Opinion: Are Announced Returns Better Than Surprise Returns?

A lot of WWE fans complain about how “there aren’t many surprises anymore.” It’s true that the time have changed, and surprise returns aren’t as easy to pull off as they used to be. 

WWE has done a pretty good job with them so far this year. Sure, there were rumors and rumblings, but AJ Styles debuting at the “Royal Rumble” was a huge deal. No one saw Chris Jericho’s return coming, and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows waited for the perfect moment.

The fact is that reading the rumors and the dirtsheets is a gift and a curse. You care about the industry, and you want to know what’s going on as much as you can because most of the time, the possibilities, creativity, and the speculation ends up being far more fun than what the WWE product ends up putting out.

Unfortunately, that leads to a lot of blown surprises because you hear the rumors, but you’re just waiting for them to appear on WWE television or whatever promotions you follow.

The next month of WWE is going to be very interesting. John Cena is back in two weeks. It’s rumored that Seth Rollins will be back in three. Bray Wyatt will be back within the month, and Randy Orton will return as well.

WWE has a really unique opportunity to create some huge moments. John Cena has already been announced, and there is nothing wrong with an announced return. It sells the event and gets people into the arena, but it takes away a lot of the momentum of a surprise return.

There is something much bigger and better about a surprise return. The anticipation of a return is a much different feeling than Seth Rollins’ music coming out of nowhere.

Yes, announcing John Cena is returning in two weeks gets that arena sold out and creates a must-see environment. However, a surprise return creates a shocking moment that sells out the arena and creates a must-see show next week.

It’s a different feeling and makes the show much more unpredictable, which is exactly what people want and don’t get as often as they used to in this industry. WWE has the opportunity to change that.

Do you prefer surprise returns or announcer returns?