Well That Didn't Work: A List of WWE Wrestlers Who's Returns Failed Part 1

Well That Didn't Work: A List of WWE Wrestlers Who's Returns Failed Part 1

June 13, 2021

By Ryan Porzl

Professional Wrestling has had it's share of comebacks. Because wrestlers usually don't know when to quit or want that "one last run", many have attempted to make comebacks after having a great run. The WWE is no different. Over the decades, many all time greats made their way to WWE and many had great runs but a lot have also attempted comebacks. Some comebacks have wielded some to great success while others weren't able to recapture the magic and even more painful, some attempted several times to no luck while others did have a successful comeback but came back one time too many. Here now is a list of wrestlers who fell on their face attempting a comeback.

Ricky Steamboat- Though largely best known for his long run in Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW, Steamboat was able to enjoy a successful first run in the WWF from 1985-1988 during which time he engaged in several famous rivalries against Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "Macho Man" Randy Savage while enjoying a run with the WWF Intercontinental Championship and having a legendary match with Savage at Wrestlemania III. After leaving the WWF in 1988 and having a legendary return to the former JCP (now NWA) in 1989, Steamboat attempted a WWF comeback in 1991 but it was a run he probably regretted. Returning in the spring of 1991, Steamboat was repackaged as "The Dragon" complete with dragon scales on his tights, boots, and gauntlets, Steamboat would come to the ring dressed like a dragon and blow fire. The gimmick was cartoonish and felt like WWF trying to add some color to the "bland" Steamboat but it didn't really work. Even stranger than being given the gimmick was the fact that with few exceptions, the WWF seemed to go out of their way to ignore Steamboat's previous run and act like he was a completely new wrestler. In the end, Steamboat's return amounted to nothing as he largely worked in the midcard with no direction. His only highlight would be competing in the opening match at Summerslam 1991 where he teamed with The British Bulldog and Kerry Von Erich to defeat The Warlord and Power & Glory. Seeing his career being directionless, Steamboat would leave the WWF in the fall ending his WWF run after seven months. He eventually returned to WCW where he worked for three years before finishing his career in 1994 due to injury. Steamboat would make a small comeback from 2009-2010 in the now WWE but was mostly used as a special attraction.

Earthquake- Earthquake is sadly the first wrestler on this list who attempted several comebacks but none would pan out. Originally a sumo wrestler, Quake turned to wrestling competing in Japan and his native Canada before having his successful 1989-1993 WWF run. During his four year run, Quake would build a memorable run that should one day get him in the Hall of Fame with his most memorable angle being his feud with Hulk Hogan during the second half of 1990 and into 1991 which saw Quake in the second to last match at Summerslam 1990 and was the runner up in the 1991 Royal Rumble match. He also enjoyed success as part of the Natural Disasters from 1991-1993 where he had some big feuds with The Legion of Doom and Money Inc. while also winning the WWF Tag Team Championship. After leaving the WWF in 1993 and spending time in Mexico and Japan, Quake would make his first return in January 1994 but his run wouldn't last long as he was gone less than six months later jumping to WCW with his only memorable moments including squashing Adam Bomb at Wrestlemania X and having a sumo match with Yokozuna. In 1998, Quake attempted another comeback, this time under the gimmick of the masked Golga who was part of The Oddities stable with Kurrgan, Luna Vachon, and Giant Silva but after a brief period of popularity, the stable lost steam and became jobbers to the stars by the end of 1998 and Quake was eventually released in the spring of 1999. Quake would attempt one last comeback attempt in 2001 appearing in the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania X-7 and some dark matches later in the year but wasn't rehired.

Mr. Perfect- Mr. Perfect will always go down as not only one of wrestling's biggest stars of the 80s and 90s but as one of the all-time greats to lace a pair of boots. After a brief run early in his career in the early 80s, Perfect became one of the top WWF stars of the late 80s and early 90s enjoying two runs as Intercontinental Champion and was runner up of the 1990 Royal Rumble while engaging in memorable feuds with Brutus Beefcake, Hulk Hogan, The Big Boss Man, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels. Along with being a legend in the ring, Perfect also excelled in other areas serving as a manager and color commentator during his times away from the ring. After leaving the WWF in 1996 and enjoying a pretty good run in WCW as well as short stints in WWC and XWF, Perfect was lured back to the WWF in 2002 to compete in that year's Royal Rumble. After putting on a good performance and being booked to be in the final three, the WWF signed Perfect back and it looked like he was destined for one last good run. Unfortunately, the Royal Rumble is where Perfect's run peaked as the WWF/E had nothing for him and he quickly fell to jobber to the stars status as he was rarely in title contention or had any good rivalries. The Royal Rumble would be Perfect's only PPV back as he hosted No Way Out at WWF New York and he was on the Sunday Night Heat portion of Wrestlemania X-8. After doing next to nothing for months, Perfect's run would abruptly end after his infamous confrontation with Brock Lesnar during the "Plane Ride From Hell" in May 2002. After a promising return, Perfect's WWF/E return would go flat in no time and end after only a few months. Sadly, it was the last time Perfect would appear for WWE as he passed away less than a year later in February 2003.

