10 Surprise WWE Returns That Immediately Transformed Title Matches
7. Triple H
Flattening Seth Rollins with a Pedigree, Triple H binned off another relationship with a chiselled long-haired star in black leather to forge ahead with a fresh new project.
Having been A.W.O.L since Roman Reigns regained the WWE Title at his expense months earlier, 'The Game's return was destined to be monumental, but a turn on his most recent pet project was as big a shock as Kevin Owens' own ascension to the Universal Title picture.
'KO' hadn't managed to maintain the momentum he'd earned during his introductory feud with John Cena, and was an outside bet in Monday Night Raw's Fatal Four Way Universal Title main event that also included Reigns and Big Cass. With two Pedigrees, he'd gone from being a Rollins/Reigns afterthought to only the second ever holder of the brand new prize.
Even in being gifted the title from the Authority head honcho, Owens was given an on and off-screen acknowledgment by management that he was now their new star. Furthermore, he had within his arsenal the talent to look as if he always belonged in the role, even if the previous year of television had suggested otherwise.