After an emotional farewell to WWE at WrestleMania 42, Brock Lesnar stunned fans when he returned on the May 18 episode of Monday Night Raw.
“The Beast” laid out the man who seemingly sent him packing back in Las Vegas: Oba Femi, setting up a WrestleMania rematch at next Sunday’s Clash in Italy premium live event.
With Lesnar returning to the WWE roster, could we perhaps see more retired names return to the ring.
Here are five more retired WWE stars to potentially return in the future.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
At WWE WrestleMania 38, one of wrestling’s most improbable in-ring returns took place, when Stone Cold Steve Austin came out of retirement to wrestle Kevin Owens in the main event of Night One of “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
At that point, Austin hadn’t competed in 19 years – with his last match being a loss to The Rock at WrestleMania 19 in 2003.
In the four years since Austin’s return, speculation has persisted regarding “The Texas Rattlesnake” competing one more time – particularly around WrestleMania season.
Saudi Arabia reportedly wants to see this happen at next year’s WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh, however, Austin is said to be content with his match with Owens four years ago being his last, so this one is most definitely a question mark.
Adam Pearce
While his SmackDown counterpart Nick Aldis is “far from done” when it comes to his in-ring career, Adam Pearce seems perfectly content with just being the authority figure on Monday Night Raw, despite the constant stress he seems to endure in the role.
At 47 years old, however, Pearce is the same age as former World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, and seemingly keeps himself in great shape.
With Pearce continually having his buttons pushed by members of the Raw roster, perhaps one day, someone will overstep their bounds too much, prompting Pearce to lace up his boots one more time.
With a storied career outside of WWE, including five reigns as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Pearce schooling a younger talent, before ultimately suffering a loss would be a nice way to give him one last match on a big stage.
LayCool
In an interview with Sportshadow Wrestling earlier this month, former WWE Divas & Women’s Champion Layla confirmed she would be open to making a return to a WWE ring, if it was for a reunion with former tag team partner Michelle McCool.
Collectively LayCool ran roughshod over the women’s division in the late 2000s/early 2010s, before McCool retired from wrestling in 2011. Layla remained a part of the company for four years after that before also retiring in 2015.
During LayCool’s peak the women’s division was not what it is right now, with very little emphasis on in-ring performances and a lack of creative investment or TV time given to talent.
With McCool already proving she can still go inside the ring during her appearances in the 2022 and 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble Matches, perhaps we could see one more run from LayCool in the future, joining other returning figures from the “Divas Era” such as The Bella Twins, AJ Lee and Paige.
AJ Styles
The most recent retiree on this list, AJ Styles called time on his “Phenomenal” near three decade long in-ring career at the 2026 Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Losing to GUNTHER, much like John Cena did one month prior, Styles hung up his boots and despite some early teases that he may not be done in the ring, he has since moved into a behind the scenes role in WWE and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last month.
While it’s perhaps not likely any time soon due to Styles’ apparent joy at being retired, who’s to say that “The Phenomenal One” couldn’t be tempted back into the ring in the future.
During a sit down with Stephanie McMahon following his retirement, Styles said “never say never” to a potential future return and suggested he would consider it if his son decides to follow in his footsteps and become a pro wrestler.
Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE) has been gone from the company for five years now, with his final match being a loss to Roman Reigns on the April 30, 2021 episode of SmackDown.
Danielson joined AEW later that year at All Out, debuting in the same segment as fellow new signing Adam Cole, and on the same night CM Punk made his in-ring return following a seven year absence.
While Punk and AEW proved to be a bad fit, Danielson has truly called the company home and doesn’t seem to be in any rush to move back to WWE, despite having such a legendary run in the company in. the past.
Danielson’s in-ring career, whether in AEW or WWE appears to be over, with his neck issues making it highly unlikely we see a return any time soon. With his wife Brie Bella now back in WWE however, perhaps if Danielson’s neck improves, one final run in WWE could be on the cards, as well as a rightful induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
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