Kurt Angle is firmly ensconced as the general manager of WWE Raw, but there’s still a lot of speculation and scuttlebutt that he’ll eventually return to the ring for a final match or even a final stretch run of matches. Keep hope alive. Angle himself has a long list of opponents he’d love a chance to work with in today’s WWE, and the list from fans is even longer.
One of Angle’s dream opponents is a young man he calls one of the top three talents in the world, Finn Bálor. Angle has actually known Finn for over a decade, first running into him back when they were both working in Japan. But hilariously, so much time has passed (and Finn has changed so much) over the past handful of years that when Bálor tried to re-introduce himself to Angle in WWE, the Olympic hero didn’t recognize him and very nearly blew him off.
Angle explained in an interview with Metro:
I’ve known Finn for ten years because I was wrestling over in Japan when he was there. I remember him as this young kid with a Justin Bieber style haircut with the hair spinning all over his head.
When I came back to WWE, I didn’t even know he was the same person. He said hi to me a couple of months ago and I just said hi back and walked past him. He was like ‘you don’t remember me do you?’ and I was like you’re the kid from Japan!
What he’s been able to do over the past ten years is incredible, not just wrestling in the junior division in Japan to the heavyweight division, but bringing this character to life.
Finn Balor, the Demon. He has transcended himself to being one of the most popular wrestlers in the world, and I remember him as a cruiserweight in Japan. You can’t believe how blown away I am by him …
I’m sure he dreamed of wrestling me back then, now I’m dreaming of wrestling him.
In total fairness to Kurt:
- if Finn had his shirt off when he said hi to Angle, there’s no way any human would be able to make eye contact with the dude
- your average person changes a lot in a decade, but especially when they house an ancient Irish demon
So cut the guy a break, already.
