Kurt Angle returns to the ring...

[CyberPunk]

..this Sunday at TLC. WWE.com reports that Kurt Angle will replace Roman Reigns in their 3-on-5 handicap match due to "medical issues" without elaborating what those issues are. On a side note, Bray Wyatt also has some "medical issues" and will be replaced by AJ Styles to face Finn Balor.

The kind of changes they have made, the "Medical issues" seem to be dire. What I don't understand is why would they put Kurt Angle in the ring for a not so important PPV with almost no fanfare? Kurt Angle's return to ring should be a very big event in itself, and yet its being done in the most underwhelming way possible.

Also, bring AJ Styles to TLC to replace Bray Wyatt? Is it really medical issues? Or did someone thought of nixing the whole Sister Abigail abomination and decided to do an exchange of Styles with Wyatt? If it's the latter, why would you do a match of this magnitude with no build-up whatsoever? You could've put in any superstar from RAW for this, why Styles?

Well, there's still not enough information, but this just seems absurd.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

This is odd. Surely they could have done a major angle for Angle's in ring return instead of a last minute injury replacement. Same with A.J vs Finn....so it's suddenly Raw vs SD because Sister Abagail is sick? Talk about a big last minute change there. These are Wrestlemania type moves, not C Minus PPV type moves. Looking forward to TLCMania now.
__________________

 

[therockiswwf]

I'm assuming they put Angle in so that people wouldn't refund their tickets (though, I'm not sure they could do that anyways). Or they did it to keep people from being pissed as The Shield was a major selling point. Anyone else would have been a huge disappointment. It is understandable why they put Angle in. I'm assuming Jordan gets involved as well somehow. Probably will be made into a 5-on-4 match.

They did not abort Sister Abigail. They could have done a non-match if that was the case. AJ vs Finn isn't a big match. AJ is a star. Finn still hasn't been established (nor given us a reason to care).

The medical issue is viral meningitis. Which really freaking sucks.

 

[strangephish]

From various reports around the interweb viral meningitis is going around the WWE locker room and has taken out Bo, Bray, JoJo (only cuz she's dating Bray), and now Roman as well. They are apparently testing all other wrestlers to see if anyone else could be sick as well (as this could change other matches).

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I read something a couple of days ago sating that Bo Dallas was sick and that both Bray Wyatt and JoJo were being given time off as a precaution. What I read stated that they weren't sick, but that they were being sort of quarantined.

A little bit ago, I read there's an outbreak of the mumps in WWE and that WWE discovered it while testing some of the talent for viral meningitis and the test showed that it's the mumps. Mumps is airborne and highly contagious, it can be spread through saliva, eating utensils, drinking from the same cup as somebody, sneezing, coughing, etc. Symptoms usually take 2 to 2.5 weeks to pop up and can usually take up to a week to disappear.

So...I guess you could say that TLC is now pretty much a glorified house show at this point. Not that I'm complaining, I like the idea of Angle returning to the ring though, of course, we'd all prefer it under different circumstances. True, it doesn't exactly feel like a big deal being announced 2 days prior to the event but you have to do things on the fly sometimes. I suppose they could've always gone with Jason Jordan instead but I think it'd be a step back for Jordan as fans have been embracing him for the past few weeks; it looked like fans were turning on him due to the whole "Kurt Angle is my father" storyline and I think the reason for that is because many of us sensed that Jordan may be getting "shoved down our throats" in a push that he's not ready for and doesn't deserve yet. Over the course of the past month or so, that tension has eased up considerably as it no longer looks like Jordan is going to be pushed as hard or as quickly as it once appeared.

As for Styles vs. Balor, I'll take it. If nothing else, it'll be an opportunity to see a really fun one on one bout between the two of them. Since Bray is out for a while, I'd hold off on having Balor show up in his Demon King persona.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

So Bray gets to keep the Sister Abigail gimmick hidden where it belongs while not being personally infected by the mumps? His supernatural powers are more than just a gimmick, no one can tell me otherwise.

