28/Feb/2003 - WWE.com
- After 16 months, Rhyno returns triumphantly
by Phil Speer - Credit: WWE.com
Feb. 28, 2003

It's sadly ironic that Rhyno would return to World Wrestling Entertainment on this week's SmackDown!
His appearance on Thursday's episode was his first time back in the ring on WWE television since having neck surgery on Nov. 2, 2001. Unfortunately, Edge, who was backstage at SmackDown! but did not appear on the show, is due to have a similar procedure, performed by the same doctor, and is expected to miss about a year of action.

One Superstar comes back from the surgery just as another leaves to go have it. It's especially unfortunate that those two Superstars happen to be Rhyno and Edge, who have known each other and traveled together since cutting their teeth in the business in independent promotions. This week's SmackDown! should have been the beginning of a happy reunion for the two. Instead, it was just a one-time special occasion, as Edge won't be at SmackDown! next week and is scheduled to go under the knife on March 10.
"It'll be two years by the time he comes back since we've been on the road together," Rhyno said, jokingly adding, "And I told him, 'What makes you think I want to ride with you anyway?'
"We'll (still) talk. He's going to be a big part of the company still. He's going to be busy with autograph sessions and all that, and maybe start a family. I better be the godfather of the child if and when he does -- if not, it's going to be some serious heat."
If it sounds like Man-Beast is in good spirits, he is. While it's sad that Edge has to have surgery, it's still an ecstatic time for Rhyno, who can finally hear the roar of the crowd after sitting at home for nearly 16 months waiting for the bones in his neck to fuse into one.
"In Detroit (at a non-televised event on Feb. 16) I did a run-in, and they responded very, very well," said Rhyno, a Motor City native, adding that he also got a great response from the fans in London, Ontario for this week's SmackDown! "It's amazing how the people don't forget. Maybe I bring something to the table they really like and appreciate."

Rhyno said he would have been happy to join either brand -- RAW or SmackDown! "Whatever they gave me I would have grabbed and tried to run with as hard as possible," he said. But there are advantages of being on SmackDown! One of them is that he's on the same crew as Chris Benoit, another friend -- his tag team partner on this week's show -- who has come back from spinal-fusion surgery.
(Stone Cold Steve Austin is the other Superstar thus far to successfully return from the operation.)

"Just because I'm back doesn't mean it's smooth sailing," he said. "When you come back from an injury, you're kind of gun-shy on a lot of things. Your neck might feel stiff. Working with Benoit, I can compare notes with him right then and there."
While Rhyno has received full medical clearance to return to the ring, he says, "The battle's not over, it's just begun -- on several different levels." He was referring to recovering mentally from the surgery, as well as physically, and thinking of ideas for his in-ring work and his promos.

But he certainly did not look rusty in his first match back. If there was any rust, he would have worked it off at WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. He had a handful of short stints there since he was cleared for light ring work in December. His strength was already back by then, but he had been trying to regain his size, and he was successful. His weight on Thursday's SmackDown! was exactly what it was last time he appeared on WWE television, in October 2001. Now he's looking to trim five to 10 pounds.

Some fans, and even some Superstars, expected that he may not do the Gore anymore due to possible jarring of his neck. But he did just that during his match with Matt Hardy and Shannon Moore to pick up the win for his team. He also delivered Gores to all the members of Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) when he made his surprise appearance and saved Benoit at the Detroit show two weeks ago.

Asked if the doctor had advised him against any sort of activity in the ring, Rhyno joked, "He said I can't have my shoulder blades flat for more than two seconds."

Turning slightly more serious, he said, "I don't think you'll see me Goring anybody off the stage anytime soon. As long as I'm coming straight on, that's OK. I feel more comfortable doing that than a lot of other things."

Rhyno said he simply doesn't think about his surgically repaired neck while he's in the ring.

"I think I'll always think about it," he said. "I was thinking about it before (the match), but out there, I was just worried about having a good match."