Former WWE Champion Makes Shocking Return After Nearly 10 Years

WWE fans have seen a number of welcome returns over the past few years, with names like Trish Stratus, Rusev, Aleister Black, and more making their way back into a WWE ring. That said, there are a few returns that some had given up on ever happening, though seeing some of those actually happen with the return of CM Punk has given a renewed sense of hope in that regard. Tonight on WWE SmackDown, one of those wishful returns finally happened, and though it took nearly 10 years, it was more than worth the wait.

While John Cena got things started on SmackDown, the show saved its biggest surprise for the show’s final 15 minutes. That’s when Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch crashed the party, and everyone knew CM Punk was already in the building, so a collision was destined to happen, especially after the events of this week’s Monday Night Raw.

A Long-Awaited Return

After Lynch hit the ring, she was inundated by chants for AJ Lee, and she then went off on a tangent as she got a host of boos from the crowd. A bit later, Punk came out to address Rollins and Lynch. Lynch started right in on Punk once again, asking him if he was embarrassed. Punk then told Lynch they were in Chicago and he could call in any number of favors, but she was undeterred.

Punk then stepped out of the ring as Rollins laughed from the skybox, and Lynch continued to hurl insults at Punk as he walked around the ring. Punk then told Lynch he would never put his hands on a lady, but thankfully, he’s got someone who will. That’s when AJ Lee’s music hit, and she actually showed up to the ring. AJ Lee is actually back in WWE, and the crowd gave her a massive response, while Lynch was completely shocked.

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Lee did her trademark skip around the ring and then sat on the ropes as holy s*** chants rang out. Lynch charged and Lee pounced, knocking Lynch down and hitting her with a number of strikes before slamming Lynch down to the mat. Lee did it again, unleashing another set of strikes and grabbing Lynch before connecting with a vicious slap to the face. Punk then goaded Rollins as Lynch ended up by his feet, and Punk joined Lee in the ring. Then Lee and Punk hugged as the crowd cheered, and now we have ourselves an even match.

The Main Event Story

With Lee’s return, we now have the setup for a match many never thought they’d ever see in a WWE ring. At one point, it wasn’t even known if Punk would return to WWE, but once he did, many hoped that Lee might follow suit. Lee had been retired from the ring since 2015, though, and so even when Punk returned in 2023, there wasn’t much movement in the way of a return for Lee.

That all changed over the past week or two, as WWE has been heavily hinting that Lee would play some sort of role in this story with Rollins and Lynch. That was especially true after what happened on Raw, as Lynch berated Punk and hit him with a multitude of slaps to the face. Punk said she would regret putting her hands on him, and fans took that to mean Lee would return to help out her husband, just like Lynch helped out Rollins.

Now we know that it is, in fact actually happening, and the match will likely go down at WrestlePalooza, giving WWE’s ESPN debut another marquee match to go with John Cena vs Brock Lesnar and Stephanie Vaquer vs Iyo Sky. This is shaping up to be something pretty special, and this now becomes the main event storyline of WWE at the moment, even with Cena’s farewell tour in the mix.

What did you think of AJ Lee’s grand return, and what do you hope to see for her moving forward? Let us know in the comments and on the ComicBook forum!

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