Honestly though, once the initial shock wears of, it kind of becomes clear that this is a pretty big mess. I'm sure they had bigger plans for Angle's in-ring return, it puts a damper on the Shield reunion and we also get for what a lot of people is a dream match, but without any hype or build-up behind it. It does beef up the card in terms of in-ring quality so I can't really complain too much but still.

And I'm no doctor or anything but it seems kind of risky bringing AJ over to the RAW side, even if just for one night. God forbid he somehow gets infected and brings it over to Smackdown, then we have a real epidemic on our hands.

 

[zags]

First off, I hope all involved make a full and speedy recovery. Nevermind what you think of the character they portray or how they are or aren't booked. These are real people battling an illness. With the said WWE is in scramble mode. However, the Angle thing I don't see happening. What I do see happening is albeit an early start, a start leading to an Angle return and the long ago rumored HHH/Angle WrestleMania match. I can see Stephanie making her return blocking Angle from competing. I'm not saying it'll be 2 vs. 5 but Angle won't be the 3rd man.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

It's simple. They were selling TLC as the "return of the Shield". That's not happening. So they have to sell the event now and do something else BIG. In fact so big that it will fill the void of the Shield and also shut any mouth that wants to complain about a refund. Enter Kurt Angle.

The real question is not why Kurt Angle is wrestling at TLC. That's understandable. Who else could have been? Lesnar is out, Cena is out, Taker is out. Goldberg is not with them right now and Triple H wouldn't make any damn sense. So they bring in Angle.

And it's hype. Angle doesn't really need a story to return to the ring. He decided to go, he goes and maybe brings his son with him.

The real question is: why get AJ from SD to face Demon King Finn Balor, in a match that could have been a great angle somewhere in the future and not somebody else. Angle returing is already a big deal. Styles wrestling Balor seems like an extra present.

 

[sikkbones]

Why aren't they using the sicknesses to do something with Dolph ziggler?

It would have been a great time to elevate him over bringing back a part timer...

I honestly wonder if they are gonna allow angle to compete, how long till they bring back Bryan

 

[therockiswwf]

I honestly wonder if they are gonna allow angle to compete, how long till they bring back Bryan

Concussion issues aren't the same as a painkiller addiction. It makes no sense to compare their situations.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I'm glad we are finally going to see Angle wrestle again in a WWE ring. Hopefully we get more matches out of Angle and possibly get a Wrestlemania match. I agree that It would of been better under different circumstances with a proper build up on a bigger stage then TLC. However with the thin roster and injuries and them booking all of the top stars on Raw in the 5 vs 3 handicap match they backed themselves into a corner. It makes you wonder if they have enough star power to run brand exclusive pay per views and whether the brand split is going to be able to work long term

 

[Dagger Dias]

Well, this was a surprising turn of events. TLC suddenly looks like it will be a much better show with these two changes.

The 3 VS 5 handicap match suddenly looks really weird with Angle in it. The positive side of that is that Roman Reigns is no longer in the match. I would MUCH prefer to see Angle instead of Reigns. Sure some will want his return to have been advertised more however I think WWE made the right call here. We lose the card's most promoted aspect, The Shield. Rollins and Ambrose working with Angle will be interesting to see. Angle was the biggest name they could have put in the match, other than possibly Cena had he been available.

The addition of AJ Styles coming over from Smackdown to work a Raw exclusive PPV is awesome. His match with Balor could steal the show. While I hope Bray recovers soon in real life, his rumored real illness may have saved him from an embarrassingly terrible match. The whole Sister Abigail thing was abysmal and the moment Bray walks into a match pretending to be his dead sister he loses me as a fan. We dodged a bullet on what would surely have been a horrible match. Weird how Finn went from potentially having the worst match to now potentially having the best match. I fear they may still try to go through with it later but for now I'll enjoy the Finn VS Styles match we are getting instead at this show!

 

[Rayne]

This went from something that I'd probably ignore when it popped up on the Network feed to something I'm checking my schedule for Sunday over. Twenty minutes of AJ Styles and Prince Devitt in a WWE ring? Yeah, I can do that.

Why aren't they using the sicknesses to do something with Dolph ziggler?

It would have been a great time to elevate him over bringing back a part timer...

Because Dolph Ziggler's job is to introduce new performers to the audience. There's a reason everyone the WWE cares about gets the "three months with Ziggler" treatment- he's fucking amazing at making people look good.

Everyone doesn't get to be Hulk Hogan, and in a company that's producing more hours of television per week than other companies do in a month, there are all kinds of jobs for all kinds of people.[/QUOTE]

 

[Барбоса]

Because Dolph Ziggler's job is to introduce new performers to the audience. There's a reason everyone the WWE cares about gets the "three months with Ziggler" treatment- he's fucking amazing at making people look good.

Really?

In the last few months he has faced the debuting Nakamura and Roode and neither benefited one bit from their matches with him.

Sure, the booking of those matches played a significant role in that but if Ziggler is to be seen as an enhancement talent, then he is one of the poorest enhancers going right now.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When you consider some of the various issues that've been going on with Angle and Miz, Angle's involvement doesn't come off as random as it did. Miz and his goons, in the past, have beaten up his son, Miz has constantly criticized his performance as GM and has criticized Angle as a father & man during the initial stages of Jason Jordan being introduced as his "son." The Shield reuniting in a match will just have to wait another time, so this in and of itself could give Ambrose & Rollins protection if they suffered a loss. I've no doubt some will bitch and moan if that does happen but why shouldn't it? It's not the Shield without all three members, Angle is more than 10 years older than the heels, other than Kane that is, and hasn't wrestled in a WWE ring in over a decade. I dunno, just seems to me like Angle is the "weak link" in this particular situation and a win for Ambrose & Rollins without Reigns, but with a "random partner" negates the whole purpose of reuniting the Shield in the first place, particularly in such a lopsided situation as going up against 5 men rather than 3.

The random match is Styles vs. Balor considering that they're not even on the same brand, so there's no on-air interaction between them. If nothing else, I think it demonstrates faith WWE has in the two of them and I wouldn't mind at all if they were given 15+ minutes and told to just go out there and tear the house down.

 

[ianrapleyuk]

I have the feeling kurt angle was going to return to the ring soon anyway because in Wwe you have to go through testing right? to be able to compete and what seems to be weird is angle has been cleared to wrestle so quickly

It either means 2 things

1. He will be in the match but with limited physicality
2. He already passed the tests to wrestle long before he was announced to be in this match and they were just waiting for a future storyline to get him back in the ring

 

[Rayne]

Really?

In the last few months he has faced the debuting Nakamura and Roode and neither benefited one bit from their matches with him.

Sure, the booking of those matches played a significant role in that but if Ziggler is to be seen as an enhancement talent, then he is one of the poorest enhancers going right now.

Nakamura went from Ziggler to a Heavyweight Title feud; Roode has been on the roster for a month and it might be just a touch early to write the history on how successfully he was introduced to the audience. You have better examples?

 

[GetTheTables]

Well, props to Kurt Angle for stepping on on such short notice. And after 11 years. But it really makes me disappointed in one certain individual. I understand guys like John Cena and Chris Jericho not answering the bell. And Lord knows the Undertaker might die at this point in a TLC match. But where on Earth is Brock Lesnar during all of this?

The WWE has bent over backwards to give this guy everything he wants. He only has to wrestle about four or five times a year, rarely defends a WWE title that he should not have, and he (for the most part), crushes people. He couldn't stop hunting for five minutes to do them this one favor?

