"He will probably win the Rumble" - Kurt Angle reveals who will dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39
All eyes are on Roman Reigns and his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship as we gradually approach WrestleMania. Kurt Angle weighed in on Roman's legendary run and felt Cody Rhodes would be the superstar to end the Tribal Chief's dominance in WWE.
The American Nightmare has been injured since June and is expected to return at the Royal Rumble. Rhodes even spoke about his world championship goals during a recent RAW appearance, and it looks like WWE is also backing him to go up against Roman Reigns.
Kurt Angle was also a big fan of the former AEW star and admitted he was his primary pick as the next world champion, who he saw winning the Royal Rumble en route to the main event of WrestleMania.
While the Olympic hero realized that Rhodes wasn't essentially a young talent, he still believed that the 37-year-old star had the fan support to go on and win the biggest prize in professional wrestling.
Here's what the WWE Hall of Famer had to say on The Kurt Angle Show:
"Oh, he (Cody Rhodes) was the first one I was going to pick. Cody Rhodes is the guy. I believe that they are probably going to do something at the Royal Rumble. I think he will probably win the Rumble and go on to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. You know, he is not exactly a young guy, and he has won the world title before (outside WWE). But he'd be the right person to do it. I think the fans have gotten behind him, and he's a big enough star right now to do that." [28:10 - 29:20]
Kurt Angle might be onto something with his prediction, as current rumors suggest WWE also plans on having Cody Rhodes challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
However, whether the long-awaited title change will take place is anyone's guess at this point.
Kurt Angle on why WWE should consider having an up-and-coming star defeat Roman Reigns
The company has many established former world champions who could realistically be chosen to dethrone Roman Reigns. Kurt Angle mentioned the likes of Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman but explained why WWE should instead focus on pushing a fresh face.
Angle himself won his first world title early in his WWE career by defeating The Rock at No Mercy 2000. The monumental victory made Kurt Angle a household name, and he noted that WWE could do the same thing with another promising young star in 2023.
Kurt recalled that he'd lost several matches and wasn't sure about his direction in WWE until the company surprisingly made him world champion.
Kurt Angle continued:
"I would love for it to be a young guy, a newcomer, like when Rock dropped the title to me. I mean, I was only on TV for ten months when I beat Rock for the title. I was relatively new. And that made me. I mean, obviously, they could have a Seth Rollins beat him or Braun Strowman beat him. But, if you're going to do this, you've got to do this with somebody that can make a big difference. If you're going to do it with a young guy, you've got to make him out of nowhere. Like Austin Theory, boom! Overnight. That's what they did with me." [27:20 - 28:07]
On this day in 2000, @RealKurtAngle defeated @TheRock in an incredible match at No Mercy to win his first WWF/E Championship in under a YEAR as a member of the roster.
Olympic tears were shed, and Kurt Angle ARRIVED. These two had such amazing chemistry together
****1/4 https://t.co/1DQGSu6Gvk
The element of surprise often works in professional wrestling, but do you think it should be used in Roman Reigns' case? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Kurt Angle Show and H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription.