10 WWE Wrestlers Who Should NEVER Have Come Back

2. British Bulldog

Kurt Angle
WWE.com

A murky political agreement to do with Owen Hart's tragic passing was allegedly at the core of Davey Boy Smith's 1999 return to WWE after an injury sustained in WCW looked set to end his career early.

In hindsight, maybe the latter might have been better for him than ever coming back.

Where he was once supremely capable and carry-able, the Bulldog was physically wrecked by the time he made his way back to the biggest stage and was badly exposed in headline matches against the likes of The Rock and Triple H. Though he still carried the muscle of old, he didn't look...right anymore, with his puce skin and sad denims doing much to erase the memories of Wembley Stadium less than a decade prior.

The Attitude Era's relentless pace didn't wait around for him to try and catch up either. Paired with The Mean Street Posse just because before eventually working barely passable brawls for the European and Hardcore Titles, Bulldog looked and felt like the relic he was being booked as. His passing in 2002 was desperately sad, and it's hard to watch this era back without thinking how close he was to his unfortunate end.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett