WWE TLC 2017: 5 positives we can take away from Kurt Angle’s in-ring return

Kurt Angle returned to in-ring action last night at TLC and his performance divided the WWE Universe. Some were expecting a bit more from the Olympic Gold Medallist, myself included, but it was a lot of fun to see one of the greats back where he belongs.

There is no doubt that Angle has been a major part of television since he came back to the company. He has had his problems in the past and it’s not for us to judge. He’s now clean, back in the company that made him and the General Manager of Raw.

His run as General Manager reminds me of Mick Foley’s first run as commissioner. He is more than respected so he can carry the authority needed to tell wrestlers what to do and he is able to inject comedy into the role, which is needed in a show that is generally serious.

This comes from him not taking his character too seriously back when he was one of the top stars. There was nothing Kurt wouldn’t do and when you go into situations that are downright embarrassing with the right attitude, it can catapult you to the top and help you win over the hearts and minds of the fans.

I myself wrote a quite critical article of his return last night as it did not match the expectations I had for it. That being said, there are many positives we can take out of the performance and I’ll run through them in this article.

#5 He enjoyed it

I only wish I could be half as happy as Kurt

We’ll start off simple. Kurt really enjoyed coming back to the ring. It was written all over his face. Literally. He was like a kid in a candy store.

One thing that can really drag a performance down, is if the wrestler is not enjoying their time out there in the ring. In the wrestling business, you have to have a massive passion for it and if you don’t have that, you will be found out very quickly.

With Kurt being out of action for so long, it was very possible that he could have lost the buzz that comes with performance and this would have reflected in his output. If you love what you do, you will automatically put more effort into it.

While I still stand by the fact that Kurt’s goofy grin kind of ruined the entrance (there are now countless memes of this already), I’d rather have that than a Kurt that just does not want to be there at all. His positive attitude resulted in a positive performance and I think the crowd really helped here, which leads me to my next point...

#4 The crowd still love him

I was expecting a pop, even when Kurt didn’t get his own entrance, but I didn’t expect the reaction to be as good as it was. It was close to ‘Raw after WrestleMania’ standards. The crowd went absolutely bananas for Kurt and it was great to see.

He was never going to get as bad of a reaction as GrandMaster Sexay did when he made a return to the sound of silence, but I still didn’t expect the thunderous reaction he did receive.

It helped the match in some way because the crowd were already pumped from seeing Angle back in the ring. Let’s face it, the finish was fairly sloppy and lacked direction, so we needed something to hang on to and I’m fairly positive that the return of Angle after being taken out of the match was purely designed to get the crowd pumped again.

Throughout the match, there were chants of “You still got it” and “This is awesome”. If you have the backing of the crowd, your popularity will outweigh any limitations you may have in the ring. Just look at Enzo Amore.

They were even louder than when they first saw him and we saw a return to ‘Old Angle’ with the intensity that we were expecting and the intensity we remember. He started popping off all his classic moves, taking out the competition one by one to a rapturous reception.

#3 He can still go

You still got it! *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*

Can he ever! I was a bit worried in the first section of the match. He was more of a bystander, rather than getting fully involved. He fired off a few German Suplexes, but as I explained yesterday, these belong to Lesnar now so it felt a bit flat for me.

However, after being taken out by Strowman by being put through a table, Angle came out and went absolutely mental. An Angle Slam on the ramp, an Angle Slam on the table followed by the Angle lock on The Miz. It was brilliant.

It certainly wasn’t catch as catch can but I don’t think anyone was really expecting that sort of action in a TLC match nor were they expecting it in a 5 on 3 situation, so that was not really disappointing. It also does not suggest that he can’t do these things.

I am still wholly confident that Kurt has lost absolutely none of his skills nor would he be limited should he go one on one with any superstar. The man is only 48. Nowadays, with the safety measures the WWE takes with all their athletes, this should not be a problem should he now decide to face off against the top talent.

#2 He came out healthy

Kurt didn’t get injured. Excellent stuff!

Before the match, the internet was awash with rumours that backstage officials wanted Kurt Angle to take it easy and not take any unnecessary risks when competing. Given that they cleared him with relatively short notice, this put doubt in people’s minds whether Kurt was actually fully healthy and ready to go.

However, as I said earlier, the WWE takes great care of their talents and they would not allow Kurt to go and perform if they did not think it was going to be safe.

A lot of criticism came off the back of the WWE not allowing Daniel Bryan to perform, but this is completely different as Bryan has a history of concussion and neck problems and the last thing they want is lasting damage to the brain.

It’s good to see Kurt come out of the match unscathed, even after going through the table as it will give the company and himself, the confidence to go forward and build for a singles match.

#1 It wasn’t all about Kurt

The promotion was all about Kurt, the internet was filled with the news about Kurt and all anyone seemed to talk about was Kurt.

I know it was last minute and I have no doubt that it drove subscriber numbers and viewers for the pay-per-view, but what about the wrestlers that had always been in the match? My worry was that they would be outshined and overshadowed by the Olympic Gold Medallist.

This was not the case. Cleverly, he was only there for the first and last five minutes of the match, leaving the storyline to progress as normal for the rest of the time with no focus at all being on Angle. It was cleverly done and very respectful to the other performers.

The crowd got the best of both worlds with this because it meant we got the nostalgia and excitement of Kurt coming back, but we were also allowed to watch the regular performers enhance the story.

Braun Strowman getting murdered in a garbage truck in front of the General Manager would not have been great storyline-wise but they can now just pass it off as Kurt missing it. He can go back to his role as General Manager with no comeuppance really.

He did get the pin, but that was just to send the crowd home happy. The real stars of the past few weeks, Strowman, The Miz and The Shield shone through last night.

I hope it is not too long before we see Kurt Angle back in action!