WWE legend, 54, ‘hasn’t aged a day’ in huge comeback after 19 years-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro

Dawn Marie hasn’t been featured on WWE TV since 2005 (Picture: WWE)

WWE took NXT to the extreme this week and Dawn Marie led the many returns on the special show.

On Wednesday night, the stars of the future paid tribute to the past at the infamous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, which was the original home of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

The likes of Dawn, Rob Van Dam, Nuzio (Little Guido), Rhyno, the Dudley Boyz and Francine all made special appearances on the night.

Paying homage to Paul Heyman’s promotion, the show opened with a Hardcore match between Lola Vice and Jaida Parker, with Dawn, 54, as the special guest referee.

Fans were delighted to see her back as she put her own spin on the classic black and white stripes in her own branded NXT ref shirt.

She called the action down the middle and didn’t directly play into the storyline, and plenty of viewers pointed out that she’s barely aged a day since she last appeared in WWE almost two decades ago in 2005.

She made her return on NXT at the 2300 Arena (Picture: WWE)

She appeared at the venue during her time in ECW (Picture: WWE)

She returned as referee for Jaidi Parker and Lola Vice’s Hardcore match (Picture: WWE)

‘Like fine wine, she gets better with time! Ageless ✨✨🍷🍷,’ wrote @HotrockHudson on X, as @gphillips8652 added: ‘Dawn Marie will never go out of style. #WWENXT’

‘How does Dawn Marie look like she hasn’t aged a day in 20 years?? #WWE #WWENXT,’ asked @JoeKnowsWorst, while others called for an in-ring return in the 2025 Royal Rumble.

‘YES!! We get to see @WWEDawnMarieECW on our tv’s again I’m so EXCITED I could cry !. Btw she looks the exact same from back in the day. Rumble next please,’ suggested @RblxTammyxo.

Jaida Parker and Lola went all out in the ring (Picture: WWE)

The ECW Arena was famous for its extreme matches (Picture: WWE)

‘Love the stage, visual and setting of #WWENXT This surely brings back the vibes from ECW. Dawn Marie looks incredible at her age now. She hasn’t aged one bit,’ added @MoonRaider25.

Another another X user, @SuperFanComShow, couldn’t resist a joke about one of Dawn’s final WWE storylines when her character killed rival Torrie Wilson’s on-screen dad during a bedroom romp.

‘…wow Dawn Marie has not aged since she killed Al Wilson,’ they quipped.

Rob Van Dam also made an appearance after being attacked by Wes Lee (Picture: WWE)

RVD celebrated with Je’Von Evans (Picture: WWE)

She wasn’t the only blast from the past, with Rob Van Dam making his presence felt during rising star Je’Von Evans’ match with Wes Lee.

The latter had attacked RVD backstage before the bout, but the Whole F’N Show got some revenge by costing Lee the win, while Evans scored the pin with Van Dam’s own Five Star Frog Splash.

Bubba Ray Dudley returned to a WWE ring for the first time in over eights years, teaming up with Trick Williams but coming up short against Ethan Page and Ridge Holland.

Bubby Ray Dudley was also back on his familiar stomping ground (Picture: WWE)

Bubba Ray and Trick Williams sent Ethan Page through a table as D-Von Dudley watched on (Picture: WWE/Andrea Kellaway)

Rhyno hit a huge Gore on Robert Stone (Picture: Andrea Kellaway)

Bubba Ray and Trick got some revenge after the bout, with D-Von Dudley coming down to set up a table, which poor All Ego was sent crashing through with a Double Chokeslam.

Mr. Robert Stone had a night to forget after trashing ECW and its memory, only for the lights to drop out and ‘The War Machine’ Rhyno to appear and rock him with a Gore in the middle of the ring.

In a bit of perfect casting, Full Blooded Italians’ Nunzio made his own comeback to face Tony D’Angelo in a showcase for The Don, while giving the man formerly known as Little Guido a fun moment in front of the fans.

Tony Mamaluke joined Nunzio as he came down to the ring (Picture: WWE)

Tony D’Angelo picked up the win (Picture: Andrea Kellaway)

Francine had the best seat in the house for the main event (Picture: Andrea Kellaway)

And ECW alumni Francine was in attendance, as she sat on the front row for the blockbuster main event pitting Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Kelani Jordan, Zaria and TNA Wrestling star Jordynne Grace against Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade and Fatal Influence.

The all-star team got a huge win in a match which was designed to fully focus on the present and future of NXT, rather than the ECW callbacks.

Zaria continued her meteoric rise up the ranks with a huge F-5 to beat NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne, which should set her up for a title shot over the coming weeks.

WWE NXT airs Tuesday nights at 1am on the WWE Network. It will be moving to Netflix in the UK from January 2025.

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