5 times WWE Superstars faked the return of other wrestlers

Over the course of its history, WWE has seen several top stars who are either out of action or have left the company, return to the ring. These return matches have created some of the best moments in pro wrestling history. These moments are usually surprising and see a massive pop from the WWE Universe.

However, this is something that other WWE stars have often utilized to get themselves over as a heel as well. These stars take advantage of the fact that a popular Superstar is currently absent from the ring or cannot turn up at the show, and have fun at their expense by setting up a scene for their fake return. This is done usually by playing their music or having someone else show up pretending to be them.

In this article we are going to take a look at five such occasions where WWE Superstars faked the return of other wrestlers.

#5 Shawn Michael mocks Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart – WWE RAW, 2005

Following his return to the ring in 2002, Shawn Michaels mostly had a babyface run throughout the rest of his career in WWE. However, there was one point when HBK briefly turned heel. This was during his feud with Hulk Hogan leading up to their SummerSlam match.

WWE RAW was taking place in Montreal where the infamous Montreal Screwjob had occurred. Michaels came out in his heel persona during the match and decided to mock the fans present to build up heat heading into SummerSlam. In that promo, he made fun of Bret Hart, who is treated like a hero in Canada, and at the same time decided to play a joke on the fans. He said that Hart would never be in WWE again, following Hart's music started playing. Everyone began to cheer at this point, but they were soon disappointed as Hart was never going to show up.

HBK continued to mock the fans, as Hulk Hogan’s theme song, "Real American" started playing next. But the fans were disheartened once again as Hogan was not in Montreal either. At the end, Michaels rolled on the floor of the ring laughing at his own joke.

Shawn Michaels also dressed up as Hulk Hogan for an interview: