To this day, some still haven’t gotten over the fact that Jinder Mahal became WWE Champion.
He floundered as part of 3MB and in his final match before getting released, he even lost
to El Torito.
But, to Mahal’s credit, he returned to the WWE a new man, looking noticeably jacked.
Just a few months after returning, Mahal defeated Randy Orton outta nowhere at Backlash 2017
to become the new WWE Champion, his first-ever championship in the WWE.
Not bad for the first one!
When Bobby Lashley first arrived in the WWE, he looked like the real deal.
He became ECW World Champion but he never really unlocked his full potential.
It was outside the WWE where Lashley was able to really find his feet following his release
in February 2008.
A decade later, Lashley returned to the WWE and despite a slow and forgettable start,
it paid off as he became WWE Champion and finally evolved into the dominant “All Mighty”
Lashley that we all longed-for.
With The Miz as his mentor, Daniel Bryan made his official WWE debut on the very first episode
of NXT.
However, just over three months later, he was fired from the company.
This came after Bryan strangled ring announcer, Justin Roberts with his own necktie which
was deemed “too violent” during The Nexus’ invasion of Raw.
Bryan returned to the WWE shortly after and went from being an underdog to a multiple-time
World Champion and one of the biggest stars in WWE.
Things looked promising for Drew McIntyre when he first arrived in the WWE as he was
touted as a “future world champion” by Vince McMahon.
However, “The Chosen One” didn’t live up to his billing and eventually found himself
a part of the group, 3MB, before being released from the WWE.
McIntyre’s release was a blessing in disguise as he was able to completely re-invent himself
and when he returned to the WWE, he fulfilled Vince McMahon’s prophecy and became the
badass sword-wielding Scottish Warrior that we know today.
Before he made his big return to the WWE, Cody Rhodes wrestled under various gimmicks
from “Dashing” Cody Rhodes to Stardust.
However, he grew frustrated with the Stardust gimmick to the point that he requested his
release from the WWE in May 2016.
Rhodes reinvented himself elsewhere and became one of the founding fathers of AEW.
Nobody imagined that they’d see him in a WWE ring again.
However, at WrestleMania 38, Rhodes returned to the WWE as Seth Rollins’ surprise opponent.
As Rhodes tweeted, “Wrestling is a love story”.
He left the WWE undesirable and came back
a bigger star. That's undeniable.