10 Times Wrestling Legends Returned (And NOBODY Cared)
10. D'Lo Brown (2008)
D'Lo Brown was silver amongst a treasure trove of prototypically golden Attitude Era grapplers, peaking in an era when The Rock, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Triple H, and a horde of other auspicious performers did so, too. He was inherently born into the wrong era and although D'Lo stood out from his fellow career mid-carders, he does not stand out as an Attitude Era great.
Perhaps, then, this is why his 2008 comeback played out in front of a joyless audience.
Competing in a throng of untelevised bouts preceded D'Lo Brown's initially-thrilling re-signing with WWE, his televised return coming on the 21 July 2008 broadcast of Monday Night Raw. Battering Santino Marella, he showed flickers of optimism, utilising a harsh repertoire heavily influenced by his time spent in Japan. His seated Lariat was executed with the sort of violence and velocity you'd typically associate with Tomohiro Ishii. It was sickeningly sumptuous.
If you ask the Uncasville, Connecticut audience though, it may as well have been Rodney Mack who'd resurfaced. They weren't fazed by D'Lo's return, nor did they have any reason to be. WWE themselves marred the comeback by relegating Brown to goober status within weeks of his comeback before cutting him altogether the following January, citing "budget issues".
It's funny how things change over the years.