10 WWE legends who came back and ruined everything

When legends return to WWE, it creates some of the best moments in wrestling history.

Who would’ve thought that Bret “Hitman” Hart would finally step into Vince McMahon’s ring again in 2010? What about when Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat had a run with Chris Jericho a year earlier? Fans never would’ve known that he’d still got it without those matches. Even the Ultimate Warrior addressing the fans on Monday Night Raw one last time in 2014 made people believe that anybody could return.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t apply to every legend who WWE convinces to make a shocking comeback.

For every wrestler who deserves another go in the ring, there’s plenty who shouldn’t be anywhere near the product. The ones who turn up for a few weeks, squash a current star who works 300+ nights a week, then ride off into the sunset until another payday comes around.

You’ve probably thought of a few already; it was hard to only have 10 entries in this list. These are the ones that WWE should’ve thought better of. They really need somebody to poke their head through the wall of the Creative Team office and ask “Are you sure about that?” without the threat of being fired…

This can of worms is being opened early, so brace yourselves.

To be fair, The Rock returning to WWE in 2024 and temporarily derailing the plan for Cody Rhodes to finally finish the story against Roman Reigns could still work out. But, is the damage already done?

Dwayne Johnson is one of the most popular wrestlers of all-time. He was never the greatest, but he took Vince McMahon’s imaginary brass ring when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was put on the shelf in the peak of the Attitude Era and helped make WWE one of the most talked about brand in the world.

The thing is: his last full-time run was over 20 years ago; since he lost to Goldberg (oh, we’ll get to him later) at Backlash 2003, the Brahma Bull has wrestled seven matches. Cody Rhodes has fought in over 2000!

Everybody knew that WWE would bring him back eventually for a showdown with the Head of the Table, but it’s how they’ve gone and done it.

The jury will still be out until after WrestleMania, but ‘The Great One’ almost made the biggest show of the year a lot less than electrifying…

9. Kane

Looking back at when Kane debuted, WWE really should’ve called the police and had him, The Undertaker, and Paul Bearer arrested.

‘Taker burned down the family home with Kane still inside, but somehow the Big Red Machine survived and their father was bringing him back. Everybody accepted this was normal in the world of wrestling and waited to see the latest member of the family arrive; it’s one of the best debuts of all-time too.

This list isn’t about incredible arrivals though.

Over the next 15 years, Kane went from ‘Taker’s final boss, to a lovesick puppy mixed up with Tori and D-Generation X, to an unmasked monster who tortured McMahon testicles.

The mystique was long gone when he came back in a mask in 2011. He did get a new lease of life with Daniel Bryan in Team Hell No; then, unlike The Undertaker when they were children, WWE finally killed the character off for good.

Enter Corporate Kane.

Glenn Jacobs was back and this time he was promoted to Director of Operations. Who knew a man who used to set people on fire had aspirations to climb the corporate ladder?

Things went from bad to worse when he handed Stephanie McMahon his mask and started coming to the ring in a shirt and tie. Images of him looking fed up next to Triple H on a weekly basis completely destroyed one of WWE’s greatest characters.

By the time he reverted back to being the Big Red Monster, nobody cared anymore.

Why did you come back for this, Kane?

8. Shawn Michaels

When Shawn Michaels retired in 2010, it was the perfect ending for one of wrestling’s all-time greats.

He was taken behind the woodshed by WWE’s other biggest star; after decades of the Heartbreak Kid and The Undertaker grappling across the world, they had one last match before HBK called it quits.

If you thought their Hell In A Cell match in 1997 couldn’t be topped, you were…right for more than a decade. Their bout at WrestleMania 25 is one of the best ever, yet people still debate whether or not their rematch at XVI, where Michaels finally retired, is the better of their ‘Mania showdowns.

Whichever you choose, Shawn was in his prime when he left. He promised never to wrestle again out of respect for the Deadman, unlike Ric Flair who HBK beat in his “last” match a few years earlier.

Then WWE signed a deal to host pay-per-views in Saudi Arabia and suddenly there was big money to bring anyone and everyone to the Middle East.

At Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, John Cena, Triple H, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, and ‘Taker himself all showed up to pick up the blood money cheque.

That cash money prize was too much for Michaels to ignore, so he was back teaming with Triple H for one last D-Generation X ride against the Brothers Of Destruction.

