10 WWE Returns That Must Happen In 2024
DO call it a comeback, especially when the paydays are the biggest in wrestling history...
Never has this been a harder list to write.
After Triple H's early creative run in 2022 showed genuine promise, the Chief Content Officer and (more importantly) Head Of Creative produced so many success stories in 2023 that business boomed in just about every metric more than ever before whilst satisfying the WWE core fanbase more consistently more than any period in the last 2023 years.
It shouldn't be so remarkable that the market leader actually leads the market in ways beyond the bottom line, but Vince McMahon's monopoly-squandering latter years lowered the bar to depths most thought impossible until they were discovered. Without his autocratic and ageing guiding hand, the shows have felt vibrant and well-plotted to such an extent that special guests, cameo appearances and returning stars have felt less necessary than ever.
The roster, exactly as they are, are enough! None of us ever thought we'd see the day. But it's wrestling - more is always more and there's always more of it, so to that end just who will resurface in 2024 for one classic match, one epic promo or even one more run...
10. Zack Ryder
He’s earned it, as much as anything.
WWE definitively stopped being the only mainstream destination for pro wrestling back in 2019, and wrestlers like Zack Ryder have proven that they don’t need the brightest spotlight in order to shine…but he probably still wants it all the same.
A celebrated indie run has found Matt Cardona cast as an interloper on the scene, especially in GCW. A self-styled ‘Deathmatch King’, his mere presence was initially a transgression, but the fans buying into the joke has extended the lifespan of the character. This sort of thing is the story of Cardona’s career, and there’s only really one way for that specific kind of tenure to culminate - the fame-hungry fallen star reascending.
He can take the mother of all beatings on his way out, then return to WWE with an edge he couldn’t have ever gained remaining in a system that had become so mutually unsatisfying.