WWE TLC 2017: 5 Possible finishes for Kurt Angle's return match

Roman Reigns out. Enter Kurt Angle.

A whole gamut of emotions duly followed suit in the WWE Universe. Elation, surprise, shock...and in some cases, concern.

Despite being one of the best workers to ever lace up a pair of boots, the fact remains that Kurt Angle is still a 48 year-old-man who's not wrestled a WWE match in over 11 years.

To have him wrestle a fellow 'senior citizen' if you will, that's still acceptable. But to haul him straight into the deep end against the likes of Braun Strowman...with a numbers disadvantage to boot?

In a desperate attempt to maintain interest in the PPV despite Reigns' withdrawal, has the WWE made a fatal mistake in throwing Kurt Angle to the wolves?

Or is this just a gilt-edged opportunity for him to showcase to the world, emphatically, that he's still very much got 'it'?

That is a perspective that varies depending on how each person looks at it and, of course, how the WWE chooses to book the match itself.

On that note...here are 5 possible finishes for the 3-on 5-handicap match that will main event TLC.

If you have other creative ideas, do let us know in the comments section below.

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#1 Stipulation change

An Elimination match would give the team at a numbers disadvantage a greater shot at victory

The 3-on-5 handicap dynamic looked a little skewed on paper, even when Roman Reigns was part of the equation.

Now that he isn't, it only seems all the more insurmountable an obstacle for Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Kurt Angle to overcome.

But rescinding the odds that they forced through with Kane's shoddily booked inclusion would only serve to make Rollins, Ambrose and Angle look weak.

A good way to get around that conundrum, however, would be to add a further last-minute stipulation, making it an Elimination match.

That way, Ambrose, Rollins and Angle can nick a quick roll-up here or an Ankle lock submission there, whittling down the numbers that they're up against, making the finish more unpredictable and the match more enjoyable as a result.

#2 Strowman wreaks havoc

Strowman does what Strowman does best

With Roman Reigns out of the picture, it's entirely conceivable that the WWE puts all of their eggs into the Braun Strowman basket and has him look every bit the monster that he is, at TLC.

Of course, while that may mean that Ambrose, Rollins and Angle may take a loss, let's not forget that this whole match was pieced together with the specific purpose of getting Reigns over with the crowd.

Without that to worry about, the WWE can now put plan B into effect and focus on making Strowman look strong and build him back up - something he direly needs after the insipid showing against Brock Lesnar seems to have done away with all of his momentum.

#3 Kurt Angle gets the victory

Angle's tapped out virtually everyone with the ankle lock...will he do so again?

Inserting Kurt Angle into the match, at such short notice, indicates two things mainly.

One, that the WWE is desperate to compensate for the withdrawal of Roman Reigns. And two, that Kurt Angle was likely being readied for an in-ring return in the near future anyway.

That being said, the WWE has a degree of responsibility to make him look good, what with this being his first match back in the company in over a decade.

It stands to reason that he won't be able to work the entire match at full throttle but should the WWE decide to book his team to win, involving him in the finish with an Ankle Lock submission or the Angle Slam would be a nice touch.

Moreover, the momentum generated from that could also snowball into his next feud, whenever he decides to lace up his wrestling boots again.

#4 Kurt Angle gets destroyed

What if Kurt Angle is just too old to dance anymore?

While unlikely -- primarily because the fans that have been whipped up into a frenzy over his in-ring return will be bitterly disappointed -- Kurt Angle getting destroyed by the likes of Strowman, Sheamus or Cesaro seems to be the realistic course for the match to take.

After all, he's nearly 50 years old, hasn't wrestled in the WWE for more than a decade and is the last minute, stop-gap replacement for Roman Reigns.

There is nothing in there to suggest that he can be the great equaliser that Reigns was intended to be when the WWE thought this match up and, frankly, booking him that way would do a disservice to current day Superstars like Strowman, Sheamus, Cesaro and the Miz.

On the contrary, having someone like Strowman monster-handle him would help in restoring a measure of the momentum that the "Monster Among Men" lost when he was defeated by Brock Lesnar, while also not reflecting too badly on Kurt Angle himself.

After all, what more can we expect from a Superstar who's on his last wrestling legs, hasn't wrestled in the WWE in a long time and was asked to jump straight into the shark tank at the eleventh hour?

#5 Outside interference

With Reigns gone...could Samoa Joe step up?

Without Roman Reigns present to match Braun Strowman blow for blow, the WWE could choose to involve another Superstar in the match, just to even up the scales.

Also, receiving outside help would serve to make it much more believable should the team of Ambrose, Rollins and Angle eventually go on to pick up the win.

It would mean that Angle and co. don't have to suffer a loss on the day of his grand WWE in-ring return while also setting up a feud involving the interfering Superstar and someone from team Miz.

Now, the loss of Roman Reigns is hard to offset no matter how the WWE ends up booking the match...but as a lucky stroke of fate would have it, it would seem that another equally dangerous Samoan is quite ready to make his return after spending months on the sidelines due to a knee injury.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to add two and two, eh?

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