17 WWE Returns Confirmed For Raw 25th Anniversary Show

10. Shawn Michaels

Steve Austin
WWE.com

'The Showstopper' appeared in the very first edition of Monday Night Raw, successfully defending his Intercontinental Title against Max Moon, but it would be a very different Shawn Michaels that captivated audiences during separate stints with the organisation before and after his enforced 1998 retirement

With a presence backstage as toxic as the chemicals running through his body for most of the 1990s, Shawn Michaels was virtually peerless on his day, but his knowledge of the fact coloured some legendary performances the darkest shades of black. Conversely, his 2002 return proffered the same exquisite skill with nary a scowl as the ultra-babyface Heartbreak Kid became a man once and for all.

His relatively frequent Raw returns as a safety legend rarely offer much to talk about these days, but positioning him with so many names from his past will likely infuse his effort with a little more pep than normal.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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