"Superstar" Billy Graham- Perhaps there are few people who have been more groundbreaking than "Superstar" Billy Graham. While wrestling has always had their share of characters, Graham was one of the first blonde hair, suntan muscleman who claimed to have the largest arms in the world and was more known for his larger than life charisma, look, and promo skills than his in-ring skills. As is universally known, Graham would inspire the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Scott Steiner. During Graham's legendary career, he traveled to the WWWF where he became WWWF Champion in 1977 by ending Bruno Sammartino's last reign and enjoyed a nine month run as champion which was a testament to him given the WWWF, at the time, had their heel champions be short term and transitional. After dropping the title to Bob Backlund in 1978 and leaving shortly afterwards, Graham would compete sporadically over the next few years until he made his first return to the WWF in 1982. As is well known, Graham would alter his famous look ditching his blonde hair and tye dye for a bald head and karate gi supposedly because of his frustrations on not being made a babyface. While Graham would get several WWF Championship shots against Backlund, he was never able to win it back and outside of destroying the championship belt, didn't have anywhere near as memorable of a run and was gone after a year. Graham wouldn't be done as he made one final attempted comeback in 1986 and this time was back to the Superstar of old and a babyface. Unfortunately, other issues would get in the way of this comeback. Almost immediately back, Graham would suffer from hip problems and would undergo hip replacement surgery. Upon his return in 1987, Graham would try his best but the effects of the hip replacement and new problems with his ankles, he would eventually fall apart and by the fall of 1987, would be forced to undergo surgery on his ankle which would force the 44 year old into retirement. Our story doesn't end here as the WWF tried to find Graham other things to do such as serve as a manager for Don Muraco and then as a color commentator but neither worked out and he was let go by early 1989. The plus side is it wouldn't be the last memory of Graham in the WWE as he would take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 and he participated in several projects like DVDs.

Mickie James- When I began putting this list together, I did think of women I could put in but there really aren't many who had great first runs and then mediocre returns. The only one I could think of was Mickie James. A future Hall of Famer, Mickie originally came to the WWE in late 2005 after a run in developmental where she enjoyed a four and a half year run enjoying six titles (five Women's and one Diva's) while feuding with Hall of Famers like Trish Stratus and Lita including getting a big Wrestlemania moment when she defeated Stratus for the Women's Championship at Wrestlemania 22 in 2006. After getting released in 2010 and enjoying a great run in TNA, Mickie attempted a WWE comeback in 2016 but it didn't pan out. Originally aligned with Alexa Bliss, Mickie seemed to have a decent start along with having a solid feud with Becky Lynch but after a feud with Bliss over the RAW Women's Championship, her stock would eventually drop and wasn't giving much to do. Things didn't get better when she suffered a torn ACL in 2019 and missed over a year of action. Even after recovering, she quickly fell off the radar and was giving nothing to do outside of participating in the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble before eventually being released in April 2021. Mickie is one of those people who you can't help but wonder what she could've achieved with better booking and better planning as well as avoiding serious injuries.

Scott Hall- Hall is one of the people who make this list not because of injuries or bad booking like so many others but rather his own demons which derailed a potential comeback. After being a journeyman for the first eight years of his career, Hall went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame worthy four year run in the WWF from 1992-1996 as "Razor Ramon". During this time, Hall enjoyed four runs as Intercontinental Champion (which was a record at the time) as well as several great rivalries and/or matches with the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, The 1-2-3 Kid, and Jeff Jarrett. His ladder match against Michaels at Wrestlemania X is still one of the greatest matches in the near 40 year history of the event. After leaving the WWF, Hall would enhance his career further in WCW as one of the founding fathers of the nWo while also being part of The Outsiders team with Kevin Nash. After his WCW run ended and brief comeback in New Japan, Hall would make his WWF return in February 2002 reuniting with Nash and Hollywood Hulk Hogan to reform the nWo. At first the comeback seemed promising as Hall engaged in a feud with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as well as matches with Austin and The Rock. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Hall's well known demons to come out and the comeback became a trainwreck. Almost immediately upon return, rumors began about Hall's problems and his brief run always saw him skating on thin ice. While Hall proved many wrong and made it to Wrestlemania X-8, rumors of his impending firing were looming. Things weren't better when Hall admitted he wasn't happy back and by May 2002, the WWE finally decided to release him, ending his comeback after only four months. Thankfully, like Graham, this wouldn't be the end of Hall in the WWE as he has made the occasional non-wrestling return over the years and he's now a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, going in as Razor Ramon in 2014 and then as himself with the nWo in 2021 (as part of the class of 2020).

