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Much like MVP before him, Carlito has returned to WWE. At the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble, MVP made a surprise return to the company and entered the men’s Rumble match. He appeared on WWE RAW following the event and picked up a loss against Rey Mysterio. Following these two matches, MVP slowly built up his return to become one of the biggest names on RAW again.
Carlito returned to WWE during the 2021 Royal Rumble a few days ago, being eliminated by Elias during the match. He followed up his return with an appearance on RAW where he teamed up with Jeff Hardy to compete against Elias and Jaxson Ryker. Carlito and Hardy went on to pick up the win, and it could lead to a few rivalries for the veteran.
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Just like MVP, Carlito could work his way up and become a top player on RAW in the months to come. If the creatives play their cards right, they can work on the hype around Carlito’s return to build some big rivalries and give some Superstars a chance to get a push.
With that in mind, let’s look at five potential rivalries for The King of Cool in WWE that could help the Superstars involved.
#5 Carlito and Jeff Hardy could continue their rivalry against Elias and Jaxson Ryker in WWE
No matter how hard Elias has tried, he has remained in the mid-card for most of his WWE career. His NXT run wasn’t the best, and he was teamed up with big names such as Shane McMahon, but still hasn’t gotten ahead.
WWE recently attached Jaxson Ryker with Elias, who needs a way to get over with the crowd once again. Now that both Superstars are finding their way in WWE as a part of a tag team, WWE could give them a push over two veteran Superstars.
WWE RAW hosted a match between the two heels and the team of Carlito and Hardy. Carlito managed to impress the WWE Universe, while Hardy delivered his finisher to pick up the victory. WWE could carry this rivalry on for a little longer to help both the teams find their footing on RAW.
While Hardy has been around for some time, he hasn’t stuck around in many rivalries with teams for too long. Teaming with Carlito could help the veteran get over with the WWE Universe again before pushing ahead. Carlito could also benefit from the same treatment.
On the other hand, the rivalry could allow the team of Elias and Ryker to implode, leading to one of the two Superstars to get over in the months to come.
#4 Carlito could get into the race for the WWE 24/7 Championship
The WWE 24/7 Championship was one of the biggest reveals in the first half of 2019. However, over the past few months, the excitement around the title has wilted away. R-Truth has been at the forefront of carrying the 24/7 Championship storylines, and Drake Maverick’s inclusion helped elevate the overall picture.
Carlito returned at the WWE Royal Rumble, and may just stick around for a few months before heading into some other role in the company, or completely moving away. If that’s the case, WWE could use the veteran opposite R-Truth to elevate the 24/7 Championship picture.
Carlito had some great comic roles in WWE during his previous tenure, and he could be the perfect Superstar to work alongside R-Truth to help the creatives build interest in the title. WWE could get Carlito into the 24/7 Championship picture on RAW, and build a comic rivalry between him and Truth, before allowing Carlito to move into some other rivalry or role.
#3 Carlito and Jeff Hardy could get into a rivalry against The Miz and John Morrison
The Miz and John Morrison are one of the most prominent heel tag teams in WWE today. While both men haven’t been remotely as successful as they should have been over the past year, they have been doing a good job keeping things ticking in the company.
Carlito’s return has opened up a potential trip down memory lane for the WWE Universe. Fans watched Carlito and Primo feud against the team of Miz and Morrison over ten years ago. The two teams also had a match at WrestleMania XXV where The Colons defeated Miz and Morrison in a Tag Team Championship unification match. The victory allowed the team to become the first in WWE history to hold both sets of the company's Tag Team Championships.
With Primo away, Carlito could continue to tag with Jeff Hardy and possibly get into a rivalry against Miz and Morrison once again. Not only will this help all four Superstars stay prominent, but it could also result in some great matches as all four Superstars are familiar with each other.
The rivalry could take one of the two tag teams to the RAW Tag Team Championships picture, where one team could possibly end up becoming the new Champions.
#2 Carlito and Jeff Hardy could be targeted by RETRIBUTION in WWE
RETRIBUTION’s leader Mustafa Ali has been extremely vocal about his displeasure at seeing former WWE Superstars return to the ring. Right after the WWE Royal Rumble, Ali took to Twitter to welcome back some of the older Superstars in his own way.
Carlito is one of the former Superstars who returned during the Rumble match, and he too will be under Ali’s scrutiny. Additionally, Carlito has been paired up with Jeff Hardy who is another veteran, and Ali could show that he’s unhappy at the two older Superstars getting together and getting more screentime.
This could result in a rivalry between RETRIBUTION and the team of Carlito and Hardy who've recently gotten together. While Ali is busy targeting Kofi Kingston of The New Day, he could have T-Bar and Slapjack or Mace go after Carlito and Hardy to build two big rivalries simultaneously.
Not only will this allow the Superstars of RETRIBUTION to get more screentime, but it will also allow Carlito and Hardy to get closer as a tag team and possibly move into the RAW Tag Team Championship picture in the future.
#1 Carlito could turn on Jeff Hardy and have a rivalry against him in WWE
There are several opponents in WWE against whom Carlito and Jeff Hardy can compete as a tag team. However, some of Carlito’s best work in WWE came as a heel rather than a babyface. Hardy is a pure babyface who has worked on his character and image for years.
While Carlito can initially benefit from tagging with Hardy and getting ahead, fans could see him turn heel sooner than later on WWE RAW.
One of the biggest angles WWE could run on the Road to WrestleMania is having Carlito and Hardy team up for a couple of months, before The King of Cool backstabs his partner.
This will open a world of possibilities for the company that has done excessively well with MVP’s return over the past year. WWE could give Carlito a push and allow him to get into a rivalry with a former WWE Champion to get a major boost.
This will allow the creatives to book a match between the two veterans at WrestleMania. Since WrestleMania will be held over two nights without any crowd in attendance, WWE could use these big names to have fans tune into the WWE Network.
