Time to go away and learn a new hold

By Scott Keith on 22 April 2024

Hi Scott,

With Chris Jericho currently stinking up AEW and clearly in need of a long break from television, it got me thinking – who is the best example of someone who was beyond stale but took a bit of time off and actually returned hotter than ever?

For the sake of argument, I'm not thinking of people who left their company – more wrestlers who went down with an injury that turned out to be weirdly well-timed or even just took a vacation.

Roman Reigns taking a break at the start of the COVID pandemic and returning and turning heel comes to mind. But are there any more obvious historical examples I'm not thinking of?

Also, who would be examples of the inverse of this – wrestlers who were incredibly hot but had badly timed breaks and when they returned, the moment had passed?

Thanks,

Interesting topic!

I think John Cena’s injury in 2008 was vital to freshen him up a bit and keep crowds from completely turning on him. The Rumble comeback win really was huge. It had just been too much Cena for too long and we needed a break.

On the inverse, I can’t top Ricky Steamboat leaving in 87 for his six week paternity break and then coming back ice cold and doing jobs for Butch Reed or whatever. The man stole the show from HULK HOGAN in the biggest show of all time and then he was just nothing.