The match was a big disappointment, but the worst part was the tarnishing of WWE’s best retirement.

7. Hulk Hogan

Get ready for the token “That doesn’t work for me brother!” entry.

Dissertations could be written on what Hulk Hogan thinks is best for business; his backstage politics are so famous that he’s become a meme. Even in the latter days of his WWE career, the Hulkster somehow managed to convince Vince McMahon that a 50+ wrestler shouldn’t lose.

WWE loved the idea of a red and yellow return so much that it didn’t matter who he faced. This entry isn’t about his match against Shawn Michaels; let’s not forget that a best of three series became a one-and-done match where Hogan wouldn’t do business unless he went over.

12 months later and he was at it again. The Heartbreak Kid had been a star since the 1990s, so him losing to a past his prime Hogan wasn’t the end of the world. It impacted his 2006 opponent a lot more though…

Randy Orton was a former World Heavyweight Champion whose character was the legend killer. It was a very simple premise: he approached WWE legends and either hit them with an RKO or beat them in a match. Easy.

Orton was still in his mid-20s when Hulkamania decided to run wild in what is still the Hulkster’s last WWE match. Think about the rub Randy would’ve got from beating one of the biggest stars in wrestling history; needless to say Hulk didn’t see it that way.

Another year and another WWE regular fell to Hogan. Was there any point in this return for a 10 minute match in the middle of the card? Nah.

6. Bob Backlund

Bob Backlund is one of WWE’s biggest success stories. After Bruno Sammartino carried the company in the 1960s and 70s, Backlund took the reins and held the WWE Championship for 2,135 days.

After a long career in the northeast, Backlund left WWE in 1984, just as the business started to go international. He didn’t get up to much wrestling for almost a decade, then expectedly made his WWE return in 1992 to a lukewarm reception.

Let’s reiterate here that Backlund’s place in wrestling history can’t be understated, but the game had changed by the 90s. His biggest problem was that people didn’t know who he was. He’d left just before WWE spread its wings and went global; there’d been eight WrestleManias since his last match with the company.

Times had changed. He carried the same squeaky clean babyface gimmick from decades before and it didn’t fit with the modern era. Even a heel turn couldn’t save this run.

So, why is he on this list?

Survivor Series 1994.

Bret “Hitman” Hart walked in as WWE Champion and after a convoluted storyline, he was facing old man Backlund in a match that wasn’t even the main event. After nearly 10 minutes in a Crossface Chickenwing, Hart’s mother Helen, with encouragement from brother Owen, threw in the towel and Backlund was the WWE Champion again.

He lost the belt to Diesel at a house show three days later, but the damage was done. The “Hitman” would have to wait over year to see the top strap again.

5. The Undertaker

The Undertaker spent the last few years of his long and distinguished career trying to write the perfect ending.

Unfortunately, he got it wrong again and again and again. Mark Calaway deserved to finish his wrestling career on his own terms, but by god, it took a long time to get there.

The mystique started to fade after The Streak ended at the hands of Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX. Whatever you think of that decision, it’s where ‘Taker’s last’s biggest accolade was taken away; the annual challenge to The Streak was done. Caput.

After a few years of coming and going, the Deadman found himself across from Roman Reigns at ‘Mania 33. Fans knew something was different when this non-title match went on last; they were right. The Big Dog put ‘Taker out of his misery in a drab match, then left the former Mean Mark Callous to place his hat, coat, and gloves in the ring.

He was done.

The match wasn’t anything to write home about, but at least it was the main event of WrestleMania.

Unfortunately, ‘Taker wasn’t satisfied with ending it there. Lacklustre matches against John Cena and D-Generation X followed, with a bout against Goldberg involving a number of botches worrying fans about if he could still go.

His final contest came against AJ Styles in a Boneyard match, which was a necessity because of the pandemic. It was good, but he could’ve finished up in the main event of WrestleMania in front of fans. Instead, what seems like a genuine retirement at the end of the show didn’t mean a thing.

4. New World Order

The New World Order changed the landscape of wrestling forever.

The brainchild of Eric Bischoff after attending a New Japan Pro-Wrestling event, the black and white (and sometimes red) group took over World Championship Wrestling in 1996.

Turning Hulk Hogan heel and aligning him with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who it was implied were invading from WWE, was a stroke of genius that made WCW the most popular wrestling brand on the planet.

That was then.

