One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every Year Of WWE History

17. 2008 - WWE Creative Tossed Ideas Around For Kurt Angle

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Kurt Angle was fired by WWE in 2006 and only returned to the company in 2017 as an onscreen authority figure and part-time talent. 

It was sadly too late for Angle to do much of note, good value as he was for the odd meme. In the best match of that rather bleak run - alongside Ronda Rousey versus Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34 - he was a passenger. Elsewhere, a physical wreck, the intensity was gone. He was so far gone, after going to absurd degrees to “be” Kurt Angle in TNA, that he couldn’t rely on another ‘I’ to help him through. The intelligence required to execute a fun smoke and mirrors match only surfaced once, when he inexplicably joined the Shield at Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2017. Retiring him to get Baron Corbin over was always a bird-brained idea, but, realistically, there was no better alternative. 

Angle was incredible in TNA, boasting a better in-ring catalogue than even his vaunted early-to-mid 2000s WWE run, but because it was tucked away - and because it unfolded amid countless punchlines - Angle’s legacy as an all-timer is disputed. 

It might have gone differently, had WWE re-signed him - and in 2008, the creative team was asked to toss ideas around for a potential return. 

Obviously, that never happened - but the idea of Angle, still somewhere near his prime, wrestling CM Punk and Daniel Bryan would have been incredible. 

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!