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The Top Ten Comebacks


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Тази седмица след известно отсъствие се завръща Top Ten,a този път Julian разглежда най-големите завръщания.

Honorable Mention: Mick Foley

After Mick Foley retired in 2000 after a classic feud with Triple H, he was only seen on WWE TV after that as the lovable commissioner or as a special guest referee here and there. One night on Raw in 2003, though, all of that changed. Foley had just been honored by having the retired Hardcore Championship presented to him in a ceremony in the middle of Madison Square Garden while surrounded by a bunch of his wrestling peers. Later on while backstage, he was confronted by Ric Flair and Randy Orton and Orton proceeded to punt Foley down some concrete stairs. Mick refused to fight Orton for the longest time until eventually he had enough of Orton's bragging and grandstanding and returned at The Royal Rumble in 2004 to whip Orton's ass. This soon led to a full blown feud between the two men who met at Wrestlemania in a 3-on-2 handicap match and then a classic, brutal match at Backlash that remains a highlight in both men's careers. After that lost, Foley would sporadically pop on WWE TV and would go on to feud with Edge a couple of years later and had a legendary match against him at Wrestlemania 22. Even though Mick's comebacks are typically short, they certainly are always memorable.

10) Terry Funk

If you count all the times Terry Funk has come back to wrestling after he "retired", you'd probably run out of fingers (and toes for that matter). But no matter how many times the skeptics scoffed when Terry returned to the ring, he always proved them wrong by putting on some dynamic matches and putting over some up-and-coming talent. He did it with Flair in '89. He did it with various people including Tommy Dreamer and Raven during his stint in ECW. He even did it as recently as last year in the hardcore spectacle he put on with Tommy Dreamer, Edge and Mick Foley. You can say what you want about The Funker, but it seems like no matter how many times he comebacks, he provides non-stop entertainment.

9) Sting

When Sting wrestled in the final match in WCW history against Ric Flair, many people felt that would be last they ever saw of The Stinger due to his stance against the WWE. But due to the emergence of TNA, Sting was able to return and has been able to carve out a new niche with today's generation of fans. Sting in many ways reminds me of Terry Funk in this point of his career because he's willing to put over the younger talent and participate in some hellacious matches. We've seen stuff from Sting in the past few years that we would have never seen in the heyday of his career including getting dumped onto thumbtacks and cut with barbed wire. I think Sting's comeback has been a successful one because he's been able to expand his fanbase and give his longtime fans a way to still see him in action.

8) William Regal

Regal's bouts with drugs and alcohol have been well documented and at various times during his career, it seemed like those damaging habits would be the end of a very promising career for Regal. No matter how many times Regal cleaned up, it seemed like he was destined to fall off the wagon and go right back to where he started. Finally, in mid-2000, Regal put on a classic match with Chris Benoit at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show and that match seemed to signal the turnaround in his life as he went on to re-debut in the WWE shortly after that where he remains to this day.

7) Stone Cold Steve Austin

When Stone Cold Steve Austin received a botched piledriver from Owen Hart in 1997, it seemed like his promising career was in jeopardy. Austin was able to rehab and soon became the biggest star in the industry and despite the nagging neck injury, was able to carry the company deep into 1999. The damage to the neck began to be too much for Austin and soon he had to get surgery on it. Many questioned whether Austin could return to his old form after such a serious surgery, but Austin put all those concerns to rest by coming back with the same fire that he had before his surgery. He put on a string of great matches against the likes of Kurt Angle, Triple H and The Rock before regaining the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 17. After that, he turned heel and then put on some great matches against the likes of Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Kurt Angle. It was only a matter of time until Austin's injuries eventually caught up to him enough that he had to fully retire, but the fact that he could put on such fantastic matches while working with a neck in such poor condition is a testimony to just how much intestinal fortitude Austin had.

6) The Undertaker

When The Undertaker had to go on the shelf due to a groin injury in late-1999, I don't think anybody could have guessed the way The Deadman came back. Instead of ominous gothic music and fire, The Undertaker returned with raucous rock music and a motorcycle to take out Triple H and the rest of his cronies. This was a far cry from Taker's original gimmick and many fans believed it was a much needed one as The Deadman gimmick started to feel a bit stale. What was great about this comeback was that the gimmick change completely reenergized The Undertaker's career and extended it even further when he went back to The Deadman gimmick because after years under the biker gimmick, the fans started yearning for the old-school ‘Taker again.

