Epic/Awful Returns (From Injuries/Retirement/Etc)

[BWEEZY2009]

Not exactly sure if this thread has ever been done before. If so, I do apologize in advance but I've never seen it in my time here.

Using Youtube Magic this morning and came across the

HHH epic 2002 return from his first quad tear.

If you don't remember the setting was January of 2002 right before the Royal Rumble. HHH was injured the May before when helping his parter SCSA escape the Wall of Jericho. The WWE advertised the return of the Game for weeks with U2's "Beautiful Day" Highlight video showing the best of the Game's career. That night's Raw continued to hype the return up until about 10 till the hour when the Motorhead music hit! JR says it best "this is as big of an ovation as I've ever heard in my years when coming to the Garden" Quite possibly the biggest pop of the decade. This moment seems like it's going to be ruined when our smug Olympic gold medalist has to crash the party. Angle than charges the ring and seems to be getting the best when HHH goes into Hulk mode and cleans house. The Raw goes off the air with the Game throwing Angle over the top rope and announcing his bid for the 2002 Royal Rumble! Props to the writing/advertising/MSG

This made me thought of all the great and awful returns.

The Undertaker at Judgement Day 2000

HHH and Rock were in the homestretch of their Ironman match when the little girls came on the titantron.... "pray my soul is not to keep, and never step outside this bed and into all evil, now back from the dead" Next thing you know everyone's favorite deadman is now everyone's favorite American Badass! Undertaker rides down and absolutely cleans house (and accidentally causing the Rock the ironman match)

Ric Flair's return after Survivor Series 2001

Oh I can here it now.. Vinny Mac with his cocky smile "As THE sole owner of the World Wrestling Federation allow me to" And the Nature Boy's music hits in Flair Country! The look on Vinny Mac's face along with JR's comment "this can't be who I think it is..is this a mirage?" made this moment just amazing. You also have King on heel color with "Flair's trying to get a cheap pop in his hometown, he's not in the WWF.. Get security!" Nach than proceeds to say "boy did I bet on a WINNER last night (survivor series)" Vince than tells the nach it was nice to see him but "GOODBYE." Flair than said wait a moment and goes on to tell Vince what really happened when Shane and Stephanie sold their stock.

Once again... Vince's face alongside the commentary and Flair's antics made this moment golden!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHnY0q3stf8

Save Us Y2J!

Even in a time where almost every storyline/return/signing can be found on the internet, this video was still a mystery! Don't get me wrong, there were those who said it was going to be Jericho. Then there were those who said "I knew it was going to be Jericho" (when the week before they didn't have a clue) We were forced to watch that dumb guy run that Torch across the country within two hours, and finally when he gets to the arena.. BAM! The familiar pose hits after a clothesline and the code begins to decipher. Jericho than comes out to one of the biggest pops in the post attitude era.

The Champ is here?

It wasn't even being discussed on the dirt sheets! Cena wasn't even suppose to be ready for Wrestlemania three months down the road. Their is about 5-6 guys in the ring and number 30 is about to be called. The only legit superstar still left in the match was HHH (his character was some what stale at this point and no one really wanted to see him win the rumble again). Once again one of these moments is happening at the greatest arena in the world MSG. All of a sudden the music hits and its none other than John Cena! All around great booking and props to the writers on this! It almost ruined Edge's moment this year, because we now expect that 27-30 spot to be a return possibly.


Now to point our attention the half empty returns.

Instantly classic for who?

Christian was coming off a very successful run in Total Nonstop Action. Dixie Carter than writes on her twitter/website that she doesn't know why people are speculating that Christian was still a free agent, and that he HAS signed a contract with the WWE. Even knowing that he was going to be coming back, was that the best they could of done? I don't know if it was the fact they debuted him on the C show or the fact the commentary was just awful but IMO it was almost a slap in the face to Christian. A lot of people on here speculating it was Vince's way of punishing Christian for going to TNA.. if that is or isn't the case either way it sucked. (and I'm a huge fan of Christian)


Feel free to comment on my picks.. and also feel free to add your own or post vids of yours!

