Released WWE Star Back For First NXT Match In 4 Years

A former WWE star has returned to the NXT brand for the first time in four years.

The May 6 edition of NXT saw a 25-man battle royal take place to find a new number one contender for Oba Femi’s NXT Championship. There was a major surprise as former WWE star Elias made his return under his TNA name of Elijah.

Elijah ended up eliminating Trick Williams from the bout after Williams was distracted by his current rival, TNA World Champion Joe Hendry. Ultimately, Myles Osborne shocked everyone and picked up the win, booking his first-ever NXT Championship match at Battleground on May 25.

Timothy Thatcher Back On WWE NXT

Also, a part of that match was former NXT star Timothy Thatcher, who was returning to the brand for the first time since 2021. During his time on the NXT brand, Thatcher was part of a feud with Matt Riddle that culminated in a Fight Pit match refereed by WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.

Thatcher returned to the Fight Pit in 2021 when he defeated Tommaso Ciampa before the two men formed a tag team, making it to the semi-final of that year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Thatcher was released from the company in January 2022.

Timothy Thatcher has been back involved with WWE in recent weeks as he has appeared twice on the new EVOLVE show, where he has lost to Sean Legacy and Bryce Donovan.