Real Reason WWE Return Failed For Ex-Champion

A former WWE star has explained why their second run in the company failed as he compared it to returning to an old girlfriend.

Many WWE stars have more than one bite at the cherry in the company. Drew McIntyre returned after three years to put his 3MB ghosts behind him and become a world champion. Cody Rhodes changed the entire wrestling industry as he helped found AEW during his six years out of WWE between 2016 and 2022 before making his return and finishing his story to win the WWE Championship.

CM Punk made his shock return to the company nine years after he infamously walked out, having grown tired of just about everything. Now, he stands once again as World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Jey Uso for the vacant title at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

But not every return is a happy one.

D-Lo Brown Failed To Recapure WWE Magic

Between 1997 and 2003, D-Lo Brown was part of the WWE roster. Starting out as a member of the Nation of Domination alongside Hall of Famers such as Mark Henry, The Godfather, and Ron Simmons, not to mention a future Hall of Famer in The Rock. Brown eventually broke out on his own and became the first man to hold the WWE Intercontinental and European Championships simultaneously.

Following his exit from WWE, Brown had a run in TNA and on the independent scene before returning to his former home in 2008. Brown only made five televised appearances during that run, mostly against Santino Marella.

Speaking with The Wrestling Classic, D-Lo Brown explained why going back to his former employer turned out to be a mistake:

The company and I didn’t mesh in terms of where the company was going and what I was. I was very old school compared to where they were going at that point. It just didn’t work out right.

It was like having a girlfriend, breaking up with her, and then going back to date her five years later and hoping the magic rekindles, but you go, ‘I know the reason why I broke up with you in the first place.’ This was going back in 2008. We both realized the reason we broke up. It just didn’t work out, and no ill will or hard feelings, just, the timing wasn’t right anymore.

I was moving to the point where I wanted to become more of a mentor and be backstage, and it just… it didn’t work. My schtick had run its course by then, and you can’t just drop it back in six years later and go, ‘Here we go!’ It just didn’t click.

You’re trying to fit an old soul into a new realm, and it didn’t work out well. It wasn’t a smooth transition and it was better just to move apart than to struggle with it. [h/t WrestleTalk]

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