At every NXT Takeover, there’s usually one or two individuals sitting at ringside which WWE cameras pick up for a big pop from the crowd. At last night’s Takeover event, there were more than one or two, but only one was a surprise.

During the broadcast, War Machine, Ricochet, and Maria Menounos were shown on camera sitting in front row. But before the main event started, there was one star who has made his return: EC3.

The former TNA/Impact champion was acknowledged by his Impact name of EC3 and got quite the reaction from the Philly crowd. Ethan Carter III left Impact earlier this month after the week-long television tapings as his contract was expiring before the next set of tapings. He was written out of Impact television in an episode that will air in a few weeks time.

EC3, who used the name of Derrick Bateman while in WWE/NXT in the past, seems like will be keeping his Impact name going forward. This is possible after Anthem’s chief Ed Nordholm made the change that anyone who leaves can continue using their name, even if it was created by the company.

In an exclusive interview with WWE.COM, EC3 said that it’s been 1,714 days days since he’s been affiliated with WWE and now he’s once again part of NXT. Unlike those days, now he knows who he is and is looking forward to the future.