It was an incredible day for wrestling fans for after 10 long years, it was finally announced that Kurt Angle would be returning to WWE. Now, the official announcement is that he was revealed as the first inductee into the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class, but it isn’t known if he will be getting back in the ring for the company. On this same day, though, Angle revealed if he is ready to hang up the boots and with who he wants to have one final match.
Yes, it is true. It is so incredibly true.
I’m coming home! #itsdamntrue
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) January 16, 2017
Back near the end of 2016, the Inquisitr reported that Kurt Angle was telling independent promoters he could no longer accept bookings past March. Angle was telling them that he was going back to WWE and that he would be busy on WrestleMania 33 weekend.
Well, on Monday afternoon, the official website of WWE revealed that Angle was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and he will headline the 2017 class. Many thought his return to the company meant that he was going to get back in the ring for them, but will he? Is his career over since he’s going into the Hall this year?
Interestingly enough, Angle was on Lilian Garcia’s podcast Making Their Way To The Ring this week, and that was one of the things they talked about. When Angle was asked if he was done wrestling after a year on the independent scene, he wasn’t very sure one way or the other.
“I can’t really say. But if I am, I’m OK with it. I will tell you this, Lilian…that’s the only reason I would do it. I will not do it for myself. I would do it for you and the fans out there. It’s no longer about me.”
At the beginning of 2016, Kurt Angle’s contract with TNA Impact Wrestling was up, and he let everyone know he was taking a bit of a break. Sure, he wrestled on the independent scene where he had great matches with Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, and others, but he stayed away from the major promotions.
Now, he’s back with the company, but in what capacity? That much isn’t exactly known yet and it may be no more than for his induction into the Hall of Fame this year, but would he get back in the ring and wrestle? Angle told Lilian Garcia that he’s “OK with not being Kurt Angle the wrestler anymore,” and that he is “happy being” who he is.
Still, if he were to come back and wrestle for Vince McMahon’s promotion, there will come a time when his official retirement will have to happen. That being said, Angle already has a final dream match in place and he’s hoping that it can happen.
Kurt Angle’s idea for his final wrestling match ever is one that wouldn’t be against someone he has never faced before. No, Angle wants to take on AJ Styles again and he even gave him one of the most complimentary comparisons of all time.
“The one that I would really love to have a final match with right now is the kid that’s the hottest right now in WWE…that’s AJ Styles. I wrestled AJ in TNA, and I can tell you that he is every bit as good as Shawn Michaels. The thing with AJ Styles, and I want everybody to realize this…you don’t have to do anything with him. He does all the work. So it’s an easy match for you. He flies around the ring. He does all the bumping.”
“AJ is a special individual where you can go in that ring and literally just stand in the middle and he does everything for you. I have never had a match with anybody that’s been so easy, and every time I worked with him it was a five-star match. So AJ’s that kind of talent. He only comes around once in a lifetime, so I’d really love to shake it up with him one more time if I could.”
Throughout his historic career, Kurt Angle has wrestled a lot of different stars between multiple promotions. Many of them such as AJ Styles and John Cena, he has wrestled on many occasions. He has wrestled in the Olympics and around the world, so, it isn’t surprising that he is headlining the 2017 class for the Hall of Fame as he truly deserves it.
Fans are just hoping that his wrestling days aren’t over and that he still gets the chance to mix it up with guys like AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and even Brock Lesnar in one more match or a lot more.
Kurt Angle is finally back “home” as he put it on Twitter, and he’s going to be in the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class. There is hope among wrestling fans that he will actually get back in the ring and become an active competitor on the main roster, but that remains to be seen. If he’s not done wrestling, though, Angle has a final match in mind and he has his sights set on the current highest champion on SmackDown LIVE – AJ Styles.
[Featured Image by WWE]