There are few things guaranteed to elicit huge reactions from WWE’s live audiences more than returning stars.
In spite of the controversy surrounding him, Brock Lesnar’s return during the second night of SummerSlam demonstrated just that.
While few stars remain at Lesnar’s level, there are others whose return would pop WWE’s fanbase.
Here are six stars we could see make their returns to WWE.
6. Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon has been gone from WWE since 2023, following his unfortunate in-ring injury at WrestleMania 39, where he tore his quad during the first spot in an impromptu bout against The Miz.
In the interim, he met with AEW owner Tony Khan, reportedly suggesting that he could come on board with AEW.
According to former announcer Jonathan Coachman, McMahon wanted to “run” the company – a proposal that, if true, went nowhere.
However, it seems much more likely that he will return to WWE than appear in their rival promotion, and of all the stars currently on the outside, the return of Shane McMahon would undoubtedly receive a monster reaction from the fanbase.
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5. The Hurt Syndicate
A recent report by Fightful addressed claims that MVP had “rubbed a lot of people the wrong way” behind the scenes in AEW.
This reportedly related to MVP not wanting to let his Hurt Syndicate faction put over certain other teams, including JetSpeed – Speedball Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight – with MVP reportedly disliking Bailey.
Other former WWE stars who joined AEW, such as Rusev, Aleister Black, and of course top stars Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, ended up rejoining WWE after varying degrees of reported backstage issues during their times in AEW.
Could the Hurt Syndicate / Business be the next to make that transition back to their previous stomping grounds?
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4. The Hardy Boyz
On night two of SummerSlam, before the six-way tag team TLC match, The Hardys and Dudley Boyz appeared in the crowd to honor the 25th anniversary of the first TLC bout.
Of the two teams, Matt and Jeff Hardy received a monster response from the Jersey crowd, demonstrating their enduring popularity with the WWE fanbase.
Still a full-time team and current TNA Tag Team Champions, they may not be the team they were 25 years ago, but they can certainly still go.
With WWE and TNA’s ongoing partnership, The Hardy Boyz could very well return for one final run in WWE – and probably sooner rather than later.
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3. Paige
There was much speculation earlier in the year following her departure from AEW that Saraya would return to WWE and reprise her role as Paige.
It seemed likely that this re-debut would be timed to coincide with the return of the all-women’s super-show Evolution.
As we now know, this did not happen.
However, with Saraya being a free agent, a return to her old stomping grounds looks likely – it’s just a question of when.
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2. Buddy Matthews
AEW star Buddy Matthews recently underwent surgery to repair ligament and cartilage damage in his ankle.
He sustained the injury in February during a match against Kazuchika Okada at AEW Grand Slam Australia.
Along with the likes of Aleister Black and Rusev, people currently in high positions in WWE creative – such as Paul Heyman, who attempted to give him an initial push a few years ago – likely think higher of Matthews than Vince McMahon did.
Matthews’ relationship with Rhea Ripley could also be a reason for him to return to WWE at some point, whether that’s for real-life reasons, or to do something on-screen together.
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1. Timothy Thatcher
After a near two-year run in NXT, Timothy Thatcher was released from his WWE contract in 2022.
The 42-year-old mat technician has made sporadic appearances on WWE-related programming this year, appearing on their EVOLVE show, wrestling current WWE ID talent, as well as a single appearance on NXT in a battle royal in May.
Thatcher is also working as a coach and trainer at WWE’s Performance Center, while continuing his full-time active career on the indies.
Given his involvement with WWE and his deep knowledge, could we see him brought back to NXT programming full-time as an experienced vet working with rookie talent?
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