For months, rumors have been flying that Bronson Reed was likely to return to WWE. Despite his popularity and his getting a main roster tryout, the former NXT North American Champion was released from the company in August of 2021. He went on to appear under the name JONAH in promotions such as New Japan and IMPACT Wrestling.
Back in October, it was reported that Bronson Reed had an offer to return to WWE, and that he would have to choose between taking the sports entertainment giant up on their offer or choosing to continue working with New Japan. Now, questions about his future have been answered as he made his WWE return on the December 19th episode of WWE Raw.
During a ladder match between Dexter Lumis and The Miz, it appeared that Lumis would triumph when Bronson Reed made a shock appearance in the ring, taking Lumis down from the ladder and launching a brutal attack on him. He even hit his signature splash on the star, allowing The Miz to climb the ladder and take hold of the money that was up for grabs.
A New Report Provides Details About Bronson Reed’s WWE Return
According to a new report from Fightful Select, Bronson Reed’s return to WWE was not telegraphed internally on run sheets, but talent had learned that the former JONAH was on his way back to the company. One source indicated that it “wasn’t an accident” that Reed hasn’t wrestled in the past few months ahead of his return to WWE.
The report also notes that Reed was always considered a “priority hire” under Triple H‘s regime, and that he has indeed signed a new WWE contract. New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly wanted to keep the star, but he is done with NJPW unless WWE arranges a deal for him to appear similar to the situation with Karl Anderson. No such deal is in place at this time, but Reed has been actively pitching Wrestle Kingdom matches on social media to throw people off the trail of his WWE return.
The Fightful Select report indicates that Reed was well liked during his time working for both IMPACT and NJPW, and he was praised for his willingness to put over PCO on his way out of IMPACT after a successful run. He also put over Kazuchika Okada on his way out of NJPW after scoring a huge win over the star back in August.