This isn't a list about jumps: this is a list about who best made the impossible possible...
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00:00So many times over the years, we as fans have gone, well that wrestler is never coming back.
00:04Be it the way they left the company, or the fact they were forced out due to injury, everything
00:09is telling us that they're done. This is wrestling though. Somehow the unthinkable
00:13keeps happening.
00:14Regardless of how they do return, the joy is always in the fact that they did come back
00:17at all. But just for fun, I'm Simon from WhatCulture, please hit that subscribe button,
00:22and here's every impossible return, ranked from worst to best.
00:2611. Bret Hart
00:28Let me make this very clear, Bret Hart is number one on my all time list, and for me
00:32is the best. Seeing him get his due over the last few years has been wonderful.
00:36When he did leave the then WWF in 1997 after the Montreal Screwjob though, come on now,
00:42not only did no fan think he was ever coming back, Hart would tell you this. Constantly.
00:46He got done over by Vincent Kennedy McMahon, so that was that.
00:50As already mentioned, you never say never, and in 2010 it was announced that The Hitman
00:54was going to be on Raw. I remember being stunned by this because I could not believe
00:59it, and I'm still a little mad that he didn't get a bigger reaction. People should have
01:03lost their minds.
01:04It of course tied into an angle with McMahon, and this is when things fell down a little
01:07bit. We had the story all ready to go in real life, but for some reason we added weird twists
01:12to it such as a car accident that didn't make any sense.
01:16Hearing Bret talk about his WrestleMania 26 match will put it into context as he needed
01:20that after the Survivor Series and the awful stroke he suffered, but this was never going
01:24to be able to live up to expectations. Sadly Hart was too hurt, and WWE didn't really
01:29get what they had.
01:30Who's ever.
01:3110. Shawn Michaels
01:32I don't get all this, he ruined his legacy nonsense. Did he? Or can we just ignore the
01:37part we didn't like and pretend it never happened? Yes, yes we can.
01:41This is the best way to treat Shawn Michaels' comeback in 2018, as a massive paycheck was
01:45enough to convince the Hart Broke Kid it was worth doing one more match and he was right.
01:49Would any of us have turned down this much money? No we wouldn't have.
01:53That's not to say it worked out, because it didn't. At all. It was like the wrestling
01:57powers in the sky decided this tag bout between him and Triple H vs The Brothers of Destruction
02:02had to be cursed. I mean I started looking around for Danhausen.
02:05Because the Game tore his peck, Kane's mask fell off, The Undertaker was not at 100%,
02:10and Shawn at one point fell on his head, it was terrifying.
02:13Don't think these four didn't know this afterwards either, just look at Michaels'
02:17face when all was said and done, or listen to his interviews. He knew, and I'm sure
02:20now he just laughs his ass off. That's the healthy way to do it.
02:24This still doesn't mean it was a successful comeback though. It most definitely wasn't.
02:299. Shane McMahon
02:30I don't think anybody thought Shane McMahon was about to make his return to Raw in early
02:342016. Or at least I didn't. I remember hearing, here comes the money, hit, and genuinely being
02:40stunned. That was quite the moment.
02:42He got a mega pop as well which made this feel like a massive deal, when we learned
02:45that he would be facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, with the contents of a lockbox
02:50being the focus.
02:51It was also true as even though he lost to The Deadman, Shane was still made the GM of
02:55Raw, making this whole thing pointless but look. He took that crazy bump off the top
02:59of the cell, he then had a really good match with AJ Styles, and got involved with some
03:02other nonsense. The less said about the Braun Strowman stuff, the better.
03:05But it was decent all things considered, aside from the times McMahon was allowed to book
03:09himself as on par with some of the best wrestlers in the world. We all know the deal though,
03:14let's just accept it for what it is.
03:168. Goldberg
03:17So this one is just gonna divide the audience. I have enjoyed a lot of Goldberg's performances
03:22since he did surprisingly come back in 2016, and his series with Brock Lesnar was awesome.
03:27Proper big men hitting man meat stuff.
03:29Outside of that however, the jury is out. We all remember the stuff with The Fiend,
03:33we did not need that match with The Undertaker, but there were bright spots with Bobby Lashley
03:37and Dolph Ziggler. Proper up and down stuff.
