Every Impossible Wrestling Return Ranked From Worst To Best

This isn't a list about jumps: this is a list about who best made the impossible possible...

Edge CM Punk
WWE/AEW

The modern wrestling landscape has shifted dramatically over the last five years.

The emergence of a new mainstream force and the unprecedented sums of money awarded to pro wrestling for the purposes of A) stemming the bleed of the cable television industry and B) propaganda have converged to change everything.

WWE was once so untouchable at the top of a market that barely existed outside of Vince McMahon's monopoly that they wouldn't even bother to splash money on pyro. Then, on the Monday Night RAW held two 48 hours before the premiere of AEW Dynamite on October 2, 2019, the fireworks burst upwards into the rafters once more.

After that, money wasn't the only obstacle that WWE speared through the barricade. Medical protocol continued to be less strict than it had been previously, accelerating a development launched the year prior.

Developments in medical science; creative opportunity; more money than any performer has ever been paid: forces are at play that have enabled the impossible to become possible.

This isn't a list about jumps: this is a list ranking every wrestler you were dead certain would never return, despite idle dreaming...

11. Bret Hart

Edge CM Punk
WWE

This is the only list you'll ever read with Bret Hart positioned at the bottom.

Bret Hart was a hero. Bret Hart's work was so incredible on a magic, intuitive level that you could sense he was the best professional wrestler before you even developed secondhand knowledge of what the criteria is. The Excellence of Execution moniker wasn't just a gimmick; Bret's technique and footwork was so good that he simply moved like a professional wrestler should move. Everybody else not named Bret Hart moved funny in some way.

His match with Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania XXVI however was a relentlessly bleak experience cathartic only for Hart himself. The man was an artist in a sports entertainment world, with actual standards and principles, and he slightly undermined his legacy in what more closely resembled a felonious assault than a worked pro wrestling match.

He couldn't bump because his insurance policy forbade him from bumping. He could drop to his knees, but that was about it; otherwise, he just battered McMahon with a tire iron. At least f*ck him up with something that makes a pleasing sound, Jesus.

Somehow, Bret couldn't even do a cursed one-sided annihilation correctly.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!