Original subtitles

I'm back boys.

In the world of WWE,

it's never goodbye-

There was never anyone any better.

-it's see you later.

It's the Hall of Famer herself.

From the unimaginable-

What?

Holy [bleep].

-to the unbelievable.

No.

No way.

Edge is here.

Today we look back at the greatest professional wrestling

shocking comebacks in history.

This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

Acknowledge me.

My God.

Stone Cold with beer bath.

This is surreal.

Look at this.

He slammed him.

Welcome, everyone to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition,

we're looking back at some of the greatest comebacks

that professional wrestling has ever seen.

He's back.

He's back.

Let's kick things off in an electrifying manner.

Let's kick things off in an electrifying manner.

The most electrifying man in Sports Entertainment, The Rock,

had left WWE in 2004

to pursue a very successful career in Hollywood.

The Scorpion King number one again this week.

Indeed, the number one movie in America.

But when WrestleMania 27 needed a guest host,

The Great One couldn't pass up the opportunity

to come back home.

We've been expecting the host of this year's WrestleMania to

to arrive here on Monday Night Raw.

The rumors of who was going to host WrestleMania

were, you know, everywhere.

We didn't want this getting out.

Whoever they bring out, he gonn to be that dude,

and lo and behold.

Oh my.

The Rock is here.

The goal to come back-

The reason was simply the fans.

And to watch them respond the way they did.

Finally, The Rock has come back home.

People were talking about and making fun of John Cena.

You come out here with your bright ass purple shirt,

your bright green shirt,

before that, your bright orange shirt.

You're running around here looking like a big fat bowl

of Fruity Pebbles.

Rock called me a Fruity Pebble.

Got a [bleep] ceareal sponsorship with that.

That's excellent.

He came back, and it was so special.

The connection with the audience

after seven years of being away

was very, very special.

There's no question that one of the biggest superstars

of the modern era is Becky Lynch.

The Man is, quite simply, done it all and conquered everything

she sets out to accomplish.

In May of 2020, Lynch announced to the world

that she was pregnant-

will be stepping away from the squared circle.

You go and be a warrior

'cause I'm going to go be a mother.

But just how long would it be until we saw Becky Lynch again?

There was a, I believe, a medical issue

that caused Bianca's opponent to have to pull out

of SummerSlam,

and it was a huge moment and extremely unexpected.

Sasha Banks is unable to compete this evening.

Las Vegas is incredibly disappointed.

What?

Yes.

One of the biggest stars on the planet.

Becky was the one that I always wanted to work with.

What do you say

The EST and The Man blow the roof off this joint?

As happy as they were to see me,

at the beginning of the match,

26 seconds later, they were gonna wish

that I never returned.

And Becky Lynch.

Becky Lynch is taking care of business

with a Manhandle Slam

cover on Belair.

Lynch wins the title.

Lynch wins the title.

For Becky Lynch to go away and have a baby

and come back and it's like she never missed a beat.

That was so inspiring.

What the hell just happened.

She showed that women do not have to stay in a box.

You can have it all.

Baby, I'm back.

At the 1994 Royal Rumble, we saw the unthinkable.

The Undertaker was locked inside a casket

by several WWE superstars.

But a resurrection was upon us.

I will not rest in peace.

Hoping to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.

The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase

brought the Dead Man back to WWE.

Or did he?

Paul Bearer, he's claiming that you

don't have the real Undertaker.

Heading into SummerSlam,

longtime manager Paul Bearer

promised to deliver the real deal.

You're Undertaker against my Undertaker at SummerSlam.

Surely a one of a kind matchup,

ladies and gentlemen,

as Ted DiBiase's Undertaker

makes his way to the squared circle.

Ted DiBiase claimed that he had acquired

the services of The Undertaker.

But the rest of us are waiting for the true Undertaker.

Where's The Undertaker McMahon?

I just remember it being the spectacle,

the production, and everything was done so big.

And I remember Paul Bearer with the urn and the giant light.

The spirit of the Undertaker.

Wait a minute.

And oh my goodness.

Now, that's, The Undertaker.

Man, when he came out in that purple and-and

stood up to The Underfaker,

I thought it was awesome.

Ted DiBiase's bogus-

grey glove Taker versus the original Undertaker

in the new purple-

The Undertaker.

Oh yeah, the suplex.

Oh, yes.

