Kurt Angle is one of the most decorated wrestlers in history, pro or otherwise. He’s an Olympic gold medalist, a 2-time NCAA Champion, a 4-time WWE Champion (5 if you count the World Heavyweight Championship, 6 if you count the “WCW Championship”), a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and a 5-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He’s also spent the last year very obviously angling (pardon the pun) for one of those “sign me for a day so I can finish my career with the winning team” runs in WWE.
With his TNA contract expiring in two weeks, Angle talked to Ring Rust Radio about his plans for the immediate future. It’s got all the flavor you’ve come to expect from a TNA “big announcement,” meaning he’s screaming LOOK AT ME, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT while simultaneously telling you nothing at all.
“Well right now I’m not at liberty to say where I’m going but I will tell you I’m going to do the right thing for me and my family. I am in the process of structuring a deal and I do have a company in mind. I haven’t said yes because I want to make it a public thing with the company and myself. I can’t really say who it is or where I’m going but I can tell you it’s going to happen in the next two weeks before my contract is even up. I won’t be wrestling until January but there will be a signing in the next couple of weeks.”
Here are your possible interpretations:
1. Angle’s returning to WWE for a nostalgia run. That January wrestling return lines up perfectly with a return at the Royal Rumble. That’d at the very least give him a Batista-style Rumble-to-Mania run to end his career. There’s a lot for Angle to do in the modern WWE. Hell, who doesn’t want to see Kurt Angle vs. Daniel Bryan? Bryan’s made out of paper and Angle hasn’t been “Angle” since 2006, but it’s one of those Sting vs. Undertaker things that needs to happen. Angle can then ease into the WWE Hall Of Fame, or stretch things out for another year and German suplex Brock Lesnar. Just like old times.
2. WWE told Angle to go screw and he’s making a “big announcement” about his loyalty to TNA. That happens sometimes. Remember, WWE originally let Angle go because they felt he was a danger to himself. Not sure how much of that has changed.
There’s always a third option — Going to New Japan to feud with AJ Styles? Maybe a run in LUCHA UNDERGROUND? A year’s worth of Pro Wrestling Syndicate shows? — but these are your best bets. Who ya got?
