4Huge WWE Returns That Could Reinvigorate The Company
WWE is set to ink a pair of massive new TV deals that could rekindle the company’s desire to improve its rosters.
While the company attempted to create more interest in its product with April’s Superstar Shakeup, historically low ratings for both Raw and SmackDown suggest that swapping major stars like Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and The Miz simply wasn’t enough. Perhaps WWE would have been better off moving slightly bigger names like Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns, but because it didn’t and because the company will soon be looking to load up its rosters to impress officials on both FOX and the USA Network due to its upcoming landmark TV deals, we could see even bigger moves made in the future.
In 2016, when WWE moved SmackDown to a live format on Tuesdays, it shocked the world by sending John Cena to the blue brand in hopes of giving the show a marquee star to build around. Now, on the heels of WWE reportedly set to sign a pair of blockbuster deals for Raw and SmackDown that will be game-changers for the pro wrestling industry, the belief is that WWE will be looking to build its shows around major names to make them more appealing to their networks, advertisers and the mainstream in general.
That means WWE, like it often does in situations like these, will search high and low to bring back must-see attractions to reinvigorate the product. Who might the company pursue this time around? Here are five major names who could soon return to WWE and instantly provide a jolt of excitement and a boost in business for Raw or SmackDown.
Batista
Former WWE star Dave Bautista, known simply as Batista in the wrestling world, has been busy starring in record-breaking movies, but he hasn’t forgotten about his pro wrestling roots and has made it clear he wants one last WWE run.
In fact, Batista recently revealed that WWE stopped returning his calls in regards to a potential return in which he would have liked to work one last feud with Triple H before riding off into the sunset for good. While there has been some speculation that Batista’s claims of WWE ghosting him have been a work to lay the foundation for a potential return feud, that doesn’t appear to be the case. However, despite any apparent issues between the two sides, you can still never rule out the possibility of a Batista return given the way his Hollywood career has really taken off over the past few years.
WWE is all about cross-promotion and mainstream media attention, and Batista, who’s starred in blockbuster hits like Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War, is quickly rising up the ranks in the acting world, which would presumably be quite appealing to WWE. Although Batista’s last run with the company in 2014 was widely considered to be a colossal failure, that was an over-exaggeration, and things are much different this time around anyway.
For WWE, the company seems more concerned about garnering mainstream media attention (see: Ronda Rousey and anything involving John Cena or Total Bellas), and for Batista, he’s a significantly bigger mainstream star now than he was just four years ago. With Batista consistently expressing his desire to return to WWE and the company really lacking in the mainstream star power department, a Batista return should be a no-brainer for both parties and could be one that washes away the stench of Batista’s recent failed run and gives WWE a short-term star to boost TV ratings and the WWE Network subscriber count.
Batista, after all, has really won over fans with his role as Drax the Destroyer and could bring that popularity back with him to WWE.
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho has proven that he doesn’t need the WWE machine to be a massive draw.
Jericho’s high-profile match against Kenny Omega at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 back in January was a huge hit for NJPW, and much of the credit for the success of that show can be attributed to Y2J. According to Fightful.com, Jericho’s first non-WWE match in nearly two decades helped boost the show’s attendance by nearly 9,000 from the previous year and resulted in a jump of nearly 20,000 subscribers (from 70,000 to 90,000) for NJPWWorld, which is the company’s equivalent to the WWE Network.
Likewise, according to Ringside News, Jericho had the No. 1 selling t-shirt at Hot Topic, outranking popular independent stars including Omega, Cody Rhodes and Bullet Club as well as all WWE shirts for sale at the store. That truly demonstrates how Jericho continues to reinvent himself and remain relevant even without the backing of WWE, and it also shows why WWE would be foolish not to bring him back because of the potential boost he could give the company as both a proven draw and very unselfish superstar.
The great thing about Jericho is that, even though he is obviously a major attraction, he’s also more than willing to put over other superstars for the sake of WWE’s long-term future. Jericho has a long history of unselfishly elevating up-and-coming superstars, as evidenced by his brief appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble or recent feuds with names like Kevin Owens and AJ Styles, and he could do just that upon another WWE return.
For now, Jericho is still busy with NJPW (he just won the IWGP Intercontinental Championship), but as someone who has a long history of signing short-term contracts with WWE, the door always seems to be open for him to return and provide an instant boost to both WWE’s business and the quality of its programming.
Dean Ambrose
Dean Ambrose has been out of action since undergoing triceps surgery last December, but he’s nearing an in-ring return.
Kurt Angle and Seth Rollins have both said that Ambrose will return “soon,” and boy oh boy, is his presence is badly needed on both Raw and SmackDown. Although Ambrose’s character sort of hit a wall prior to his injury last fall, his popular never waned as he has likely been a top five or six merchandise seller for each of the past three years (2015, 2016 and 2017) and was generating some of the company’s best crowd reactions before he was unfortunately sidelined.
Now, it’s clear that Ambrose could provide quite the burst of energy and excitement to either Raw or SmackDown, the first of which really could benefit from “The Lunatic Fringe” being unleashed as a maniacal heel while the blue brand could utilize him as either a heel or a babyface. Raw already features a loaded babyface core that includes most of the company’s top merchandise movers and strongest draws, including Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman, so it’s likely that, barring a heel turn, he’d have a bigger impact on SmackDown than he would in a sea of other fan favorites on the red brand.
Ambrose is one of WWE’s most reliable stars both as a wrestler and overall performer, which explains why he is always featured prominently and pushed better than the majority of the other stars on the roster. While Ambrose isn’t as well known in the mainstream as stars like Jericho or Batista, he’s been, along with Reigns and Rollins, pushed as a cornerstone of WWE over the last four years, and as such, is obviously someone WWE views as a star who can increase interest and improve its product.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and with Ambrose set to return from the first extended injury absence of his career, he should come back red hot as a main event star who can provide some much needed depth and energy for either brand.
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