WWE are rumored to have more plans for Kurt Angle. On this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw, “The Wrestling Machine” was announced as its new General Manager by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. But latest rumors state that Angle, who is the only Olympic gold medalist in pro-wrestling history, could soon also be returning to the ring as a wrestler.
According to famous wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer, WWE are planning to have Kurt Angle back as a wrestler , Sportskeeda reported. Meltzer claims that if Angle can pass WWE’s physical, he could be back as a wrestler soon.
@davemeltzerWON Is there a possibility that @RealKurtAngle will wrestle again in WWE or just in a GM capacity?
— Sam (@sksistheman) April 7, 2017
Plan is for him to wrestle if he passes physical https://t.co/wMq9Bjxx78
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) April 7, 2017
Kurt Angle himself hasn’t ruled out a return to the WWE ring either. Angle returned to WWE last week for the first time since 2006, to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Speaking to ESPN ‘s Jonathan Coachman during the event, Angle said that he was not done with wrestling , CBSSports reported.
“I really think that Kurt Angle is not done wrestling, and I think it’s safe to say that I will be wrestling back in that WWE ring again.”
“I know that I’m going to have to earn their trust and I understand that, especially with the trouble that I’ve been in the past few years. Being clean the last four years obviously has been really good. The more that I show that I can be depended on, the more they are going to let me do.”
“I know the right now I’m going to take more or less of an ambassador role [with WWE],” Angle said. “I do know there’s a chance of Kurt Angle wrestling again.”
Angle said that his current role would be limited to that of an ambassador (this was before he was announced as the GM of Raw), but he hadn’t ruled himself out of returning to the ring as a wrestler. Angle was induced into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017. The event was held in Amway Center in Orlando, and Angle was induced by fellow WWE superstar John Cena.
So the main question here is, assuming that these rumors are in fact true, could Kurt Angle actually pass WWE’s physical? Well, Angle did take part in an in-ring competition only about a month ago. He was involved in a steel cage match with another former WWE star, Cody Rhodes on March 3 during a promotion for an independent circuit, Northeast Wrestling. Angle lost that match, but the result of that match is beyond the point here. What matters is he was able to participate in a wrestling match, meaning if he were in fact to take a WWE physical, he could actually pass it with ease.
It was announced on this week’s edition of Raw, that Angle would be succeeding Mick Foley as the GM of Raw. It would of course make sense for WWE to have Kurt Angle back as a wrestler to add more firepower to their already impressive line up of superstar wrestlers. But for the moment, Kurt’s main and only focus will be the upcoming week’s Superstar Shakeup.
The former GM of Raw, Mick Foley, congratulated his successor and wished him the best via a Facebook post. Foley also said that he will always be willing to give Kurt advice or feedback on his job.
“Kurt Angle is great choice for #RAW GM. He has the respect of everyone in the dressing room, can get serious when he needs to, and has an awe-inspiring ability to embrace his inner nerd. He is likely to have very good chemistry with a wide assortment of the #Raw roster – which makes for good television. I’m not sure if this is true, but there is a rumor out there that he won an Olympic gold medal with a broken freakin’ neck!”
[Image via WWE]