10 WWE Comebacks You Don't Remember

It worked so well the first time, so why not try it again?

There are lots of reasons. Just because things went well once, doesn’t mean that it’s all going to be fine the second, third or fourth time around.

This is something that some WWE wrestlers know all too well. Even after saying goodbye or, more likely, being wished well in their future endeavours, many wrestlers find themselves back in the employ of the company before too long, hoping to set the world on fire once more.

Whether it’s because the bloom is off the rose, so to speak, or there are new creative forces working behind the scenes or 50 other potential variables, the comeback can end up paling in comparison to the original, to the point where it’s not even remembered for being necessarily good or bad.

Sometimes, they end up simply not being remembered at all.

These are 10 WWE Comebacks You Don’t Remember.

10. Chuck Palumbo - 2007

One of the surprising success stories coming out of the Invasion was Chuck Palumbo, who came in as a tag team with fellow Power Plant stud Sean O’Haire, before transitioning into a makeshift tag team with Billy Gunn.

The pairing with The Ass Man gave both men a real lifeline, as they pushed the envelope and got over while hinting at a possible homosexual relationship, garnering mainstream publicity in the process.

Billy got injured, however, and Chuck moved on to the Full Blooded Italians, another decent role for the man with the killer right hand.

A switch to Raw and humdrum gimmick change in 2004 led to him primarily wrestling on Heat before receiving his release after just a few months on the red brand.

After dabbling on the indies and in Japan, WWE brought him back in March of 2006, but didn’t put him back on television until over a year later.

When he returned, he did so as a biker dude who rode a chopper to the ring, flanked by Michelle McCool.

Besides a feud with Jamie Noble, he did next-to-nothing on SmackDown and history repeated itself when he was released soon after being drafted to Raw, without wrestling a single match on WWE’s flagship show.

9. Chris Masters - 2009

WWE saw great things in the future of Chris Masters, and for good reason.

Not only did he have a million-dollar body, he was also young, making his Raw debut in 2005 at the age of just 22.

He caught on thanks to the Masterlock challenge and proved his worth as a worker in matches with Shawn Michaels and when tagging with backstage pal Carlito.

After falling foul of the WWE Wellness Policy, however, the Masterpiece returned a lot leaner and with a strike against his name, which resulted in a lesser role in lower-card feuds opposite the likes of Super Crazy and Jerry Lawler.

A switch to SmackDown could have been a lifeline but drug test failures caused him to be released.

He hit the indies and international scenes for a couple of years and was brought back into the fold. He turned face thanks to his mesmerising dancing pec routine and had a brief on-screen relationship with Eve Torres.

Despite improving greatly as a wrestler, Masters made his home on C show Superstars, where he had a series of great matches that, sadly, nobody really saw.

It was not a major surprise when he received his release, though rumours of a push or possible gimmick change had surfaced from time to time before he was given his release papers.

8. The Spirit Squad - 2016

The Spirit Squad were never ‘good’ or anything, but they did provide some value and entertainment when going up against the likes of DX in 2006.

It also gave five OVW hopefuls some valuable experience though, unfortunately, only Dolph Ziggler really stuck around and became anything on the back of it.

While Johnny and Mitch both moved on from the business, WWE brought back Kenny and Mikey in 2016 for a short programme with the former Nicky.

Working in cahoots with Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his wife Maryse, the tag team version of the Spirit Squad attacked the Show-Off, tried to cost him a big pay-per-view match and also worked tag and six-man tags on SmackDown.

All told, they were only there for a couple of months before they disappeared once again.

It was reported that they were signed to deals but they never came back, with Kenny and Mikey resurfacing in Major League Wrestling a couple of years later.

There was clearly no long-term upside to reviving the annoying cheerleader gimmick but their re-emergence, coupled with the re-emergence of other past stars like Rhyno and the Headbangers, sure did make the blue brand a slightly odd place for a time.

7. Brian Christopher - 2004

Brian Christopher – along with Scotty Too Hotty and Rikishi – enjoyed success they wouldn’t have thought possible shortly before joining forces as the infectiously fun Too Cool in late 1999.

With the Stinkface, the Worm and their post-match dance routine, the fun-loving babyface trio became one of the most popular acts on TV.

Regrettably, WWE turned Rikishi heel, Scotty got injured and, before long, Grandmaster Sexay was spinning his wheels in a makeshift tag team with Steve Blackman.

He was released not too long after, following an incident where he tried to take drugs across the United States-Canadian border.

It took three years for him to make his way back into WWE’s good graces, getting hired by Jim Ross (friend of father Jerry Lawler), in JR’s last major act as Head of Talent Relations.

It did not go well.

Christopher made only a handful of appearances, the most memorable of which was him jobbing out to Kane in about two minutes on Raw.

After arriving late to house shows and generally annoying his co-workers with his immature behaviour, he was given the boot.

Thankfully, he was able to say goodbye to WWE on a more positive note over a decade later when he showed up for a match in NXT and reunited with his Too Cool stablemates on two episodes of Old School Raw.

6. Jazz - 2006

One of the true unsung heroes of WWE’s women’s division was former two-time WWE Women’s Champion Jazz.

She wrestled for the company between late 2001 and late 2004, having great matches with the likes of Trish Stratus and Lita and doing much to improve the reputation of the division after years of clothes-ripping T&A.

She was released – along with husband Rodney Mack – but brought back in the Summer of 2006 to be part of the relaunched ECW brand.

Her first match back saw her lose to then-Women’s Champion Mickie James on the ECW versus WWE head-to-head show, which was done to promote the upcoming One Night Stand pay-per-view.

Jazz looked solid as ever in the short bout but, after two more house show matches with Trinity, she was taken off the road and then released – once again with her husband, who had been working ECW house shows as well – in January of 2007.

