The concept of a returning champion is one of the gameplay elements on Wheel of Fortune. From 1996 to 1998, and again since 2023, the concept is known as the Friday Finals, although this term is not used on-air in the current incarnation.
History[]
While early documents of Shopper's Bazaar (shown briefly on the show's E! True Hollywood Story in 2005) mentioned returning champions, Chuck states following the Shopper's Special that there would be three new players "tomorrow".
When Wheel debuted in 1975, contestants could stay on for up to five days; this was reduced to three sometime between June 7, 1976 and July 5, 1977. A notable exception is the winner of Benirschke's last show (June 30, 1989), who did not return for Goen's debut on July 17.
The nighttime show originally did not use returning champions, adopting the concept when it moved to Television City in September 1989. The element was replaced from 1996-98 by the Friday Finals, where the three highest-scoring players from Monday-Thursday returned to compete again. For the first few weeks of Season 14, and a few special episodes after that, the winner of the Friday Finals would also receive an extra prize if he or she won the Bonus Round (in addition to that round's existing prize).
For Some of the Greats week in 1995, which featured all former contestants playing for charity, the three-day limit was abolished, but was still contained solely to that week. This resulted in former three-day champion Kelly Vaught appearing on all five days, winning Monday through Thursday, but finishing Friday with no money. Vaught holds the known record of most appearances on Wheel, with eight.
Before the Friday Finals became a regular element, it was used for College Week, Family Week, Teen Week, and others on both daytime and nighttime.
In September 1998, the show returned to one-and-done for all contestants, although the NFL Players Week in January 1999 used the Friday Finals format one final time. Pat Sajak explained in multiple interviews that this change was made because the most skilled players are not always the big winners: a contestant who is skilled at solving puzzles may end up repeatedly hitting Bankrupt or Lose A Turn, while an unskilled one might end up with a runaway lead.
Returning to one-and-done has resulted in several contestants winning the game, only to lose the Bonus Round and leave with very little to show for their efforts. There have been various winning scores of far less than $10,000 after Season 15, with the lowest being $1,600 on April 8, 1999.
In the 21st century, there were at least two known plans to bring back former contestants that were ultimately scrapped. At a taping in January 2020, Jim Thornton stated that "a couple of years ago", a rematch between the three million-dollar winners up that point was planned, but did not happen because Michelle Loewenstein declined the opportunity. In Season 39, a tournament was planned and was teased in promos that aired shortly before the season premiere. How this tournament would have worked is not known. This too was scrapped, likely due to the firing of then-new executive producer Mike Richards, who likely proposed the idea, given Pat's open opposition to the concept, which he reiterated during the closing of an April 2022 episode after mentioning that Finland's version of the show brings back the previous three winners every fourth episode and adding, "But we're not gonna do that."
Starting in Season 40, the Friday Finals were revived on an annual basis after 24 years of being retired. One week per season uses the format and is billed as a tournament. Unlike previous incarnations, the high scores are counted only among winners (as opposed to all contestants, winning or losing), with Pat frequently reminding Thursday's players of the score necessary to qualify for the finals. The winner wins an extra grand prize, regardless of whether they win Friday's Bonus Round. A comment made by Pat during Season 41's tournament stating that three contestants in two shows would have to beat Tuesday's high score implied that the show reverted to having all contestants be eligible for the finals, though this was never confirmed, as other comments during the week contradicted this, and no losing contestants scored enough to qualify anyway.
Until sometime between August 28, 1983 and the end of 1998, contestants could try out for the show following their initial appearance: one contestant appeared on October 8, 1980 and the third nighttime episode, while an early nighttime player was told he could return in a year. Now, unlike Jeopardy! (where contestants who appeared on a version other than the Alex Trebek run can appear again), contestants who were on the American Wheel at any point are not allowed back (except if they are invited back to rectify an error or for Fan Favorites, an annual theme week since Season 40): the official website specifically mentions Wheel 2000 and the daytime show (name-checking Chuck Woolery, Goen, and Sajak) on its "Show FAQs" page, while the "Contestant FAQs" page uses the generic "Our rule is that you can be on the show only once in a lifetime. There are a lot of people who want to spin the Wheel!"