The Rock and CM Punk: 10 of the best WWE homecomings as Kurt Angle returns

Kurt Angle is set to make his WWE return tonight with Raw taking place in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here are 10 of the best WWE homecomings in recent times.

10. Sami Zayn

The now-Bloodline “Honorary Uce” made his main roster on the May 4th 2015 episode of Raw in the most spectacular fashion. He was introduced in his hometown of Montreal by Bret Hart as the surprise opponent in John Cena’s United States Championship Open challenge.

Unfortunately for Zayn, he suffered a rotator cuff tear as he wildly gestured to his adoring home crowd prior to the match. A bittersweet moment but it did make him an instant star on the roster.

9. The Hart Foundation

The last true iteration of The Hart Foundation formed in 1997 and included Bret, Owen, Jim Neidhart, The British Bulldog and Brian Pillman. The group were an anti-American group, creating an interesting dynamic where they were heels in the US and faces in Canada.

This led to wild ovations whenever Raw came to Canada, with the group and namely Bret and Owen being welcomed home as returning heroes.

8. The Rock

The Rock bounced around for most of his childhood, from California and North Carolina to Auckland, New Zealand. He ended up going to the University of Miami on a football scholarship, eventually settling in the area, making it his de facto hometown.

On the Christmas Eve 2001 of Raw, The Rock emerged in his old Miami Hurricanes jersey to his adoring fans. He lost an Undisputed Title match later that night, with losses often coming for homecoming heroes in the Vince McMahon era.

7. Edge

Another example of this strange booking technique was seen with Edge’s return to Toronto as the WWE champion at Unforgiven 2006. The Toronto native had defeated John Cena in his