Well, at least one of them, anyway. But when something we weren’t sure would ever happen again (Kurt Angle wrestling for WWE) came to pass, and within weeks he’s been announced for a second pay-per-view (PPV) and is a last-minute addition to a live event... shouldn’t we expect more of these in the future?
Birmingham UK!!! WWE Raw is here! My first “WWE live event” in 11 years, in which I will be wrestling. #itstrue pic.twitter.com/6KXo8svWxT
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) November 7, 2017
The company has been scrambling since Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Bo Dallas went down with a viral infection. It not only led to Angle joining The Shield at TLC, but also to Triple H wrestling at house shows. This latest announcement is likely to fill a card in Manchester which wouldn’t have either Reigns or The Game.
But with another appearance coming up in a week-and-a-half at Survivor Series, a man in his late 40s with a history of neck issues that WWE allegedly once cut because they were afraid for his health if he kept wrestling is now someone they’re willing to call on whenever they need a performer.
Angle’s certainly willing, and has eliminated drugs and alcohol from his life, which was a big part of Vince McMahon’s concern for him when WWE and the Olympian parted ways in 2006. So far, the company has “protected” him in multi-person matches - although if rumors of being used at other Big 4 PPVs are correct, that probably won’t last forever.
If you feel anxious about his potential workload, you probably aren’t alone.
On the other hand, if you’re excited about possibly getting to see in an arena near you, you probably aren’t alone, either. You might even be the same person who’s worried for his safety!
Pro wrestling, everybody.