Their releases came as part of a bit of WWE housecleaning and, since they hadn’t been used in months, it wasn’t a major surprise.

But Jazz could have been an asset to the women’s division and had great matches with wrestlers like Beth Phoenix and Melina.

A victim of the times, Jazz would kill it today but, back then, there was more emphasis put on stuff like the Diva Search.

5. Vader - 2005

The Big Man’s first WWE run had started out so well, as he was booked to be something like the dominant force he had been in WCW and New Japan, rampaging through the 1996 Royal Rumble before destroying Gorilla Monsoon in a powerful angle the next night on Raw.

He could have become WWE Champion and was the favourite to unseat Shawn Michaels at that year’s SummerSlam, but it was not to be and he found himself sliding down the card, eventually reduced to being jobbed out in the midcard while calling himself a ‘fat piece of sh*t’ on the microphone.

After leaving in late 1998, Vader’s shocking return came on the October 31, 2005 episode of Raw and it was fitting that it happened on Halloween because it was a ghastly sight indeed.

The Mastadon came to the aide of Jonathan Coachman and, along with Goldust, beat down Batista ahead of his match with The Coach at Taboo Tuesday.

His point would have been well made, had he not fallen flat on his arse upon exiting the ring.

Things didn’t improve the next night, as he was easily dispatched by The Animal, in his last WWE appearance for seven years.

4. Nikolai Volkoff - 1994

Nikolai Volkoff had already been in the business for 15 years and was well-travelled by the time he showed up in WWE in 1984, right as Vince McMahon was aggressively expanding his wrestling enterprise.

Best remembered for his tag team title-winning team with The Iron Sheik and later as one-half of the Bolsheviks, Volkoff was primarily an anti-USA heel until he left the organisation at the end of 1990.

He returned full-time in February of 1994, though this time he played something of a sympathetic babyface as the mistreated member of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation.

In the storyline, he accepted a role in the group having fallen on hard times and was repaid not just in cash but with outright disrespect from DiBiase and the other members of the group, being dubbed ‘Nickel and Dime’ Volkoff and having a cent symbol replace his famous Russian Sickle on the side of his tights, while ‘Property of the Million Dollar Man’ was written on the back.

It was an intriguing angle but didn’t really go anywhere, and the most interesting thing to note from the run was the fact that Volkoff wrestled Matt Hardy in the teenager’s Monday Night Raw debut.

Since WWE were pushing their New Generation of younger, faster wrestlers at this point, the comparatively ancient ‘Russian Giant’ didn’t exactly fit in and his contributions aren’t remembered next to those of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and co.

3. Haku - 2001

At another point during the Monday Night Wars, the reigning WCW Hardcore Champion defecting to WWE would have been huge news.

But by January 2001 the war was, for all intents and purposes, long over, and the title belonged to Haku, a valuable veteran performer, but not exactly a major difference-maker at the time.

Haku made a surprise appearance in the 2001 Royal Rumble, entering at number 29 and lasting a few minutes before being eliminated by Steve Austin.

After that, he formed a tag team with Rikishi, then went through his ‘bad man’ phase, the duo having a series of matches with The Brothers of Destruction and unsuccessfully challenging the Dudleys for the tag straps.

An injury to Rikishi put a stop to the team, however, and the Tongan hardman floundered.

If you spotted him on television, it was probably because you were watching shows like Jakked and Heat. By the end of his six-month stay he was reduced to putting over Shawn Stasiak.

It was a far cry from being the King and main eventing with Hulk Hogan, but in the era of The Rock, Kurt Angle and Stone Cold, he was never going to be a top player.

2. Booker T - 2011

He’s been back in WWE for some time now as variously a commentator and analyst, but people tend to forget Booker T actually had a short run as an in-ring competitor upon his 2011 return.

The former five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion left WWE in 2007 and wound up in TNA, which he has since admitted was basically like a paid vacation for him, especially in comparison to the hectic schedule he had before.

His surprise entry in the 2011 Royal Rumble was a pleasant one, and he soon found himself behind the announce desk and working as a coach on the new series of Tough Enough.

Come the end of the year, however, he was feuding with Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes over apparent disrespect the Hall of Famer had shown the champ on commentary.

They had matches on Raw, SmackDown, the TLC pay-per-view and at several house shows. The master of the Spinaroonie looked good out there and helped raise Cody’s stock but failed to wrest the title away from him.

His last significant in-ring contribution came as a member of Team Teddy in the Interbrand 12-man tag match at WrestleMania 28.

1. The Quebecers - 1998

Stepping into the shoes of Raymond Rougeau, Pierre Carl Oulette helped Jacques get over his brother’s retirement by forming The Quebecers, a tag team that enjoyed almost instant success when they appeared on television in 1993.

The team, who definitely weren’t Mounties despite dressing exactly like them, won the tag team titles and defended them in matches against esteemed opposition like the Steiners and the Harts.

They broke up after about a year together but reformed the team in WCW as ‘The Amazing French Canadians’ a couple of years later.

That stint was fine, but then it was back to WWE in early 1998, the company looking much different than it had during their New Generation days.

The team looked different, too, changing up their appearances and outfits. They still wrestled the same, however, even if it was now against teams like the Legion of Doom, the Godwinns and ramshackle outfits like Terry Funk and 2 Cold Scorpio.

Only used sporadically, the Quebecers were simply bit part players during this frantic period, their role summed up as just one of 14 duos in a tag team battle royal at WrestleMania 14.

They continued working house shows and cropped up on programmes like Shotgun Saturday Night, but it was time to say ‘au revoir’ to the flag-wavers come the summer.