Returning star to challenge for WWE championship: Four absent names that could have gold in their sights

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Whether it be due to outside obligations, injury or a lack of creative plans, there are a number of stars on the WWE roster who have been off TV for a while.

Many of these stars are said to be on their way back however, and when they do, they have strong motivations to immediately target championship gold.

Here are four absent WWE stars who could challenge for titles as soon as they return:

Carmelo Hayes – United States Championship

It has now been almost two months since we last saw Carmelo Hayes on WWE SmackDown.

The Boston native’s last appearance came in an unsuccessful attempt to wrestle the United States Championship from Baron Corbin on the August 14 episode of SmackDown, and there has been no word on when we should be expecting him back.

Having missed out entirely on the Money in the Bank qualifiers, WWE needs to ensure that they book Hayes strongly when he comes back, and one way to do that would be having him finally reclaim the United States Title. Even if he trades it back and forth with Trick Williams towards the end of the year, Hayes deserves another run with the title he helped re-establish earlier this year.

Rusev – Intercontinental Championship

Since returning to WWE in April 2025, Rusev has been almost always entrenched in the Intercontinental Title picture.

While he was having little success in this pursuit for the longest time, he began to get a lot closer to the title and success overall in WWE once he aligned himself with fellow IC Title hopeful Ethan Page.

The pair proved to have a lot of chemistry as a team, but Rusev was sadly forced onto the sidelines back in July and hasn’t been seen since. With a return nearing according to Rusev’s wife CJ Perry, we should see “The Bulgarian Brute” re-enter the title picture once he’s fit and able.

Street Profits – WWE World Tag Team Championships

The Vision’s Bron Breakker and Austin Theory are now almost 90 days into their second run as WWE World Tag Team Champions, a reign that began when they defeated the Street Profits on July 6.

Since that win, Breakker and Theory have defended their titles a whopping zero times, and it’s about time someone put a stop to that.

While there are plenty of viable teams on TV currently, perhaps WWE are waiting for the return of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford before booking another title change?

Drew McIntyre – Undisputed WWE Championship

“The Scottish Warrior” Drew McIntyre has been off TV since losing to Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania 42, and in his absence he has been filming roles in several Hollywood movies. While it is obviously amazing for McIntyre and WWE to see his acting resumé expand, WWE fans are more than ready to see Drew make his return to the ring.

A lot has changed on SmackDown since McIntyre was last around, with much, much stiffer competition for the Undisputed WWE Championship existing right now.

However, that shouldn’t deter Drew from immediately seeking the title he will feel he was robbed of back in March; especially when there’s the added motivation of running through former rivals CM Punk, Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn whilst doing so.

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