10 WWE Superstars Kurt Angle should face in 2017
The world of professional wrestling is on fire as it has made official that Kurt Angle will return to WWE as the headliner of this year’s Hall of Fame class. For years, this has been rumoured only to pass by with no action taking place.
Finally, “The Most Celebrated Real Athlete in WWE History” is free from the grasp of TNA and the independent scene, and back where he belongs.
Immediately, fans are going to wonder if he will step into the ring as an active competitor and if so, in what capacity? While it is not confirmed that he will do anything other than receiving his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, that won’t stop the WWE Universe from drafting up dream scenarios.
Assuming he is cleared to compete and WWE is interested in him as a performer on a somewhat regular basis, who are some of the potential opponents he should be paired up against this year?
In order from the least to the most necessary choices possible, here are ten of the best options available on the current roster.
#10 Jack Swagger
This one is a no-brainer that has been talked about for years. While Jack Swagger is far from the most credible opponent who could face Kurt Angle, there’s certainly a gimmick factor behind this match that can justify doing it.
Swagger’s career has largely existed on only two factors: he was a fantastic collegiate athlete and by proxy of his nickname, he has a built-in association with America in general. This instantly drew parallels to Angle and even to this day, people still connect the two despite them never meeting in the ring.
For example, when American Alpha and Jack Swagger were both moved to the SmackDown roster, fans called for a resurgence of Team Angle, particularly with Shelton Benjamin advertised to join the brand as well.
Nothing of the sort happened as it was not only a stretch, but it was also unnecessary, yet the WWE Universe didn’t get that Angle/Swagger comparison out of their heads.
Why not embrace it at this point? Swagger can go into the match either as a babyface looking to gain Angle’s respect or he can be the heel who thinks he’s surpassed Angle’s legacy and needs to be taught a lesson. In either situation, we’d get to see if Swagger could actually hang with one of the best of all time.