WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Wrestlers - Where Are They Now?

Entry: #16

Time: 07:59

Then: Working even the most basic of matches was a visibly painful exercise for Kurt Angle by 2018. His body had taken a pounding for decades, so the Olympian was unable to move freely or put in the kind of performances he had in his prime during a second stint in WWE from 2017 onwards. There's a reason why some highly-anticipated major matches just didn't happen.

Kurt was physically incapable of hanging in lengthy, pay-per-view quality showings against WWE's top stars, and he knew it. Thus, shorter cameo spots like the one he worked in this Greatest Royal Rumble became a general rule. Overall, Angle went 8 minutes before being thrown over the top rope to the floor by Elias.

That son of a you know what didn't even have the decency to croon a little number for Kurt as the legend made his way backstage.

Now: Angle has formally retired from the ring. It was overdue, let's be honest. However, the gold medal winner definitely deserved a way better parting shot than his dire match vs. Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 in 2019. That was a disgraceful show of disrespect from Vince McMahon. Kurt vs. Corbs went on 10th on a 12 match card (14th out of 16 if you include pre-show scraps), and they only got 6 minutes before Baron scored one of the most unpopular wins ever. 

Since then, Angle has become a fun interview guest, has hosted his own podcast, and he'll still show up here or there in various segments when required. He's in a good place with his life, which is a major positive. Things looked scary for a while, especially before he kicked his substance abuse issues.