10 Times Wrestling Legends Returned (And NOBODY Cared)
3. Eugene (2009)
WWE will milk the sh*t out of a shock return, however, they're not always flawless executions.
They've built the Royal Rumble match around such attractions but even in 2023, they struggled to perfect the blueprint. Cody Rhodes, for instance, should have been the biggest surprise of the men's affair, were it not for the fact he was sent out in the number thirty slot after already declaring his comeback. With or without his outright admission, Rhodes would have received a gargantuan pop, but there was something dispiriting about the once-hallowed position effectively being known the entire match.
Eugene's 2009 comeback, meanwhile, was an entirely different strand of WWE's take on the shock return.
Resurfacing on Raw's 10 August broadcast after two years away, Eugene was barely welcomed back before he left again. Unlike the majority of entries on this list, the real-life Nick Dinsmore received the 'currently in the ring...' treatment, randomly standing in-ring when Raw came back from commercial break without so much as a peep of excitement from the Calgarian crowd. They couldn't be a*sed if Eugene was back, nor could they be bothered to react to The Calgary Kid - Eugene's bleak WWE Contract on a Pole match adversary - unmasking as The Miz.
What was the point, you ask?
Since when did Vince McMahon need a point?