The British Bulldog- The Bulldog is an interesting case because he actually has had not only numerous runs in the WWF from 1984-2000 but his first three were very successful with him winning many titles and having memorable matches and rivalries. Unfortunately, Bulldog is a case of someone coming back one time too many. After three highly successful runs between 1984-1997, The Bulldog made an attempt at a fourth run when he returned in the summer of 1999. Unfortunately, Bulldog's run was in trouble before it even started as The Hart Family was divided due to the death of Owen Hart and Bulldog had seen better days as he was coming off spending months battling a back injury and staph infection which also led to a bad morphine addiction. Upon his return in September 1999, Bulldog's return appeared to have hope as he won the Hardcore Championship in his return match, replaced Undertaker in the six pack challenge for the vacant WWF Championship at Unforgiven 1999, and then feuded with The Rock. However, it took only two months before his stock begins to drop as it becomes apparent he's lost a step and while he would regain the European Championship, he continued to fall down the ladder and by February 2000, he would spend time in rehab. He would return in May and capture the Hardcore Championship but it was obvious things weren't working out and he would be gone by the end of the month.

Scott Steiner- If you talk to Scott Steiner, he'll probably tell you his WWE return was one of, if not, the biggest mistake of his career. Best known for his long run in NWA/WCW on and off from 1989-2001, Steiner would enjoy a brief run in the WWF from 1992-1994 as part of his legendary tag team The Steiner Brothers with brother Rick and they enjoyed two runs as WWF Tag Team Champions. After returning to WCW in 1996 and continuing the Steiner Brothers team, Scott would break on his own in 1998 and begin his run as "Big Poppa Pump" where he eventually became one of the top stars in the company to the point where he enjoyed a run as WCW World Heavyweight Champion in 2000. When WCW was bought out in 2001, Steiner was one of the hottest free agents in the business but took a break due to his AOL/Time Warner contract and to recover from injuries. In late 2002, after a cup of coffee with WWA, Steiner would resign with WWE and made his return at the 2002 Survivor Series. Going back to WWE, Steiner was red hot and there was an excitement with him back. However, it all came crashing down when Steiner was put with Triple H in what should've been a dream feud that turned into a trainwreck at the 2003 Royal Rumble with the match being so bad that the fans turned on the once popular Steiner. After a second match at No Way Out, Steiner stock plummeted and never recovered as he was left off Wrestlemania and Summerslam while ultimately spending the rest of his run in the midcard mostly in a storyline with Stacy Kiebler and Test before suffering an injury during the 2004 Royal Rumble match and was quietly released. While Steiner would get small redemption with runs in TNA/Impact years later, the WWE return will go down as one of the most disastrous returns of all time.

Jimmy Snuka- Snuka is yet another interesting case as he had an obvious but different reason why he didn't work out. A popular high flyer who burst on to the scene in the late 1960s, Snuka was one of those talents who was ahead of his time. Along with success in several NWA territories, Snuka became legendary for his 1982-1985 run in the WWF where he engaged in several legendary feuds against Ray Stevens, Don Muraco, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper while also having his famous cage dive at MSG in October 1983 and seconding Hulk Hogan and Mr. T for their match against Piper and Paul Orndorff at the first Wrestlemania. After time away from the WWF, Snuka returned in 1989 at Wrestlemania V but by this point, Snuka was turning 46 years old and while in still very good shape, the WWF decided to use the aging Snuka to either put over reestablished talent like Rick Rude or up and comers in Mr. Perfect and The Undertaker. While he was a PPV regular, he never won one and his most memorable was being the first victim of Undertaker at Wrestlemania back at Wrestlemania VII in 1991. After working for three years and going nowhere, the WWF would eventually release Snuka in 1992. Though this was Snuka's final full time appearance, he would make special appearances over the next few decades including getting inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996.

Batista- Poor Batista. He's one of the well known examples of a Hall of Famer who, no matter how many times he came back, he just couldn't have a successful return. After doing time in WWE's developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling, The Animal would compete for WWE from 2002-2010 where he became one of the promotion's top stars enjoying multiple reigns as WWE and World Heavyweight Champion while his first reign as World Heavyweight Champion was the longest in the championship's reign. He main evented Wrestlemania 21 in 2005 and had big rivalries with Triple H, Edge, The Undertaker, and John Cena. After leaving in 2010 to embark on an acting career, Batista would make his first return in 2014. Regardless of whether people liked him or not, there was interest to see what he could offer after four years away. Sadly, the run was a failure as he was brought back as a babyface but the fans would quickly turn on him especially after he was given the 2014 Royal Rumble over the people's choice Daniel Bryan. Eventually, the backlash would get bad enough to the point where the WWE had no choice but turn him heel but the damage was still done. While he would main event Wrestlemania XXX against Bryan and Randy Orton, Batista's run amounted to nothing too memorable or any great promos or matches. After a failed Evolution reunion which was used to put over The Shield, Batista would leave again after only four months back to continue acting. Not done yet, Batista would try again five years later in 2019 and while he came back as a heel this time, the run was still nothing to write home about as he did almost nothing of note and feuded with the very aging Triple H which culminated in a very lackluster match at Wrestlemania 35 which Triple H ended up winning. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Batista would immediately announce his retirement following the event and has since resumed his acting career.