Luke Harper returned to a WWE ring for the first time in more than six months on Saturday, appearing at a Raw live event in Rochester, New York to face Mojo Rawley in a match.
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Based on photos taken from the event it appears there are no more signs of the Bludgeon Brothers gimmick both he and (Erick) Rowan had as a tag team for a good chunk of 2018.
Follow up. No service in the Suite here.
But @LukeHarperWWE was indeed here and got without question, the biggest ovation of the night thus far. #WWERochester pic.twitter.com/YEFopWqo2r
— ! (@thejcmoney) March 10, 2019
Harper was last seen on WWE television in August, where he and Rowan (who was working with a torn right bicep) lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championships to The New Day just two days after retaining them at SummerSlam. With Rowan hurt, Harper was also taken off television and had surgery done on an injured wrist.
Given that Harper and Rowan have been joined at the hip for the majority of their WWE runs, it’s possible that Harper will get involved in Sunday’s WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens. Rowan made his surprise return at the Royal Rumble back in January, helping Bryan retain against AJ Styles by interfering while the referee was knocked out. Bryan would explain the following week on SmackDown Live that Rowan was his “intellectual peer,” which was why he was joining forces with the champion.
Harper first debuted on WWE television as a member of The Wyatt Family alongside Rowan and leader Bray Wyatt in mid-2013. In September 2015 the WWE announced that Wyatt had “set free” his former stablemates, allowing both men to go on runs as singles wrestlers. Harper aligned himself with The Authority soon after, earning himself the Intercontinental CHampionship thanks to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon giving him an impromptu match against then-champion Dolph Ziggler. His reign lasted less than a full month, as Ziggler won the title back from Harper at the 2014 edition of TLC.
The Wyatt Family reformed in the Summer of 2015, this time with a rookie Braun Strowman as their new edition. Harper would continue to align himself with Wyatt up until late 2016. Tension amongst the group began to start when Randy Orton became a member and Wyatt began trusting him over Harper and Rowan. Harper eventually turned face against the pair. He was taken off television a few months after the turn and was eventually repackaged as part of the Bludgeon Brothers.
