Chris Adonis, formerly known as Chris Masters, wants to return to WWE in the Royal Rumble Match and face off with Bobby Lashley.
Adonis has two memorable runs with WWE. H signed a developmental deal with the company im 2003 and worked for WWE he was released in 2007. He later returned in 2009 and was a member of the roster until his departure in 2011. Among other highlights, he held the Masterlock Challenge and faced top names like John Cena during his time with the company.
Speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, Adonis was asked about possibly returning to WWE. He stated that his desire to do so is always there, but he previously didn't think it would be an option. However, he stated that seeing other stars from his generation, including Carlito and MVP, return and compete in the Royal Rumble Match changed his mind.
“In terms of a comeback, all I can say is the desire is always there a little bit because this is what I love to do, and I still do it. Even when as far as last year, as long as I’ve been outside of WWE, I’ve never pushed to come back and it’s just because I didn’t look at it like an option after the second time. After the first time, sure. But after the second time, it’s like I gotta move on. I still wanna wrestle, but it’s just not gonna be on television with WWE and that’s okay. I can do other things in the business as time goes on. But this last year at the Royal Rumble was the first time and shoot, it’s been well over 10 years. I’ve seen MVP come back, I’ve seen Shelton come back, I’ve seen Carlito come back. I kind of felt like, shoot, you know, it’s been 10 years. It feels like a good time. It’s been so long, it’s like who else can they bring back that would be a bigger surprise at this point out of at least those guys that have been gone, and I just kind of felt like it was me," Adonis said.
He went on to describe how he started petitioning for a spot on the Royal Rumble match last year because he liked the idea of a showdown with Bobby Lashley, given their similar signature submission holds. Adonis described how he thinks pitting his Masterlock against Lashley's Hurt Lock could be an "oh shit" moment. He then noted that he talked to some people in WWE about being in the Rumble last year, but plans changed.
"When you also think of the whole Bobby Lashley aspect, the idea of the Hurt Lock/Masterlock thing. So when Royal Rumble came around, I kind of started petitioning for it a little bit, and there was some talks with some of the people I knew within WWE, so it wasn’t like it was just going on deaf ears. But Bobby Lashley ended up not being in the Rumble. Everything changed, everything got flipped upside down. So that kind of took a lot of steam out of it. When I did petition for this, it wasn’t for the sake of, ‘Oh, I need to make a comeback to WWE’ or ‘I wanna make a comeback that should lead to something.’ I know as wrestling fans, we’re always looking for that ‘Oh shit’ moment. We’re always looking for that moment where if you’ve got your wrestling friends, you’re gonna be hitting them on the shoulder and be like, ‘Woah!’ I kind of felt like if Bobby Lashley was in the Rumble and he’s working that [Hurt Lock], and you get that countdown and you hit the OG Masterpiece theme, you’re gonna have a moment. Maybe not for the younger fans, although a lot of them do still remember it. But you get a lot of guys who are within our age or even within 10 years, you have a lot of those guys like, ‘Oh my god’, and it’d be that moment, a Hurt Lock [versus] Masterlock, like it’s finally gonna go down. What’s gonna happen? So it would be one of those moments, and that’s what we’re always looking for, you’re looking for those moments because those are what we live for," Adonis said.
Adonis then emphasized that he isn't focused on trying to launch a comeback with WWE. Instead, he wants to give everyone a memorable moment because he sees the way fans have buzzed about a potential clash between him and Lashley. He expressed his hope that the scenario could still become a reality at some point.
"This was about the moment. It was about giving a moment to the fans and to myself too, but again it’s not me trying to petition for a Chris Masters comeback in WWE full-time. It’s like hey, this would be cool. Let’s give them this moment because everyone’s always on Twitter and Instagram talking about the Masterlock and [the] Hurt Lock. Bobby and me obviously know each other real well, and I just felt like it would be a cool moment. I still hope, cross my fingers that we can make that moment happen just because obviously it would be cool for me, but I think it would be cool for the fans, everybody in general. I think we could do something really cool, even if it was very brief," Adonis said.
Adonis now competes for the NWA, among other promotions. He recently commented on getting left off the card for NWA Hard Times 3. Check out his comments here.
In a recent interview, former WWE star Rosa Mendes stated that she'd only return to WWE and compete in the Royal Rumble if she could give her paycheck to charity. Check out her comments here.
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