Jack Hammer seems to have this mostly nailed...
Of the wrestlers currently listed, I'd say that Petey Williams is someone who'd probably be most likely to come back. After all, he's made a couple of appearances in TNA this year, so I don't think it'd be all that difficult to get him back full time if they really wanted him.
This.
TNA seems to have Petey at their beck and call as far as pay-per-appearance bookings. Though he got a little bit of success and TV exposure with LLUSA, he never really caught on or locked in anywhere. He's there if TNA wants him,and I really like Petey don't get me wrong, I'm just honestly not sure if he's worth more to the company than being a pay-per-appearance spot-in right now.
As an aside, most of what I just said also applies to Sonjay Dutt.
As Alex pointed out, Alex Shelley seems to be doing pretty well for himself in Japan. He & his tag partner Kushida won the 2012 Super Junior Tag Tournament back on November 2nd, won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 9 days later, held them for nearly 6 months and are #1 contenders for the titles again. So Shelley isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
This.
We all want Shelley back and a MCMG feud or reunion would be outstanding, but its not happening.
Shelley has said that venturing over to NJPW has rejuvenated what was a dying love for the business, he's not risking losing that.
Jerry Lynn is probably the ultimate indy guy and, if I'm not mistaken, officially retired on the 25th anniversary of his very first pro wrestling match earlier this year. Now that doesn't necessarily mean anything as wrestlers retire and come out of retirement all the time. However, Lynn's also 50 years old and the days in which he may have been able to be a long term star are over with.
This.
Lynn is a legend and one of the main influences on the modern indy/cruiser mainstay style. But he is done. He had a respectful and appropriate retirement tour. He even had a decent last run with TNA, plus gave TNA a match on his retirement tour for the X-division ONO special. Let the man breathe now.
Jay Lethal looks to have been doing pretty well for himself out on the indy scene and in ROH. He could probably make a return to TNA. He's a young guy, only 28 years of age, and he's got a long history with the company. He's tied with AJ Styles & Chris Sabin as having the most reigns as X Division Champion in company history with 6.
This.
He is locked in to contract and seems to be happy with ROH. However I will say that after he failed to win the title in his program with Steen last year/earlier this year, he has essentially been spinning his wheels there and probably will never get the one thing he returned there for- the ROH world title.
So with that said if TNA shows real interest when his ROH contract expires, I doubt a return is out of the question. And it would be greatly welcomed. It seems the Randy Savage nostalgia is at an all time high and I always thought Lethal was great at, and had a lot of fun being, "Black Machismo". They also only scratched the tip with him as a Flair impersonator as well, and it'd be entertaining to see him return in that role.
He has also improved at being entertaining and more charismatic and likeable when just being himself. He has a storied history with the company and they could really benefit from pressing for him when he's available.
Yes when it comes to Low Ki...
I've read any number of articles & stories saying that he has a major attitude problem and is difficult to work with. I dunno if it's true or not but
Oh by all accounts its very true.
So that;
But Not This...
generally speaking, the guy's not really gonna bring anything to the table that I can see. He's not exactly loaded down with charisma and I don't think most people, beyond very die hard fans of TNA from the beginning, will care.
I disagree mightily.
The guy is fun as hell to watch. He gets over everywhere he goes. He has an established history with old TNA fans. He got even more exposure and will be recognized by even more people from his time on NXT when it was nationally televised and pulling bigger numbers than Impact.
C'mon Jack-Hammer? You know as well as I do the guy WON his NXT season. It is apparent he was even over on a WWE stage and they saw something in him and were trying to give him a chance before he flaked out despite the fact that he had the stigma of a true TNA-original, and no prior WWE history.
And any other doubters can just look back at Dest-X 2011. He was just as over as Aries. They wanted to sign both(as well as a deserving Jack Evans who was almost as over as they were) but couldn't afford it. Just from a couple of return matches against talented opposition the crowd was salivating to see more Low Ki. The internet buzzed with the possibility he could be "August1 Warning". His mic work is underrated and his ring work puts him on par with the AJ's, Aries's, Joe's, Roode's, Daniels's, etc. amongst the best in the company. With his past with Daniels and Triple-X he would even be an ideal surprise 4th member for EGO as we head into next year and need to set up things like Lethal Lockdown for example.
Ultimately, even if any or all of them returned, I don't think it'd matter if TNA keeps the X Division as practically random matches between interchangeable cruiserweights. It's looking as though Austin Aries might be back in the X Division Championship picture, or feuding with Chris Sabin for BFG, so at least that's a start.
and This.
If TNA got two or three of these guys back yet still let the X-divison flounder then its all for naught.
I just can't see that happening. I think the next step for "focusing the X-division" is to start allowing the stars of the company who fit into the division to freely transition back and forth between the X-divison and the other divisions including the main event picture, skewing it more toward an alternative title with a niche, than the crusier/lower mid-card title it became. And if that is the case, the likes of Shelley, Lethal, and Low Ki are perfect editions. All have history with the company and have proven to have the potential if used correctly to become more than just midcard filler.
