WWE shocked the world last week when they announced that Kurt Angle will headline this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony in Orlando, Florida. Before the announcement, many were hopeful that the company would bring our Olympic Hero back for the Royal Rumble event on January 29, and after the announcement, WWE fans became convinced that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion will be one of the surprise entrants in the company’s annual 30-man match.
On Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Radio , Dave Meltzer reported that WWE pulled Kurt Angle from an independent show in Scotland, which is scheduled to take place on the Friday before the Royal Rumble . He also gave his take on whether or not that means that we’ll see Angle on Sunday night.
“[WWE] pulled Kurt Angle from the Five Star show in Scotland this coming Friday. That may or may not be a sign that he’s coming to San Antonio for the Royal Rumble because they just pulled him from the show. It hasn’t even been announced yet, but that happened. He’s not doing the show. He’s not going. The thing is, if he was gonna do something in San Antonio for the Rumble — an appearance, be a surprise entrant — you could say that given they pulled him. But they were gonna pull him from that anyway, whether he’s gonna be in San Antonio or not. So I don’t know that that’s necessarily a sign.”
It’s been over a decade since we last saw Kurt Angle wrestle in a WWE ring, so fans are clamoring to see at least one more match from the 1996 Olympic gold medalist. Whether or not he wrestles again depends on if he can pass a physical exam, and it’s unclear if he has taken his medicals since agreeing to come back to the company.
Angle does live in the same city — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — as WWE’s head of medical, Dr. Joseph Maroon. So it wouldn’t take much effort for him to go in and get cleared to wrestle again.
When Angle left WWE in 2006, he was battling an abundance of injuries, including several neck issues. He was able to work a lighter schedule when he signed with Impact Wrestling, but he still suffered several injuries during his decade-long run there. So there is at least a chance that he won’t be able to pass a physical exam, and that WWE won’t allow him to have one more match.
If Angle is able to return to the ring, there are several potential opponents for him, as guys like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor, Rusev, and many more would all be great foes for our Olympic Hero. Fans would probably also love to see him back in the ring with some of his old rivals like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Brock Lesnar, and even Triple H.
For now though, all we know for sure is that Kurt Angle will be going into the WWE Hall of Fame. He recently told ESPN that he wants Stone Cold Steve Austin to induct him, simply because he learned the most about the pro wrestling business from the Texas Rattlesnake. He also had some phenomenal matches with him.
Angle, who is 48, is scheduled to wrestle at two independent shows prior to this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony, and one of the matches will be against ex-WWE United States Champion Alberto Del Rio. However, there’s a strong chance that WWE could pull him from those shows, especially if they’re planning on having him make a return to the ring on a part-time basis. He also could end up as the general manager for either Raw or SmackDown at some point.
[Featured Image by WWE]