5) Triple H

When Triple H went down with a serious quad injury during the classic tag team match between himself and Stone Cold against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, it seemed like The Game's career was in serious jeopardy. After months of extensive rehab, Triple H was able to return in January 2002 and received a massive ovation for his return at Madison Square Garden. He then went on to regain the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 18 and later that year, returned to his heelish ways and had some classic bouts against Shawn Michaels. It was great to see HHH return from such a serious injury and return to his former glory in such a short amount of time.

4) Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan hadn't been in a WWE ring since 1993, so when he returned to the WWE in early 2002 as a member of the nWo, it was a big deal. He soon got into a big time feud against The Rock, but then something magical happened on that Wrestlemania night in Toronto. The fans began going wild for Hogan even though he was clearly made out to be the heel in this feud. Even though The Hulkster lost the match, he gained back all his Hulkamaniacs and it wasn't long before Hulk was donning the yellow and red again while coming out to "Real American". This was a fantastic comeback that gave all the older Hogan fans a chance to relish in Hulkamania one more time while giving the newer generation a glimpse of just how awesome the Hulkamania craze was.

3) Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero's demons were the only thing standing in the way of him being an all-time great. There was no doubt in anybody's mind that Eddie was one of the best performers to ever grace a wrestling ring because the man had it all from charisma to mic skills to great in-ring ability. It seemed that Eddie would never ascend to a legendary status, though, because his addictions kept derailing him until it eventually led him to being fired by the WWE. That, coupled with a car accident and being separated from his wife, was the wake up call that Eddie needed and he soon began to work on a comeback. He made appearances for Ring Of Honor and other Indy promotions and showcased the fire and spark that made him such IWC darling in the first place. It wasn't long until the ‘E noticed Eddie's commitment to change and he was soon welcomed back into the WWE with open arms and shortly claimed the Intercontinental title upon his return. A couple of years later, Eddie would win the WWE Championship and his fairy tale journey back to the top was finally complete. Eddie had exorcised his demons and became the top star in the wrestling industry and showed everybody that you can comeback from anything and become a success.

2) Ric Flair

A plane crash or a broken back would be enough to end just about any professional athletes career and not only did both of them happen to Ric Flair, but he went on to be the most decorated and respected Champion of all-time. The doctors told Flair after the plane crash that he would never wrestle again and Flair not only returned, but returned only six months later at that! Despite his bad back due to the crash, Flair went on to put on some of the most legendary matches this business has ever seen against the likes of Wahoo McDaniel, Harley Race, Kerry Von Erich, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk, Sting, and Randy Savage, just to name a few. An injury that would have permanently sidelined a normal man instead gave Flair even more fire and at the end of the day, he became perhaps the greatest wrestler who ever lived. Just imagined what he could have done with a healthy back!

1) Shawn Michaels

When Shawn Michaels severely injured his back in 1998 and retired after Wrestlemania 14, nobody ever expected to see The Heartbreak Kid wrestle again. So when rumblings began that HBK might be attempting a comeback in 2002, nobody really took it seriously because we all knew just how serious his injury was. Shawn soon made it official and his comeback match was scheduled for Summerslam 2002 against his former friend and new enemy, Triple H. Most people were skeptical and didn't expect to see HBK perform near the level that he did before getting injured. Michaels surprised the crap out of all of us by having an absolutely classic match against Triple H while showcasing all the daredevil moves and insane bumps that made him one of the most popular superstars of all-time. After that classic match, HBK went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship and participate in various classic matches against guys like Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Edge, Shelton Benjamin, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and even Mr. McMahon. Shawn's comeback was nothing short of miraculous and I for one am glad that I got to see HBK return to the ring because he's provided with just as many memorable matches and moments now as he did before he got injured.

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[center][size=7][font='comic sans ms']ONE MORE MATCH[/font][/size][/center]

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