When a wrestler returns to WWE, sometimes, the writing is on the wall from the moment they make their return entrance. Either the fans have zero interest in seeing the respective wrestler return to the company, or WWE have a bold, yet unimaginative plan for the returning talent, which is going to turn the fans completely against them.

So – with that being said, let’s look at 10 WWE returns that were DOOMED from the start.

10: Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash has made several WWE returns throughout his career, and his return in 2003 was arguably his most infamous. Nash returned on RAW as the new top babyface on the brand, and he was instantly thrown into a feud with Triple H over the World Title. On paper, Nash vs. The Game had potential, as there was a ton of established history there, but sadly, the fans had no interest in seeing Nash in this role. Whilst Nash still no doubt had something to offer, it just wasn’t what fans wanted to see at the time, especially when SmackDown had the likes of Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle putting on in-ring classics on what seemed like a weekly basis.

Nash also returned to the company for a brief stint in 2011. Nash initially returned at the 2011 Royal Rumble, and to his credit, he received an enormous pop, yet Nash having a full-blown return run wasn’t something that anyone was pushing for. Nash would return yet again at the 2011 SummerSlam, and he would enter into a weird program with CM Punk that was supposed to lead to a matchup. However, Nash was eventually pulled from the match, and WWE went in a different direction, and instead Nash was once again feuding with Triple H, 8-years on from their initial and rather disliked feud back in the Ruthless Aggression Era.

Nash will always be a pro wrestling legend, but there’s no denying that his numerous WWE returns have failed to hit the mark.

9: Test

In 2006, WWE decided to give former Intercontinental Champion Test another shot in the company.  Test would join the dreaded ECW brand, and upon his return, it was apparent that he had put on a considerable amount of muscle, and he looked to be in truly insane shape. The problem with Test returning was that this wasn’t what ECW fans wanted. The ECW faithful ultimately didn’t want a semi-successful star from the Attitude Era on the revamped roster.

The Test return was doomed to fail, and to nobody’s surprise, he received little to no reaction, as he returned without a fleshed-out character, and it wasn’t before long that he was completely lost in the shuffle.

8: Goldberg

Upon returning to WWE in 2016, Goldberg was welcomed back with open arms. Goldberg had one match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, and this was presented as if it was going to be his farewell matchup in pro wrestling.

However, just a few short months later, Goldberg returned yet again, and this time, he was competing for the World Title. Goldberg wrestled Kevin Owens at the 2017 Fastlane event, and WWE for whatever reason booked Goldberg to squash the young star. This meant that Goldberg was now Universal Champion, and this was something that the fans didn’t want.  

These returns continued to happen for the next several years, and WWE would book something similar when Goldberg defeated The Fiend in 2020 to once again win the Universal Title. These returns definitely hindered the relationship between Goldberg and the fans, and it’s likely to never recover.

7: Gail Kim

In late 2008, Gail Kim made the bold decision to leave behind TNA in favour of returning to WWE. Kim was a mega-star in TNA, and her matches against Awesome Kong are arguably amongst the most influential women’s matches in wrestling history. Kim was returning to WWE at a time in which women were barely given substantial storylines on WWE TV, and if they were on TV at all, it was usually for nonsensical segments or matches that didn’t give an ounce of credibility to the women’s roster.

Kim had high hopes for her return, but it was sadly doomed from the start. Kim’s initial presentation was strong, however, it didn’t take long for WWE to completely forget Kim was even signed to the company, as she would barely be featured.

Kim’s exit for her second run was notable, as Kim decided to eliminate herself from a battle royal as an act of protest when it came to how the women were treated in WWE. Kim would then quit the company, before smartly returning to TNA.

6: Lord Tensai

WWE made a huge mistake when they brought back Matt Bloom. Instead of giving Bloom one of his established WWE personas, they decided to give him the gimmick of Lord Tensai, and upon the minute he re-debuted on WWE TV, it was clear that this was never going to work. Fans bombarded Tensai with chants of Albert, and despite the negative chants, WWE continued to push Tensai up the card, and they even had plans to make him a main eventer. Eventually, WWE realized that the Tensai character was never going to take off, and Tensai was quickly relegated to the role of a comedic act.

5: Eva Marie

From the moment it was reported that WWE had re-signed Eva Marie, the collective response from fans was WHY?! Eva’s first run in the company was met with negative reviews, as even though Eva had heel heat, her in-ring work wasn’t at the level needed for the main roster. When Eva returned, fans were hoping that Eva would have been able to improve somewhat, but she was arguably even worse.

Eva had some atrocious matches during the run, including a critically panned SummerSlam match with former Women’s Champion, Alexa Bliss. It’s hardly a surprise that Eva’s run was a total failure, and Eva claims that there is a chance that she returns to WWE in the future, but this certainly shouldn’t be at the top of WWE’s list of priorities.

4: Kurt Angle

Fans were elated when Kurt Angle finally returned to WWE in 2017, but there was a major issue when it came to Angle during his final run in the company. The issue with Angle’s return was that due to a long and documented history with injuries, Angle wasn’t in a position to have 5-star classics. Whilst Angle started off as the RAW General Manager, it didn’t take too long for Angle to transition into a wrestler once again.

Angle’s matches with AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and the infamous Baron Corbin matchup failed to deliver, and it was evident that Angle was ready to retire. In order to combat this, WWE should have either kept Angle as the RAW GM in a non-wrestling role, or they should have limited his matches in order to keep Angle’s aura and star-power in-tact.

3: Scott Steiner

In late 2002, WWE re-signed Scott Steiner, and judging by Steiner’s initial reaction at the Survivor Series, there was a definitive buzz surrounding his return. Even though Steiner was a big deal in WCW, the late 2002 landscape of WWE was vastly different. Fans were appreciating gripping storylines, and WWE were finally pushing smaller talents who were in a position to have outstanding matches. Steiner had drop-foot syndrome, and this limited his ability to have even passable matches, and his World Title matches with Triple H in 2003 were universally loathed by the fan-base.

Steiner’s second run being a colossal failure was ultimately WWE’s error. It was widely reported that WWE were fully aware that Steiner had drop-foot, and how on earth they expected Steiner to have World Title level matches with his issue is anyone’s guess.

2: Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey’s first WWE run exceeded all expectations. Rousey was passionate, hard-working, and she managed to have great matches with everyone in the women’s division. When Rousey returned to WWE in 2022, fans hoped for the same, but something was missing.

The fire Rousey had in her initial run had disintegrated, and it was as if she was going through the motions. Rousey returned as a surprise during the women’s Royal Rumble, and based on her performance in the match, it was evident that something had changed. Rousey’s feuds with Charlotte Flair, Liv Morgan and even Shayna Baszler all fell flat, and Rousey went from one of the biggest names on the roster, to barely being mentioned on WWE TV, as the fans just stopped caring.

1: Batista

The return of Batista in 2014 couldn’t have come at a worse time. WWE fans had firmly chosen Daniel Bryan as the top babyface in the company; however, WWE wanted this to be Batista.

When Batista returned, the fans outright rejected everything he did. This ruined all of WWE’s plans, and it was completely short-sighted of them not to have prior foresight that this would have occurred. It took WWE some time, but they would eventually turn the WWE legend back into a heel, which was the right move, but it was too little, too late.

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