Big Cass makes his return to WWE tonight on Raw, his first appearance for the company since his release in June 2018. The show airs live from Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa, the first episode following SummerSlam 2026, and it’s the date WWE’s own vignettes have been building toward for weeks.
Fightful Select reported that Cass officially signed his new deal earlier in July, with the loose plan for a WWE return in place since May. His last promotion was AEW, where he wrestled as Big Bill until his contract expired at the start of the month.
Who Is Big Cass?
Born William Morrissey on August 16, 1986, in Queens, New York, Cass stands 6-foot-10 and turns 40 later this month. He played center for the NYU Violets before training under Johnny Rodz and signing with WWE’s developmental system in 2011.
Morrissey broke through in NXT alongside Enzo Amore, and the duo reached the main roster on Raw in 2016 as one of the most popular acts on the brand. The team split in 2017, and Cass was released the following June after a singles run that included a brief feud with Daniel Bryan.
The Fall And The Comeback
The full story behind that release only came out later. Cass has spoken publicly about the alcohol addiction that drove his behavior at the time, including a seizure at a House of Hardcore event in Philadelphia in December 2018 that required medical attention.
By his own account, he cycled in and out of rehab more than once before things “started clicking” in January 2020, when he committed to Alcoholics Anonymous with support from Diamond Dallas Page. Cass has credited that stretch of sobriety with saving both his career and his life.
The AEW Run
Cass rebuilt his in-ring career through Impact Wrestling before landing in AEW in 2022 under the name Big Bill. He won the AEW World Tag Team Championship alongside Ricky Starks and later teamed with Bryan Keith as Paid In Full, part of The Learning Tree stable.
Big Bill was pulled from AEW’s roster page in mid-July after word broke that his deal was expiring and a WWE return was in motion. WWE has since aired multiple vignettes teasing the comeback, some leaning directly into his real-life struggles and 2018 release.
Will Enzo Amore Be Next?
Tonight’s return also revives the question of whether Cass and Enzo Amore end up back together. Reports have linked Amore to a WWE comeback for months, with sources indicating he’s stopped taking independent bookings that would normally conflict with a WWE deal.
Amore’s path back carries more complication. He was suspended and then released by WWE in January 2018 following sexual assault allegations; no charges were ever filed in the case. He was spotted at the WWE Performance Center in May, and speculation persists that a reunion, whether as an in-ring tag team or with Amore in a manager’s role, is still on the table.
For now, all eyes are on tonight’s Raw card to see exactly how WWE brings Cass back into the fold.
