15 WWE Returns That IMMEDIATELY Backfired

Revisit the 14 March 2011 Raw now (if it's even one of the out of sequence episodes Netflix has uploaded to date) and you'll cringe the night away. On paper, a heel Michael Cole bringing back Jerry Lawler's son to browbeat him for being a rotten father worked. In execution, it was one of the most awkward segments in WWE history. It's also distressing for those who love them some Grandmaster Sexay.

The former Too Cool favourite showed up on the flagship at the behest of Cole, but nobody in attendance seemed to have a clue who he was. Brian Christopher's entrance played before deathly silence, and the crowd sat on their hands during tense dialogue between Bri and Jerry. Honestly, the silence was deafening. You could almost hear vendors selling popcorn in the foyer.

It became clear all too quickly that WWE's audience had changed since Christopher was last tearing it up as Sexay. Without the Grandmaster get up or Rikishi and Scotty Too Hotty by his side, Brian meant nothing to the modern fanbase. Crickets, people. Crickets. It was downright painful to watch somebody who had once been part of a seriously hot tag title change on Raw in 2000 suffer this undignified humiliation.

Back then, Christopher was one of the hottest acts in the entire company. By 2011, his star had faded to the point he might as well have been a fast food worker Lawler was rude to in the 1970s. That's the kind of gusto he was welcomed back with by fans.

People were clearly asking friends next to them: 'Who he?'.