03:39The true shocker was that we got here to begin with. Bill had left WWE in 2004 with no interest
03:44in ever working with Vince McMahon again, and yet here we were.
03:48And do you want to know what clicked second time around? Because WWE use Goldberg as Goldberg.
03:53No silly wigs, no 10 minute plus matches, just the old steam train that underlines why
03:57he reached the heights he did.
03:59I would assume he's not done either, and as long as we keep him away from the world
04:02title and let younger talent beat him, cool. Go nuts. Although if you are worried this
04:06may not be the plan, and instead Vince sees this as a in case of emergency smash Bill,
04:11yeah I get it, it's number 7 edge.
04:13This one was truly surreal. When Edge left in 2011, he was forced to because of his neck.
04:18He was so badly injured, doctors told him one bad bump could kill him. He had no choice
04:23to walk away, even as World Heavyweight Champion, and I can't even imagine it.
04:27Adam Copeland then went and did pretty damn well as an actor before his awesome comeback
04:30in 2020. He did it right by returning in the Raw Rumble, and seriously, I could watch that
04:35every day, it is emotion personified.
04:37Sadly the pandemic then slowed down his feud with Randy Orton, which was totally finished
04:41off after he suffered a tricep injury, but when he rehabbed that, we had all that good
04:45stuff with Seth Rollins, it was fantastic. His Mania 37 main event is also far better
04:50than people give it credit for, and at the moment he's gone full bad guy alongside
04:54Damien Priest and loves sitting in big chairs. This is a bit strange, but it's early days,
04:58and if anybody can make it work, it's Edge.
05:01I don't really care to be honest with you though, even if he had just been in the Rumble
05:04and then left again, it would still be one of the best moments ever.
05:076. Christian Cage
05:09And it is the same for his best friend and once brother Christian. WWE as ever had no
05:13idea of his quality as his Rumble return was treated as slight shock as opposed to oh my
05:18gosh, but this is likely why Mr Cage decided to go to AEW ever since he has been smashing
05:23it.
05:24Do not forget that Christian was forced into retirement due to concussion issues and therefore
05:27never expected to compete again, and yet here he was winning the Impact World title from
05:31none other than Kenny Omega, this is awesome.
05:34From there he's proved once again that he is one of the most underappreciated workers
05:37in history, and his relationship with the Jurassic Express has been great. Not only
05:41has it slotted Christian in and amongst the AEW roster, but his experience is second to
05:45none for Jungle Boy to learn from.
05:47As of me talking, it seems likely he will turn heel and maybe even feud with Jungly
05:51Jim, which will help all of this even more, and honestly, any promotion on the planet
05:55should want Christian, he brings so much to the table.
05:58And I know, I know, some people weren't happy with how Tony Khan introduced him, but
06:02please do remember, he's a promoter, his job is to promote.
06:055. Stone Cold D-Busted
06:07I was there live, and I still don't believe it. I didn't believe it when the rumours
06:11started, I didn't believe it when Kevin Owens began calling him out, I didn't believe
06:14it sat in my seat at WrestleMania. Only when the glass broke on that Saturday night did
06:18I think it was possible, and in my word, just excellent.
06:22Be it night one when he had an awesome brawl with KO, or night two where we repeated all
06:25the best moments from a classic Monday Night Raw, seeing the Rattlesnakes say goodbye properly
06:29in Texas was everything you'd want it to be, especially because it was never meant
06:33to happen.
06:34He was so banged up when he retired in 2003, even he knew that was likely it, and while
06:38I'm sure money was a motivating factor, this was the absolute best so who gives a
06:42flub.
06:43I'm not sure anybody else could have done this in the way that the Bionic Redneck did
06:46at 58 years old, and I will finish this off by saying, it really was special.
06:514. Sting
06:52Sting was done.
06:54After Seth Rollins buckle-bombed him and essentially broke his neck, he stepped away from the ring,
06:58got inducted into the Hall of Fame and seemingly retired.
07:01I'm sure he teased a comeback during his speech, but nobody believed it.
07:05It was over.
07:06Because wrestling is mad though.
07:07Not only did he surprise us all by arriving in AEW, but at the age of 60 plus started
07:12taking bumps and falls that no elderly gentleman should be doing, let alone someone who'd
07:16been told he wasn't in the best shape.
07:18Sting keeps doing this too, and somehow this is getting better and better.
07:21There used to be this stupid argument that he wasn't an all-timer, and now that has
07:24definitely been thrown out the window, and his relationship with Darby Allin has helped
07:28both guys move forward.
07:29He's also treated with a crazy amount of respect that he's earned, and it helps his
07:33aura, and I'll never understand how he's doing it.
07:35The icon is exactly that, and who knows how much longer he wants to go on.
07:39To get to 70 at this rate, and I shall support him every step of the way, this has been legendary.
07:453. Brock Lesnar
07:46I mean, how?
07:47Brock Lesnar was at the top of the food chain in the early 2000s when he went to Vince McMahon
07:51and told him he was done, and he went home.
07:54I think we forget how impactful this was because Brock was the man then, and within a space
07:58of a year had been given everything, this was our new star, and now he wasn't there
08:02anymore.
08:03It resulted in lawsuits and less than complimentary words from both sides, and after Lesnar had
08:06become the king in UFC it felt like he had found his new line of work, but we should
08:10have known.
08:11Because with his stock higher than ever and a businessman at his heart, Brock and McMahon
08:15did come to terms on an agreement that saw The Beast return to Raw the night after WrestleMania
08:2028.
08:21Just go and watch the fans to see the surprise in their eyes, and ever since he has been
08:24a monster.
08:25WWE felt the need to punish him at first because he dared to leave so he had to lose to John
08:29Cena and Triple H, but after that it has been a crazy run.
08:33Not only has he become pro wrestling's final boss, but he was also given the honour and
08:37the rub of defeating The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak.
08:40You can argue that till the cows come home, and maybe he didn't need it, but flub me
08:43it gave him some serious momentum.
08:45Today Brock has done so much, he has to be in the best ever category, and I mean it,
08:50Lesnar is awesome.
08:512.
08:52Bryan Danielson
08:53Once again, how did this happen?
08:56Just go and watch the emotional speech that then-Daniel Bryan gave the WWE fans in 2015.
09:00You won't get through it without cutting some onions, it is the realest thing in the
09:04world.
09:05That man was devastated.
09:06This made sense too as no one loved the art and core of wrestling more than Bryan, so
09:09when he was taken away from him due to concussion problems, everybody's heart broke.
09:13Didn't seem fair.
09:14And then, from nowhere, a rumour started in 2018 that the leader of the Yes Movement had
09:19found a way to get cleared, and then bang, it was announced for Smackdown and all of
09:23this rocked.
09:24From there, he has proved he is one of the best ever too, from the planet's WWE Champion
09:28to having 5 star matches constantly, to everything he's done in AEW.
09:31Seriously, go and find something bad that he's done, it doesn't exist.
09:35There's a reason William Regal goes to town with him so much, because Danielson is ridiculously
09:39good, and all this after a massive absence in the middle where he was used as a general
09:44manager.
09:45It also feels like he's on the runner of his life right now, which is saying something,
09:48and when he does hang up his boots for good, no one will ever come close, especially because
09:52he was never meant to be back in the ring anyway.
09:55Just the best story.
09:561.
09:57CM Punk
09:58I was such a person that felt like CM Punk would never come back to wrestling, because
10:01why would he?
10:02He had a more than successful post-career, and WWE was the only game in town.
10:06All you need to do is listen to Punk's story to understand why he wouldn't want that
10:09in his life.
10:10It broke him.
10:11When AEW became a thing, though, chatter started again, but even then, this was soon thrown
10:15out the window as it sounded like Punk and the EVPs were not on the same page, and then
10:202021 rolled around.
10:22All of a sudden, there were serious reports that Tony Khan had struck a deal with The
10:25Voice of the Voiceless, and when they booked an arena in Chicago on a random day, it seemed
10:29like this was real, and incredibly it was.
10:32It resulted in one of the best moments to ever grace pro wrestling, and to be honest
10:35with you, I still can't believe it.
10:37CM Punk is not only back in the ring, but having matches with the stars of tomorrow,
10:41and to top it all off, he seems really happy, which is the most important thing in the world.
10:46He also adds a tremendous amount of worth to All Elite Wrestling, and we're only just
10:50getting started.
10:51I cannot wait to see how this one pans out.
10:54Know of any other impossible wrestling returns?
10:56Make sure you let us know in the comments below and don't forget to like the video,
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