On the September 5 edition of SmackDown, AJ Lee made her long-awaited return to WWE.
While not yet officially announced, it appears certain that she will compete in her first match since March 2015 – which was a six-woman tag in which she teamed with Naomi and Paige to defeat Natalya and The Bella Twins – at Wrestlepalooza 2025, in a mixed tag team bout alongside her real-life partner CM Punk, facing off against another married couple, Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
Although many believed Lee would never return, her comeback is further proof that in WWE, almost every legend returns eventually.
So, the question becomes: who could be next? Here are five more potential comebacks.
5. Dolph Ziggler
After a near 20-year run, WWE stalwart Dolph Ziggler was released by the company in 2023.
Since leaving, under his real name Nic Nemeth, he has appeared in some of the world’s top promotions, including New Japan Pro-Wrestling, AAA and TNA Wrestling.
He is currently one of the featured stars in WWE’s partner promotion TNA, where he has formed a tag team with his brother, Ryan Nemeth.
It seems more likely than not that the 45-year-old will return to his original stomping grounds sooner rather than later.
Click the next page button below for more
4. Paige
Paige made her iconic main roster debut in WWE the night after WrestleMania 30, challenging and defeating AJ Lee for the Divas Championship.
Now, with one of her career rivals Lee back in the company, is Paige’s own return imminent?
Speculation has been growing ever since Saraya – known as Paige in WWE – left AEW earlier in the year.
Whether WWE has contacted her or not remains unknown, but a return feels inevitable – and the real question may be: could we see Paige and AJ Lee square off once again in a WWE ring?
Click the next page button below for more
3. Chris Jericho
There has been significant talk in recent weeks about Chris Jericho returning to WWE.
Jericho addressed the rumours in an interview with The Daily Mail, stating, “So I’m not going anywhere for a while, I’m still with AEW for right now.”
However, he also added that he “wouldn’t be opposed” to returning to WWE.
His AEW contract doesn’t run out until the end of the year, so he’s telling the truth that he’s not going anywhere “for a while” – but that might only be a short while!
Click the next page button below for more
3. The Hurt Syndicate
Much has been made recently of backstage reports that MVP has been involved in some issues behind the scenes in AEW, reportedly lobbying against the idea of his Hurt Syndicate faction losing matches against certain teams.
MVP is far from the only former WWE star to have reportedly been involved in backstage disagreements in AEW – there have been several, from the most famous example in CM Punk to others like Rusev and Andrade.
Interestingly, all of those individuals have returned to WWE.
Perhaps we could see the same thing happen with the Hurt Syndicate (Hurt Business in WWE) members, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Bobby Lashley.
Click the next page button below for more
1. Brie Bella
Since Nikki Bella returned to WWE programming in June, speculation has swirled about the return of her twin sister and fellow WWE Hall of Famer, Brie Bella.
Much of the talk stemmed from a potential tag team match at the all-women’s Evolution show, which appeared set to feature the Bellas against the Judgment Day duo of Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez – a bout that ultimately became impossible to do due to Morgan suffering a shoulder injury.
Brie Bella has since denied that her return was planned, saying that her husband, Bryan Danielson, working for AEW, has been an obstacle to her returning to WWE.
Regardless of the speculation, it seems inevitable that Brie Bella will soon return to WWE programming.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
Comments.
Loading comments…