WWE TLC 2017: Why Kurt Angle’s return did not impress

I was excited to see the Olympic Gold Medallist make his much-awaited return to the ring. As much as I argued that his return should have been kept a secret, I headed towards TLC with a positive outlook on the situation and expected Kurt Angle to really deliver.

However, there are several reasons that this return did not hit the nostalgia factor it should have.

When the Hardy Boyz returned at WrestleMania 33, the crowd went mad. It was one of the best returns I’ve seen in the modern era. They didn’t miss a beat, the attire was similar, the entrance, with slightly modified music was immediately recognisable and Matt Hardy carried some #BROKEN traits from his time in TNA.

This is exactly what I expected when I saw Kurt Angle return tonight. I thought The Shield would make their entrance first and Angle would be the last to make his way to the ring to maximise the pop and the reaction to him.

Here I was expecting The Shield to come out alone

However, he was given the Shield vest early on in the show and little did I know that this would spell doom for his return.

So I waited for the main event patiently. Sat through an extremely boring affair (barring Styles and Balor) and tried to stay positive that the return of Angle would wash away any poor performances and storylines that had come beforehand. I cared not one bit for any of the matches that preceded the main event.

The Shield’s music started and out came Ambrose and Rollins looking intimidating and ready for a fight. And who should come up from behind? Kurt Angle, with the goofiest grin on his face you’ve ever seen in your life. Talk about ruining a segment.

It looked like a fan was photobombing the Shield in fancy dress. It was just weird. It completely destroyed any intimidation factor and furthermore, it made Angle look silly.

Now let’s get onto the attire. I appreciate that Angle was an honorary member of the Shield, but there was no need for him to come out in full-blown Shield attire.

Where was the gumshield? Where was this intensity?

I don’t think I just speak for myself when I say we wanted to see Angle in his famous American flag coloured singlet and possibly with a gumshield. Heck, a gumshield would have helped because there would have been a bit of Angle in it.

I thought he might actually wear his expected attire with the Shield vest over it and throw it off in the match. That would have been pretty cool and the crowd would have got the best of both worlds. However, he was made to do the extreme opposite. Not only did it make him look really, really small but also failed to serve him any good.

Kurt Angle was really lacking the intensity he’s known for. After all, it’s one of his three I’s. I know that the rumours were that he would be told to take it easy and not do anything too drastic but honestly, he didn’t really do anything at all.

This is Lesnar's at the moment. Leave it alone.

He was in the ring for the first five minutes of the match, held the ladders as the Shield flew off them and pretty much stood back for most of it. He fired off a few multiple German Suplexes which would have been a great throwback if Brock Lesnar had not claimed it as his signature move.

If a Superstar has a move that they have made iconic, you need to stay away from it, irrespective of who you are.

Kurt was then taken away by EMTs after being fired through a table by Braun Strowman. Here’s a guy who’s supposed to be high on adrenaline, loving his return, fighting with all his might after 11 years out of the WWE ring. And he goes through one table and is taken to the back.

Now don’t get me wrong. Despite my arguments, a little part of me still enjoyed Kurt Angle is back in the ring from the little glimpses of greatness he still showed. The Angle Lock he popped on Kane was great though it came little early in the match. It was clear that Kane was never going to tap out to the manoeuvre but it was good to see.

How an Angle Lock with feeling should look

When he came back, we saw more of the Angle we know and love. Angle slams were abundant and his Angle lock was a lot more intense when he locked it on Miz. His expression was like that of an old veteran. I believe that if he had started off like this, I wouldn’t have even needed to write this article.

Leave it to the professionals...

The final criticism I would have about the return is not Angle picking up the pin per se, but the method used. Angle should not be going near The Shield’s signature powerbomb, let alone take Roman Reign’s place in it. It just wasn’t right.

For me, if you were going to have Angle pick up the win, I would have much preferred an Angle slam or a tap out from the Angle lock.

This felt like a big test match for Angle. If this was supposed to show that Angle could be a threat to one of the major players in WWE that we’ve wanted to see, it only cast doubts in my mind that the man could deliver the match we want.

I hope I’m wrong, but that remains to be seen.