Report: Backstage News On Bronson Reed's WWE Return

16 months after his release, Bronson Reed returned to WWE on the December 19 edition of Monday Night Raw, aligning with The Miz to help him defeat Dexter Lumis in a Winner Takes All Ladder Match. 

According to Fightful Select, Reed was a "priority hire" for WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque after he replaced Vince McMahon as head of creative. Reed is signed to a contract with WWE and he is finished with New Japan Pro-Wrestling unless WWE organise a Karl Anderson-esque deal for the former NXT North American Champion.

Reed hadn't wrestled since he lost to Kazuchika Okada at October's Declaration of Power event and Fightful noted it "wasn't an accident" that the 34-year-old hadn't performed since then. His return was not listed internally on run sheets for Raw but talent had already discovered that Reed was on his way back to WWE. 

During his first WWE run, Reed competed on NXT from 2019 until he was let go in August 2021. He received a push during his final months with the company, having a short reign as North American Champion. Reed looked set to move to the main roster but he reportedly failed to impress Vince McMahon and was released soon after.