That could do it right there.

Bogus Undertaker gets exposed

in a matter of minutes.

It was exciting.

And it was uh-

It was great to be back.

To be a WWE superstar,

one must possess a certain grit to be the very best.

On October 2007 John Cena suffered a completely torn

pectoral muscle.

I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine.

Here we go.

The prognosis was that he would miss action

for at least six months.

And as they say, you can't keep a good man down.

And at the 2008 Royal Rumble, the WWE universe

counted down to our 30th entry.

It's a moment that still has Madison Square Garden buzzing.

Who's number 30?

What?

Wait a minute.

What the hell?

What is this?

It's John Cena.

He was standing like this.

And he looked up and he smiled.

I've never heard anything that was louder.

The roof is exploding off of Madison Square Garden.

He was supposed to be out for a year,

and he's back in three months.

I made extreme gains very fast,

and called everybody up and was like,

"Hey, I think I'm ready to go."

There is no tough Guy award.

It's down to Cena and The Game.

The whole time we were in the ring, I just had goosebumps.

So bad ass.

Tons of strength and Cena does it.

Whoa ho.

WWE superstars have an amazing tendency to prove the experts

wrong by coming back much sooner than anyone else would.

A superhuman display of physical strength by John Cena.

When you think of the greatest tag teams of all time,

you have to put the Hardy Boyz right at the top of that list.

Matt and Jeff literally changed the game

and became a beloved fixture of WWE for decades.

But in 2010, the Hardy Brothers left WWE

and pursued other career opportunities.

This is not goodbye forever.

This is only goodbye for now.

But would we ever see The Hardys in WWE again?

Welcome to WrestleMania.

The title is hanging high above the ring.

In this Raw Tag Team Championship ladder match.

Ladies and gentlemen, this ladder match

has now become a fatal four way.

It's very rare that you have a legitimate surprise

where people don't know this is going to be happening.

We made people think that we were coming out

in order to be in this three way match,

but then all of a sudden.

What?

Oh, my.

Matt and Jeff.

The Hardy Boyz are here.

You got to be kidding me.

When you hear that reaction, you don't just hear it,

you feel it.

It's just like exactly where we were supposed to be

in that moment.

The Hardys have completely turned this match on its head.

Twist of fate.

From the top of the ladder.

Jeff Hardy, the thrill seeker.

Swanton Bomb.

And now Matt Hardy

at the top of the ladder.

The Hardy Boyz are seven time champions.

It was at Charlotte whenever I pull down that first title,

you just see everybody standing up in the back.

and they're so genuinely excited.

One of the greatest WrestleMania moments ever.

Everybody was just so cool and happy that we were there.

When it comes to moments, that's up there, man.

It might be number one in my opinion.

But to walk back out there into our home where,

Matt and Jeff Hardy was truly born.

And to get that kind of reception,

it's really amazing.

Welcome home

Matt and Jeff.

The 1980s saw a boom period for professional wrestling

across the board,

including WWE's biggest rival promotion WCW.

One of WCW top stars of the day was the total package,

Lex Luger.

But in 1993, Luger left and joined WWE,

and it's successful prime time cable show Monday Night Raw.

Not to be outdone, WCW began its very own prime time cable show

to go head to head with WWE on Monday nights.

WCW Monday Nitro.

In the very first episode, one of the most shocking comebacks

ever took place in a moment that made WCW a must see television.

The Mall of America

the only building big enough

to hold the debut edition.

The element of surprise.

The spontaneity of the show.

That's what Nitro represented.

They flew me in that same day and did hide me at a hotel,

and they waited till like 30 minutes

before the show started.

Brought me in with like, towels around my head to a back door.

And it was definitely a big, big shocker for wrestling fans.

Later on in this live debut broadcast.

Oh, what in the hell is he doing here?

Get the king off of-

Who?

Get him outta-

Get the camera off of him.

What is this?

Very well kept secret.

He had jumped his ship.

People were freakin' out.

He's cleaning house.

Wait, Luger's in there.

Lex Luger in the ring.

Lex Luger-

He's helping Hogan.

-clearing the ring.

He's helping Hogan.

Luger.

Whoa, wait a minute.

It really set us up for great, great success

because there was already controversy.

This is the most amazing turn of events I have ever seen.

In 2016, personal differences between Cody Rhodes and WWE

led to Cody leaving the company seemingly forever.

