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Professional wrestling social media sleuths are still trying to figure out the identity of the latest mystery AEW signing. Former WWE Superstar Paul "The Big Show" Wight revealed during his AEW Dynamite debut this week that AEW had signed a "Hall of Fame worthy" star to a contract, with the mystery AEW star being revealed Sunday at AEW's Revolution pay-per-view event.
One name that has been discussed as the possible AEW signing is WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. The Olympic Gold Medalist was released by WWE in April 2020 as part of the budget cuts associated with COVID-19.
Angle retired from in-ring competition in April 2019 at WrestleMania 35, losing to Baron Corbin in his final match before transitioning into a part-time producer role behind the scenes prior to his WWE departure.
Speculation as to Angle's AEW status increased this weekend when the WWE Hall of Famer posted a video on his social media accounts teasing an in-ring return just 24 hours prior to the Revolution pay-per-view. While the video doesn't confirm anything and could just be Kurt Angle toying with fans on social media, it has heightened the discussion of the pros and cons of Angle joining All Elite Wrestling.
Let's take a closer look at 5 reasons why Kurt Angle should sign with AEW.
#5 Dream matches
Whenever a professional wrestling legend returns from retirement, dream matches are always discussed.
Should Kurt Angle return to in-ring competition in AEW, there would be a plethora of wrestlers that the Olympic Gold Medalist has never competed against. Therefore, there would truly be some incredible dream match scenarios that fans thought were once impossible.
At one point in his career, some considered Kurt Angle to arguably be the best wrestler in the world. Today, some consider the accolade to fall on current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. Despite his advancing years and physical restrictions, a Kurt Angle vs Kenny Omega showdown inside of an AEW ring would no doubt be an all-time classic. It's a clash of generations that professional wrestling fans around the world would love to see.
Kurt Angle vs Miro in AEW?
Kurt Angle and Miro have long spoken about their desire to have a program or match against one another. The story would seemingly write itself. In Miro's early WWE days, then known as Rusev, Miro was a classic anti-American foreign heel. The perfect foil to this dominating force would be the all-American hero, Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle. Despite Miro and Kurt Angle eventually being under contract with WWE at the same time, the match never happened. Should Angle sign with AEW, perhaps the long awaited Kurt Angle vs Miro match could finally happen after all.
The list of dream matches goes on and on. Kurt Angle against the likes of PAC, Rey Fenix, Pentagon Jr., Jungle Boy and Hangman Page are all matches that would be phenomenal to watch should the Olympic hero become All Elite.
#4 One more World Championship run
Could Kurt Angle become AEW World Champion? During a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show podcast, Kurt Angle reflected on what he hoped to achieve during his final WWE run before his retirement in 2019. Angle revealed what he had envisioned his final years as a WWE Superstar being like and what actually transpired being completely different.
Kurt Angle stated that he had hoped to return and be booked like fellow WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg. The former WWE Champion hoped to return to WWE and be featured in the main event and have one final run as a WWE World Heavyweight Champion before in-ring retirement. Unfortunately for Angle, this didn't happen:
"It's disappointing because I wanted to perform at that level. I came back to WWE with the mindset that I was going to kicka** and take names and win world titles, you know, a good example is Goldberg. He comes back and, you know, wins world titles and is in the main event at WrestleMania. I was hoping that the same would be for me. But, it just didn't happen."
Could Kurt Angle win the AEW World Championship?
If Kurt Angle were to sign with AEW, the Olympic Gold Medallist would theoretically have a greater say in the direction and booking of his character.
The concept of a legendary wrestler heading towards the final days of his career being the AEW World Champion isn't an idea completely out of touch with reality. The first ever AEW World Champion was none other than Chris Jericho at the age of 48 years and 295 days.
Therefore, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Kurt Angle at the age of 52 years old could have one final World Championship run in AEW. A title reign wouldn't even have to be too long either. A simple few months from one AEW pay-per-view event to the next could serve as Angle's final World Championship reign that he is after.
#3 Improved physcial health
If recent social media posts are anything to go by, Kurt Angle certainly looks ready for one final run inside of an AEW ring.
One of the major reasons that Kurt Angle decided to retire from in-ring competition in 2019 was his physical health. The former WWE Champion had noticed that the wear and tear of several neck surgeries and decades of professional wrestling was finally starting to catch up on his body.
When discussing his 2019 retirement match against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 during a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows, Angle revealed that his body was breaking down and he couldn't compete at the level that he used to anymore:
"You know, I understand why they did it. My body was breaking down, and I couldn't go at the level I used to, I think Vince McMahon gave me the retirement match, not that I exactly wanted, but I needed. I was just happy to have the match."
