage decided to go to AEW ever since he has been
05:22 smashing it.
05:23 Do not forget that Christian was forced into retirement due to concussion issues and therefore
05:27 never expected to compete again. And yet here he was winning the Impact World Title from
05:31 none other than Kenny Omega. This is awesome.
05:34 From there he's proved once again that he is one of the most underappreciated workers
05:37 in history and his relationship with the Jurassic Express has been great. Not only has it slotted
05:41 Christian in and amongst the AEW roster, but his experience is second to none for Jungle
05:46 Boy to learn from.
05:47 As of me talking, it seems likely he will turn heel and maybe even feud with Jungly
05:51 Jim which will help all of this even more. Honestly, any promotion on the planet should
05:55 want Christian, he brings so much to the table.
05:57 And I know, I know, some people weren't happy with how Tony Khan introduced him, but
06:01 please do remember, he's a promoter, his job is to promote.
06:05 5. Stone Cold D-Busted
06:07 I was there live and I still don't believe it. I didn't believe it when the rumours
06:11 started, I didn't believe it when Kevin Owens began calling him out, I didn't believe
06:14 it sat in my seat at WrestleMania. Only when the glass broke on that Saturday night did
06:18 I think it was possible and in my word, just excellent.
06:21 Be it night one when he had an awesome brawl with KO or night two where we repeated all
06:25 the best moments from a classic Monday Night Raw, seeing the Rattlesnakes say goodbye properly
06:29 in Texas was everything you'd want it to be, especially because it was never meant
06:32 to happen.
06:33 He was so banged up when he retired in 2003, even he knew that was likely it, and while
06:38 I'm sure money was a motivating factor, this was the absolute best so who gives a
06:42 flub.
06:43 I'm not sure anybody else could have done this in the way that the Bionic Redneck did
06:45 at 58 years old, and I will finish this off by saying, it really was special.
06:51 4. Sting
06:52 Sting was done.
06:54 After Seth Rollins buckle-bombed him and essentially broke his neck, he stepped away from the ring,
06:58 got inducted into the Hall of Fame and seemingly retired.
07:01 I'm sure he teased a comeback during his speech, but nobody believed it.
07:04 It was over.
07:05 Because wrestling is mad though.
07:06 Not only did he surprise us all by arriving in AEW, but at the age of 60+ started taking
07:12 bumps and falls that no elderly gentleman should be doing, let alone someone who'd
07:16 been told he wasn't in the best shape.
07:17 Sting keeps doing this too, and somehow this is getting better and better.
07:21 There used to be this stupid argument that he wasn't an all-timer, and now that has
07:24 definitely been thrown out the window, and his relationship with Darby Allin has helped
07:27 both guys move forward.
07:29 He's also treated with a crazy amount of respect that he's earned, and it helps
07:32 his aura, and I'll never understand how he's doing it.
07:35 The icon is exactly that, and who knows how much longer he wants to go on.
07:39 To get to 70 at this rate, and I shall support him every step of the way, this has been legendary.
07:45 3. Brock Lesnar
07:46 I mean, how?
07:47 Brock Lesnar was at the top of the food chain in the early 2000s when he went to Vince McMahon
07:51 and told him he was done, and he went home.
07:53 I think we forget how impactful this was because Brock was the man then, and within a space
07:57 of a year had been given everything.
08:00 This was our new star, and now he wasn't there anymore.
08:02 It resulted in lawsuits and less than complimentary words from both sides, and after Lesnar had
08:06 become the king in UFC it felt like he had found his new line of work.
08:10 We should have known.
08:11 Because with his stock higher than ever and a businessman at his heart, Brock and McMahon
08:15 did come to terms on an agreement that saw The Beast return to Raw the night after WrestleMania
08:19 28.
08:20 Just go and watch the fans to see the surprise in their eyes, and ever since he has been
08:24 a monster.
08:25 WWE felt the need to punish him at first because he dared to leave so he had to lose to John
08:29 Cena and Triple H, but after that it has been a crazy run.
08:33 Not only has he become pro wrestling's final boss, but he was also given the honour and
08:37 the rub of defeating The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak.
08:40 You can argue that till the cows come home, and maybe he didn't need it.
08:43 Flub me it gave him some serious momentum.
08:45 Today Brock has done so much, he has to be in the best ever category, and I mean it,
08:50 Lesnar is awesome.
08:51 2.
08:52 Bryan Danielson
08:53 Once again, how did this happen?
08:55 Just go and watch the emotional speech the then Daniel Bryan gave the WWE fans in 2015.
09:00 You won't get through it without cutting some onions, it is the realest thing in the
09:03 world.
09:04 That man was devastated.
09:05 This made sense too as no one loved the art and core of wrestling more than Bryan, so
09:09 when he was taken away from him due to concussion problems, everybody's heart broke.
09:13 Didn't seem fair.
09:14 And then, from nowhere, a rumour started in 2018 that the leader of the Yes Movement had
09:19 found a way to get cleared, and then bang, it was announced for Smackdown and all of
09:23 this rocked.
09:24 And there he has proved he is one of the best ever too, from the planet's WWE Champion
09:27 to having 5 star matches constantly, to everything he's done in AEW.
09:31 Seriously, go and find something bad that he's done, it doesn't exist.
09:35 There's a reason William Regal goes to town with him so much, because Danielson is ridiculously
09:39 good, and all this after a massive absence in the middle where he was used as a general
09:43 manager.
09:44 It also feels like he's on the runner of his life right now, which is saying something,
09:47 and when he does hang up his boots for good, no one will ever come close, especially because
09:52 he was never meant to be back in the ring anyway.
09:54 Just the best story.
09:55 1.
09:56 CM Punk
09:57 I was such a person that felt like CM Punk would never come back to wrestling, because
10:01 why would he?
10:02 He had a more than successful post career, and WWE was the only game in town.
10:06 All you need to do is listen to Punk's story to understand why he wouldn't want that
10:09 in his life.
10:10 It broke him.
10:11 When AEW became a thing though, chatter started again, but even then, this was soon thrown
10:15 out the window as it sounded like Punk and the EVPs were not on the same page, and then
10:20 2021 rolled around.
10:21 All of a sudden there were serious reports that Tony Khan had struck a deal with the
10:25 voice of the voiceless, and when they booked an arena in Chicago on a random day, it seemed
10:29 like this was real.
10:30 And incredibly it was.
10:31 It resulted in one of the best moments to ever grace pro wrestling, and to be honest
10:35 with you, I still can't believe it.
10:37 CM Punk is not only back in the ring, but having matches with the stars of tomorrow,
10:41 and to top it all off, he seems really happy, which is the most important thing in the world.
10:46 He also adds a tremendous amount of worth to All Elite Wrestling, and we're only just
10:50 getting started.
10:51 I can't wait to see how this one pans out.
10:53 Know of any other impossible wrestling returns?
10:56 Make sure you let us know in the comments below and don't forget to like the video,
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