When they finally got to WWE, they were a shadow of the former group. The first thing they did was apologise and say they love wrestling. What? Had the WWE writers never seen these three in black and white?

The reason this come back ruined everything is simple: WWE wanted “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to face Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, but Austin wasn’t interested in it. That pushed The Rock into the biggest Icon Vs. Icon match in a generation, while “Stone Cold” was given a less than ready Scott Hall.

All of this was the catalyst for Steve “taking his ball and going home”.

If the nWo had never returned to WWE, we might have seen a lot more of the Attitude Era’s biggest star.

3. Batista

You must’ve known this one was coming.

Back in 2014, everybody under the sun wanted Daniel Bryan to win the Royal Rumble match. He’d been screwed time and time again by The Authority; as 2013 came to an end their stooge Randy Orton held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship too. Everything was lined up for the G.O.A.T. to headline WrestleMania XXX.

Then WWE announced that Batista was coming back.

With his return being just before Royal Rumble 2014, suddenly there was genuine concern that WWE was going for an Evolution showdown instead… and they were.

The Animal won a Royal Rumble match that D-Bry wasn’t even involved in. Poor Rey Mysterio took the brunt of the boos for being entry number 30, then Roman Reigns almost turned face purely because he wasn’t Batista.

Crowds completely rejected Dave’s return and booed his every move. Instead of the triumphant return he was hoping for, Batista was persona non grata with fans, who hijacked Raw and SmackDown until Daniel Bryan was added to the storyline.

On that fateful night in New Orleans, Bryan made Batista tap out and won Orton’s WWE title. The right ending happened but it was so close to being a disaster.

Batista is an absolute legend and way more popular than marks will have you believe. It’s just a shame that his return was so close to spoiling the organic rise of an unexpected star.

2. Goldberg

Where do you start with Goldberg?

His return in 2016 to squash Brock Lesnar was epic. A wonderful goodbye on his own terms after a lacklustre run from 2003-2004. Big Bad Bill did what he does best, and his wife and son got to see him wrestle one last time.

Except he came back a few weeks later and declared himself for the Royal Rumble match. Fine, but when he didn’t win it and announced he was challenging Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at Fastlane anyway, the good turned to bad.

Would they let Goldberg lose to Owens? It didn’t seem likely after the Lesnar match, but Kevin was part of the best storyline in wrestling at the time.

His friendship and fallout with Chris Jericho had been going on for almost a year. When Owens betrayed Jericho at the Festival Of Friendship, fans were genuinely heartbroken for Y2J. The feud had to end at WrestleMania… and it did.

It just didn’t go how fans wanted.

WWE had already announced Goldberg-Lesnar III for the big night, so it didn’t need a championship to be a battle of the beasts.

Vince McMahon had other ideas. After a distraction from Jericho, Goldberg squashed Owens and walked away with the gold. The former best friends would feud for the United States title instead, while Bill took the Universal belt to ‘Mania and lost it to Lesnar.

The match was a good one, but taking the strap away from WWE’s hottest feud was such a bad decision.

1. Goldberg… Again

Guess who’s back…

Despite going into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2018, Goldberg carried on wrestling for another few years.

For some reason, he was allowed to just turn up, throw out a challenge for a match, then leave until he decided to have a pop at someone else. Conveniently, a lot of his matches happened in Saudi Arabia, but that’s probably just a coincidence…

Anyway, having announced himself to face Kevin Owens a few years earlier and winning the Universal Championship, Bill smartly decided to do the same to The Fiend. Here’s the thing: he didn’t even show up to do it, he phoned it in via satellite.

To make matters worse, when the two finally met face-to-face, Goldberg didn’t look intimidated by Bray Wyatt at all. He might be a self proclaimed super hero for the kids, but WWE could’ve told Bill to act a little more scared of their current big boss.

So, on a hot night in Riyadh, the two faced off in a match that didn’t even go for three minutes. Even the usually entertained by anything Saudi Arabian crowd was in shock at Goldberg winning the Universal title a second time, especially when it came from a Jackhammer that was barely even a regular Suplex.

The most interesting new character for a decade was done. Having The Fiend get back in the ring, look all sad about losing the belt, then disappear to let Goldberg celebrate was the worst part.

And for what? The Spear Vs. Spear match with Roman Reigns didn’t happen because of the pandemic, so Bill got squashed by Braun Strowman instead.