Is R-Truth back? Beloved fan favorite makes shocking return to WWE at Money in the Bank

Pro wrestling is at its peak when you don't know what is going to happen. Even if signs are pointing toward something happening, a last-second swerve is what keeps fans coming back for more. 

CM Punk's return at Survivor Series and John Cena's heel turn, aligning with The Rock, are recent moments that took fans by surprise and almost blew the roof off the arenas in which they occurred. Money in the Bank 2025 was capped off by a tag team match featuring John Cena and Logan Paul taking on Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. At the end of the match, Cena used his title belt to take out Rhodes while the referee was distracted, and a hooded figure attacked the champ. 

The attacker revealed himself to be Ron Killings, a.k.a. R-Truth, who had parted ways with WWE less than a week ago. The crowd erupted, and the return sent social media into a frenzy. 

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Here is more on R-Truth's return at Money in the Bank 2025. 

Is R-Truth back?

The fun part about pro wrestling is that even a simple question can be very loaded. We don't know yet what kind of role the returning R-Truth will have. The WWE is marketing him as Ron Killings, so it appears he will be going by his legal name, which he has done previously in his career. This could mean that R-Truth is actually signed with TNA, which has a partnership with WWE and where he has a history of competing under that moniker. 

The likeliest scenario is that he has a new contract worked out. But it's not out of the realm of possibilities that his contract never even needed to be renewed, and WWE worked a great storyline and fooled us all. 

MORE: WWE Money in the Bank full card results

Did WWE ever really part ways with R-Truth?

The honest answer is: we don't know. And being able to say that is refreshing. 

If you look across social media at all of the "insiders," they will maintain that R-Truth's contract was not renewed, but then due to several days of fan backlash, WWE appears to have decided to give R-Truth some form of a new contract. 

Everything with WWE is assumed to be "a work" — a.k.a. fake — until it isn't. If you take WWE's word for it, you will see interviewer Cathy Kelly getting emotional and saying she is happy to have R-Truth back, followed by Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple-H' Levesque saying that it is all part of the show. 

The truth about the situation likely lies somewhere in the middle. The insiders will never admit that they got fooled or reported something wrong. WWE will likely want to limit the impact fans have because personnel releases happen all the time. Fans have been vocal in the past about wrestlers like Dakota Kai getting released, but WWE didn't bring them back. It also makes sense storyline-wise, as R-Truth was recently feuding with Cena, and this angle does keep that alive, and the company could have come up with a creative way to get here. R-Truth has been more of a comedic personality for many years, and this "return" has him looking edgier. 

We likely won't ever know if his release was real or fake, but isn't that part of the fun? 

MORE: Did WWE release R-Truth and Carlito?

What is R-Truth's real name?

R-Truth's real name is Ronnie Killings. It sounds like in this return that he plans to go by Ron Killings, possibly coming with a character change, but fans will have to wait and see.

Wrestlers tend to go by different names so that they don't have to use their legal names when they perform. They will sometimes use their real name for inspiration, like how Bryan Danielson was Daniel Bryan when he wrestled.

Social media reactions to R-Truth's return

Wrestling fans were clamoring for R-Truth's return, and when they got it, the social media reactions did not disappoint. 

WWE fandom often crosses over into other professional sports, and apparently that includes MLB. 

Seeing R-Truth return out of nowhere at Money in the Bank pic.twitter.com/95La7c4ixT

The debate rages on as to whether the parting of was was legit or part of the show. 

But there are others who are more than happy to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

For decades, many fans felt like WWE ignored the messages they were trying to send regarding who they like to see and who they don't really care about. Tonight was a refreshing departure from that reputation.