Kurt Angle physically ready for one last in-ring run in AEW?
However, since his retirement and eventual WWE release, Kurt Angle has kept himself busy by launching his own fitness supplements company Physically Fit Nutrition.
Furthermore, with this increased focus on his own fitness company, Kurt Angle has also increased the focus on his own physical fitness, perhaps ahead of a possible return to professional wrestling in AEW.
In a recent post on social media, Angle revealed that due to his improved physical health he is once again able to "train hard" and feels like he did at his professional wrestling peak.
"Damn it feels good to be able to train hard again.....feeling like I'm in my 30s"
Due to his improved physical state, it would appear that Angle's body is not breaking down like it was prior to his WWE retirement in 2019. Therefore, if Angle signed with AEW, he would be more than physically able to compete inside of an AEW ring.
#2 Reduced schedule in AEW
A huge pro of Kurt Angle signing with AEW would be the reduced work schedule that the promotion offers. Despite his recent physical improvement, Kurt Angle certainly has a lot of miles on his body through his years of professional and amateur wrestling.
The former RAW General Manager has broken his neck on multiple occasions and dealt with a variety of other serious ailments. The toll of these injuries began to show on Kurt Angle as far back as 2006.
Angle struggled with being a full-time WWE Superstar and requested to WWE that he become a part-time wrestler in the same vein as stars such as The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. However, the request was ultimately rejected by Vince McMahon. Therefore, due to other factors such as Angle's addiction issues, the former WWE Champion decided to request his release from WWE and join TNA Wrestling.
Angle would eventually state that the lighter work schedule was a major factor in his decision to sign with TNA. Working far less dates per year was needed due to Kurt Angle's mounting physical issues.
Of course during the current worldwide pandemic, WWE is only running television tapings three times a week for RAW, NXT and SmackDown. However, as 2021 moves along, the possibility of touring live events and weekly travel could likely begin for WWE once more.
AEW's lighter work schedule
Even prior to the pandemic, AEW only ran events once per week. These would be their AEW Dynamite and AEW Dark TV tapings from whatever city the promotion was taping in.
AEW does not run untelevised live events except for the possibility of international tours in the future. This is certainly a stark contrast to how WWE runs their shows, with live events taking place 5 nights per week in comparison to AEW's 1 night per week.
As was the case in 2006 when Kurt Angle chose TNA Wrestling over WWE, AEW presents a suitable alternative for Kurt Angle to only have to travel once a week to Dynamite TV tapings and only get in the ring to wrestle occasionally.
This would no doubt provide Kurt Angle the opportunity to keep his focus on his recently launched fitness supplement company, but also help preserve the fantastic physical condition he has recently gotten himself into.
#1 End Kurt Angle's career on his terms
AEW offers Kurt Angle the opportunity to get the sour taste of his WWE retirement out of his mouth. Since retiring from in-ring competition by putting over Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, Kurt Angle has expressed his feelings about his placement on the card and how long his match lasted during the event.
During a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows, Angle admitted that he wasn't thrilled when he learned that his match would be placed 14th on the 16 match WrestleMania 35 card:
"It does hurt, but, like I said before, you understand your role in the company at that time. You understand the position of your match, you know, they were a featured match, and if they wanted more time, they were going to get it; and obviously, they were going to cut my time. That's just the way it is, and that's the way it will continue to be."
Furthermore, Kurt Angle stated that given his status within the company and the professional wrestling industry, he hoped that his retirement match would last longer than 6 minutes:
"I just felt like, with my status, that I would be treated a little bit differently, but I understand. I did what I was told to do. I made my retirement match at WrestleMania, I did the honors by doing the job, and I put Baron Corbin over so that he continued on to get to the main event status. So, I did my job, and that's all I can ask for."
An opportunity to put things right in AEW?
Should Kurt Angle sign with AEW, the former WWE Champion would have an invaluable opportunity to end his professional wrestling in-ring career the way he envisaged it. Winning World Championships, competing in main event matches, headlining pay-per-view events with matches that last longer than 6 minutes.
There's no doubt that Kurt Angle is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, and his final match should be a celebration of what he was truly great at. Wrestling.
Kurt Angle's final match inside of a wrestling ring should be the headline main event attraction for a pay-per-view event against a worthy opponent that can help Angle put on one final 25 minute wrestling classic match. That is certainly possible in AEW.
If Kurt Angle does sign with AEW, there is once again hope that Kurt Angle can retire in a way that's fitting for his career, against the best wrestlers in the world that AEW has to offer, in the main event of a major AEW pay-per-view.
