Ranking 20 WWE Debuts And Returns In 2019

7. Trish Stratus

CM Punk, WWE Backstage
WWE.com

There was an internal debate about whether to include Trish Stratus, who wrestled in 2018 at Evolution and in the first women’s Royal Rumble match. But the Canadian legend also announced her retirement this year, so we should give Trish her due here.

Stratus came out of hibernation for one final match at SummerSlam this year in a clash of past and present against Charlotte Flair. The match had the potential to steal the show or be a disappointing sendoff, and thankfully it was the former. Trish wanted to prove she could hang with one of the best women’s wrestlers today in Charlotte, and she did just that.

Their match was a highlight on a really good SummerSlam show and provided Stratus with a perfect crescendo on which to end her in-ring career. As returns to WWE go, Trish was the high-water mark in 2019.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.