10 WWE Stars Who Came Out Of The Wilderness

5. Kurt Angle

How They Entered The Wilderness:

When Vince McMahon signed the Olympic Hero Kurt Angle in 1998, even he couldn't have predicted just how popular the man would become - or how f*cking quickly he'd take to the style.

Angle wasn't here to make up the numbers and would grasp every opportunity that was offered to him. He excelled in technical wizardry and comedic timing, proving to be a trump card in any situation.

So in mid 2006 - when Angle claimed to be at the top of WWE's payroll - it came as a shock to the fans that he would ask for his release.

Citing his body breaking down and not being allowed the time off to recover from his injuries, Angle was granted his leave (though an alternative version has that WWE asked him to leave for his own good). He then made the switch to TNA, McMahon's only competition at the time.

Angle had left for health reasons, only to sign for the enemy a month later and would be cast out from the WWE family for over a decade.

How They Came Out:

Nearly 11 years after he walked out of those WWE doors, Angle would be inducted into the 2017 Hall of Fame.

Welcomed back like the estranged son he always was to McMahon, the Wrestling Machine found his place back on Raw as a GM and wrestled sporadically in an extended farewell tour.

The bridge had been built and it seemed as though all the water under it wasn't enough to keep these two parties from giving the fans the return we were all angling for.