10 Surprise WWE Returns That Immediately Transformed Title Matches
9. Alberto Del Rio
Alberto Del Rio's answer to John Cena's Hell In A Cell 2015 US Open Challenge represented perhaps the most bewildering return in recent memory.
The former World Champion was fired from the company just over year earlier after losing his cool with an employee that he alleged had made a racist joke. Public opinion subsequently flocked to his side in the aftermath, aiding a prosperous period on the independent scene for World Wrestling Council, Ring Of Honor and Lucha Underground as Alberto El Patrón.
The acrimonious nature made his relatively quick return all the more bizarre. As did the presentation of his character and the match itself. Linking up with former bitter rival Zeb Colter to launch the ill-fated 'Mexamerica' gimmick that foreshadowed his League Of Nations unit with Sheamus, Wade Barrett and Rusev, Del Rio played a more serious version of his old self, underscored by a decisively clean victory over Cena in a match which triggered a two month hiatus for 'The Champ'.
It was the peak of a pitiful run. The Colter and League Of Nation relationships faltered fast, and after an August wellness policy violation, he took advantage of an opt-out clause in his contract that saw him gone again less than 12 months after his comeback.