 

[Ferbian]

I completely agree with Triple H's return in 2002, hell the return in 2007 was epic as well, both of them was very well handled, of course Triple H's return in 2002 were the bigger one, but I absolutely loved the "we can rebuild him" promo that was run before he entered the arena to fight Booker T.

Chris Jericho's return was also incredible, he had an epic return promo where he seemed charismatic as ever, and I loved that he had dropped the fact that he seemed like he was struggling to pronounce "ever" so it ended up properly pronounced, one of my favorite promos of all time.

A awful one would perhaps be the one I would consider to be Edge's return in 2010, it was decent, but the moment he did return there were certainly a small cheer over it all, but it wasn't anything extreme, the pop weren't over the top, it was obvious he was gonna win Royal Rumble, and I felt that it could've been hyped so much better than it actually was.

 

[Vash21]

I would have to say that Jericho's return had the most impact due to the videos that came with it, it was found out too soon though. By the time he came out it was no longer a secret.

Anything involving Cena is junk in my opinion so his early return didn't suprise or excite me.

 

[3,000 Pound Gorrilla]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-72amQgPJnc

Brett Hart.... Back in the WWE. Huge for any fan around my age. All the returns discussed thus far have been epic. I am a Triple H mark myself. So I await his next return. BUT... for sheer nostalgia, who would have ever thought the Excellence of Execution would be in the same ring with HBK or VKM again ever?? Maybe his pop wasn't as big as HHH or Cena or 'Taker. But, I mean after the screwjob, this was not supposed to happen.

And there you have it.

 

[Scared Stiff]

If we are talking about awful returns, we have to mention Buff Bagwell's return to WCW from a major neck injury just to immediately turn heel and kill off any authentic compassion from the crowd.

My personal favorite return of all time was Ultimate Warriors surprise return at Wrestlemania VIII to save Hogan from Sid Justice and Papa Shango.

 

[nightmare]

yes vash21, by the time jericho came out it was no longer a secret.
obviously. once i saw the rabbit i knew he was in the hat all along.... round of applause to captian obvious.


one of my alltime fav returns beside hhh after the quad tear... is sting's return in wcw. the shadow like figure high above the ring. just waiting for him to talk or drop down from the rafters was great.


kurt angles 1st appearance in tna was fuckin huge. as well as when rvd showed up on impact recently as well. man, the place came unglued when he showed up.

one of the worst would be suicide imo. and unfortunately hall\xpac was as well. the nwo is dead, so give it up guys.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Hogan making his return at Bash at the Beach that launched the birth of the New World Order.

HHH coming back from the first quad tear was pretty awesome.

Y2J's debut was awesome, his return sucked.

Undertaker making the return/debut of the American Badass character was amazing, probably my favorite.

Edge's return at this years Royal Rumble was totally predictable to me and not very exciting either.

Ricky Steamboat making his return to the NWA/WCW when he was Eddie Gilberts mystery partner against Ric Flair and Barry Windham was pretty awesome as well.

Lex Luger returning on the debut episode of WCW Monday Nitro was pretty big as well.

 

[#Britton#]

One of my fave returns was shawn micheals after randy punted him in the head, (cant remeber why shawn took time off though)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fsbbBqFGzU


One of the worse like many have said is christians, he could of had a jericho level return but nooo vince hates tna so he sends him to ecw, (that did suprise me on the night though) with the worlds worse commentry (once again previously stated) Ohh if only jr was their he would of done it right

 

[mreastbay]

Im speaking of only injuries, cuz in my eyes.....the roar of the crowd when the first time ever....the words........JERICHO......appeared on the Titan Tron....it set the debut standard......sorry Santina.

