10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Kurt Angle
2. Physical Frailties
Kurt Angle was cast as an invincible superhero at TLC. He clearly isn't the worker he used to be, but the commentary team put him over like Hercules, and he was gifted the ultimate 'overcoming the odds' spot.
We knew 'The Olympic Hero' would return to the ring and clean house from the moment he was first carted to the back. True to form, 'Gold Medal' hit the PA system, and out marched Kurt, who'd staged a seemingly miraculous recovery. Him and The Shield were victorious, and everyone went home happy.
This is, of course, an extreme perversion of reality. WWE presented Angle as unstoppable, but wrestling only succeeds when the audience are able to suspend their disbelief, and masking Kurt's physical frailties in such an unbelievable way was a step too far in this regard.
Angle's body is barely held together at this point. His chronic neck injuries make it hard not to cringe every time he takes a bump, and it was once said that WWE were reluctant to re-sign him through fears he'd die in the ring. That's terrifying, and while Kurt is likely smart enough to work around his limitations, presenting him as Superman is absurd.