With Rhodes thriving in his outside ventures,

many fans thought they'd never see him back in WWE again.

Or would they?

Seth Rollins has no clue who his opponent

will be here tonight.

There are so many rumors swirling

about who my opponent was going to be.

Come on, let's go.

Cody.

Oh my God.

My eyes met a lot of people's eyes

and it was just a beautiful experience.

The prodigal son has returned.

I was in some ways a fan like everybody else, trying to-

soak in the surreal nature of the scene that we were seeing.

Special thing to be a part of,

and I was very happy to be able to facilitate it

in some way, shape, or form.

I sort of like looking around,

and everyone's face was just like-

Cross Rhodes.

And Seth 'Freakin' Rollins' Wrestlemania dreams

became a nightmare.

I had anticipated I would never come back to WWE.

It's still surreal to me.

What a moment for Cody Rhodes.

It's clobbering time.

The best in the world, CM Punk,

is certainly no stranger to controversy.

Oops

I'm breaking the fourth wall.

The outspoken Chicago superstar has made a legendary

career by sticking to his guns and speaking his mind.

I am the best in the world.

So when CM punk left WWE in 2014,

it was all but a certainty,

we'd never, ever see him again.

But with Survivor Series 2023 taking place

in his hometown of Chicago,

one must learn to never say never.

Me coming back in Chicago-

It's a scary, daunting thought.

Cross Rhodes

Cover.

Orton and company win.

Do I still got it?

Are they gonna remember me?

Are they going to care?

Whoa.

What?

Him returning to WWE after all these years,

like while his music was playing,

it was like, "What's happening?"

It has been quite the night in Chicago.

Electric-

to say the least.

Who's town is this?

I don't really have the words to explain

how that moment makes me feel.

There's a big part of me that's still there.

I left a huge part of me in that moment.

There's no denying the sheer toughness of one Triple H.

The Game has certainly made a Hall of Fame career

out of being the very best.

So in 2001, The Cerebral Assassin pushed through a career

altering quadriceps tear and finished the match.

Triple H went through eight months of intense rehabilitation

to get back to the stage he loved.

It was indeed a beautiful day on January 7th, 2002,

when The Game made his triumphant comeback to WWE

to a thunderous ovation inside Madison Square Garden.

I remember just getting a rush, like it was just so loud.

It was overwhelming.

You know, it really was emotionally,

for me, overwhelming.

This is as loud

as any sustained roar,

I have ever heard in Madison Square Garden.

The crowd went nuts for him.

They showed him that they love him and they appreciate him.

That crosses over into a very real territory of how much

the wrestling fans appreciate you

as a humannbeing and a performer.

I am The Game.

It was a validation of everything else I'd ever done.

You just can't top it.

And you can bet your ass I'm back.

It's now time for our number one comeback of all time.

And it's a moment longtime fans like myself

will never, ever forget.

There is no bigger WWE superstar in the mid 90s

than Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

The Excellence of Execution proved on a nightly basis

that he was certainly-

The best there is, the best there was,

and the best year ever will be.

But controversy surrounded Bret in his last WWE match

at Survivor Series 1997.

What?

McMahon said ring the bell.

Wait a minute.

Bret Hart had been screwed out of the WWE Championship,

and out of WWE.

Bret Hart I ran his ass out of the World Wrestling--.

Many fans thought we'd never see The Hitman back home.

Making his first appearance on Raw in over 12 years-

Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

The time that he had away from WWE,

I know it was really hard on him.

I got 12 years of things that I wanted to get off my chest.

The very first thing I want to do

Shawn Michaels to come out here.

I didn't speak to Bret or see him easily more than a decade.

Carrying that burden for both of us in different ways was,

you know, was heavy.

You're not the only one that's been carrying this around

for 12 years.

Both are tired of fighting each other and-

and having this ill will.

My career and your career shouldn't always

be tagged by what happened at Survivor Series.

If you want to bury the hatchet, let's bury it right now.

It was like a big, giant weight

carrying around all that anger and grief.

The best thing I ever did was to make peace with it.

A moment many WWE fans never thought they would ever see

The Hitman back where he belongs.

One thing's for sure-

there's no place like home.

That'll do it for this edition of WWE's Greatest Moments.

I hope you've enjoyed this look back at the greatest comebacks

ever seen in professional wrestling.