Cena getting #30 at the Rumble......now im not talking about winning it, but showing up really does come to mind first. Im not personally a Cena fan, but im pretty sure most thought HHH was walking out the Rumble the winner by that point (Batista, the next biggest threat was #9 i think). But COMPLETELY marked out when John Cena, a guy not talked about in weeks appeared as #30. Look back on it......the crowd, dead. But for a good 3-4 seconds.....regardless of if you liked him or not....your first words were HOLY SH*T!!! Reality set in pretty fast afterwords....but Cena OWNED MSG for that brief moment. And saved that PPV. IMO

Undertaker appearing between CMPunks legs after he beat Hardy was pretty EPIC too....but i dont think that was an injury.

Oh, also about Christians debut......I think he was originally supposed to be the guy screwing with Jeff Hardy for a few months, but it "became to odvious" or something. So they switched it to Matt.....guess they sent Christian to ECW so, at least, they could be used at WM.......other plans tied him up.

I thought Billy Gunn coming back to atack Edge @ KOTR 2000 (I think....) was pretty pointlessand stupid. Fued was once sided and really is most remembered for the awesome insults thrown Billy Bitchcakes way. That how you wanna treat a former KOTR (when it meant something)? It was the beggining of the end for his World Championship hopes......and most definatly a pre-cursor to Billy/Chuck.

 

[Big Sexy]

I guess I'm in the minority but I think Jericho's return was overrated. When the messages first started to appear it was intriguing but after a while it was obvious who was coming back. His comeback promo was good but definitely not the best promo he has ever cut. There was just something missing from the return and to me it wasn't anything too special. I much prefer his debut with the company.

One of my favorite returns was in 2002 when Shawn Michaels made his return to the WWE as part of the NWO. He hadn't been on TV for about a year and hadn't really been around full time for almost 3 years. It was weird seeing him with an NWO shirt on but he got a huge pop and it was great seeing him reunite with Kevin Nash.

 

[mlola]

Stone Cold Steve Austin's return at No Way Out 2003 after walking out on the WWE the year before. Eric Bischoff made it his goal to bring back Austin (storyline-wise) and when the match announced was Austin vs. Bischoff which had some real heat going into it because of the way Bischoff fired him from WCW. Here it is in case you don't recall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq02CTl4cm0

 

[admaildaniel]

I think a great return that gets overlooked is when Marty Janetty returned after being thrown through the barbershop window. Not exactly main event, but when Shawn saw him, he actually looked like he was seeing a ghost.

I'm not sure if this counts but to me an awful return would be when Mr. Kennedy came back from his last injury in WWE and promptly injured himself again (although not seriously) and was subsequently fired.

 

[Brahma Bull]

the best i remember was the rocks when he returned to lead the wwe against the alliance. i know he wasnt gone for long, but he was either going to be the white knight for the wwe, or the final nail in the coffin for them. it was done really well and was the best return in my opinion.

 

[mister_b1LL]

Epic:

Shawn Michaels return to wrestling in 2002. After 4 years without the Showstopper fighting in the ring, not only do we see HBK return to the ring but we see him return as a member of the NWO.

The Rock's return in 2002. I don't remember exactly when but it was when everybody was expecting Austin to return including Vince, and when some guy came up and told him it wasn't. Vince was all, "The 'He' you were talking about wasn't Stone Cold, then who the hell was the 'He' you were talking about?" All of a sudden "IF YA SMELLLLL!!!" Man what a pop, and of course JR's unforgettable, "OH MY GOD!!!"

Awful:

Eugene's return to possibly get a contract again with the WWE, only to get beat by the Calgary Kid aka The Miz.

D'Lo Brown's return. I was really hoping they would go somewhere with D'Lo but his second stint just B'lo'd. No big matches and a firing that didn't ring any bells due to his long period of inactivity before he was canned.

 

[wwefan2010]

First off on the Jericho return, I think everyone knew he was return a month or more ahead of time. They just kept dragging out his return, there were 2 ppvs where there was big speculation he would return at. Everyone was kept waiting for far too long and then to top it off he is suppose to save us from Orton but lose to Orton right away. So that kinda fizzled that.

Another Rock return that comes to mind is against the alliance when Vince comes out and begs The Rock to return to the WWE only for Shane to try to pull The Rock to the alliance which set up his Return and which side would he choose.

Undertaker The dead shall rise again at Wrestlemania. Everything done to Kane from Royal Rumble and on every Raw was just epic. One of the best builds I think I can remember seeing. I also liked Paul Bearer returning there too, however I do think they should have done something where the Undertaker actually did rise at Wrestlemania instead of walking out, but was still very well done.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I thought that Triple H returning from his quad tear was epic! HUGE pop from the crowd, The Game looking insanely jacked up, new music, and the entrance went on for aaaaagggeeessss!

The nWo return in 2002, with with in the ring saying "These men... HOGAN...HALL...AND NASH!!" It was great to see the nWo in WWE, such a missed opportunity to do something big i think

Goldberg returning to wrestling to challenge The Rock was great too, luckily they gave him music really similar to his WCW theme se everyone knew who it was straight away

 

[a1n1hbk]

I m gonna say HBK's return to wrestling HHH in 2002 after no thought he will ever be able to do this again.Sure as JR mentioned that night "Many of our younger fans are not familiar with Shawn Micheals...", but boy what a come back and what a performance.

Next will be Game's return from injury in MSG. Well that might be one of the biggest pops you will ever here. Even though HHH was a mega heel when he got injured,the crowd went nuts when Game marked his return.

Another one will be Rock's come back to save the WWF in brand war, i know he went to shoot for the movie and was coming back but the pop he got just amazing.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I'm just thinking of recent memory here

EPIC - Goldberg's return to the WWE. That was epic in a sense he was gone for almost 2 years and when he came back he made a statement by spearing and beating The Rock (who was fresh off of beating Austin). Yeah it was expected but once the music hit it was like "OMG it finally happened". Ok so his WWE run wasn't the best, but I thought it was still an effective short stint by having a brisk main event run.

AWFUL - Kevin Nash return in 2002 after being injured he re injured himself in first match back. All I can say is that was quite embarassing and it was proabably an indication that he should just have retired instead of having that terrible rivalry and return with HHH a year later which was a pretty bad return as well.

 

[harrythem]

For me the most epic return was ECW for the original One Night Stand event. In one evening they managed to give the right mixture of nostalga, promos, hype and action without going overboard. Was a top event.

Awful was the WWE return of ECW the following year, what a complete balls up that was!

 

[Cookie14]

My favourite has to be HHH return from his first quad tear. It had been built up for ages, and when it finally happened, it didn't disappoint.

I actually thought that Jericho's return was pretty poor. It was just too predictable. (The same goes for any rturn EVER by Hogan or The Rock, sure they get a massive pop, but the end result is always a let down IMO)

I also like the occasional returns from Vince McMahon.You know that when he comes back, something big is usually about to happen

 

[D's Nuts Radio]

Might not be a return but I marked the hell out when I saw Hogan back in red and yellow after getting kicked out of the WWENWO. Brought me back to childhood.
HHH's MSG return was also awesome.

Jericho's "Save Us" return sucked. I just sat there saying "come on we know it's him. just have him come out already."

 

[That Don Guy]

AWFUL - Kevin Nash return in 2002 after being injured he re injured himself in first match back. All I can say is that was quite embarassing and it was proabably an indication that he should just have retired instead of having that terrible rivalry and return with HHH a year later which was a pretty bad return as well.

Not just "in his first match back", but about 15 seconds after getting into the ring for the first time, he pretty much stumbles over Booker T and tears a quadricep.

Epic? Probably DDP's appearance in WWE after WCW folded (I think he got some sort of payment from Time Warner and didn't wrestle for a while because of it).

-- Don