On paper it may not look like it makes much sense to put Brock in the match, but it certainly adds a big name and they could even have Jinder interfere if that are that set on the Brock Jinder match at Survivor Series.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This won't stay 5 v 3... In fact, Jason Jordan is all but guaranteed to be the 4th man and Matt Hardy will likely make it a 5 on 5... It's crazy they would just throw Kurt in there without him after all the "son" build and this seems a good time to debut Awoken Matt properly...

The problem Vince had here was massive... take one part of your card away through illness like Bray and you might get away with it but two matches destroyed by it and you're into refund territory. People legit could have wanted their ticket money back if The Shield were not appearing as advertised. So they had to go with what was available to them which was the Kurt return.

Stupidly, had they not returned Kane, he could have stepped in... Jericho would likely be too short notice to cancel other commitments, I am sure he was asked and if he could have, would have.

This has also affected the South American tour... Owens suddenly needing to go home didn't help them either (hope nothing too serious) so in short, WWE is in the shit this week.

Kurt stepping up is one way to look at it, the other is that in reality, his return isn't "that big a deal" and wouldn't sell a PPV on its own. Here they get to have a proper look at him in a match situation, he'll likely only get the hot tag/submission win but they can then see if he still has enough to warrant a more sustained return.

This does show the short sightedness of WWE though... they piss talents off like Neville, who could have stepped up here, especially against Finn or even joining The Shield and had something interesting but their blinkered approach is costing them talent... if more start to leave/want out, next time something like this happens, they are fucked!

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Because Dolph Ziggler's job is to introduce new performers to the audience. There's a reason everyone the WWE cares about gets the "three months with Ziggler" treatment- he's fucking amazing at making people look good.

Who did he make look good?

Ever since brand split he:

- Lost in a title feud from Ambrose
- First failed and then won and then lost IC title from Miz
- Failed again against AJ Styles World title
- turned heel and then thrown in a idiotic feud with Calisto and Crews
- challenged Nakamura
- Tried some gimmick change and now in a feud with Roode

Who benefited and looked good?

Ambrose was just distraction until AJ and Cena finish their feud and one takes Championship. Calisto and Crews was just plane idiotic for all of them. Nakamura again just distraction until he challenge Jinder. And now Roode because they have nothing for him to do.

Now tell me, who benefited from him? Because as I see it you could just fire the guy one year ago and you would get the same effect as with him on roster. Because Ambrose, AJ, Miz and Nakamura would still get same reaction, Calisto and Crews still lost in shuffle and Roode would just tackle someone else like Corbin and still be same.

FYI, dont hate Ziggles, just dont think he is that special so would like explanation how he makes others look good.

 

[Rayne]

Who did he make look good?

Ever since brand split he:

- Lost in a title feud from Ambrose
- First failed and then won and then lost IC title from Miz
- Failed again against AJ Styles World title
- turned heel and then thrown in a idiotic feud with Calisto and Crews
- challenged Nakamura
- Tried some gimmick change and now in a feud with Roode

Who benefited and looked good?

Ambrose was just distraction until AJ and Cena finish their feud and one takes Championship. Calisto and Crews was just plane idiotic for all of them. Nakamura again just distraction until he challenge Jinder. And now Roode because they have nothing for him to do.

Now tell me, who benefited from him? Because as I see it you could just fire the guy one year ago and you would get the same effect as with him on roster. Because Ambrose, AJ, Miz and Nakamura would still get same reaction, Calisto and Crews still lost in shuffle and Roode would just tackle someone else like Corbin and still be same.

FYI, dont hate Ziggles, just dont think he is that special so would like explanation how he makes others look good.

You're mistaking "turning someone into a star", which is the work of months and years, and "making someone look good to a new audience". The idea isn't to bring everyone in as the next incarnation of Jesus Christ; you give them a reliable performer that could sell sand in the desert so that the audience can be familiar with the character. Around one-third of the WWE TV audience has the WWE Network, and if we make the wild assumption that every single person with the WWE Network watches NXT, that's still two-thirds of the WWE audience who has no idea who the new guy is. Everyone doesn't get to come in on their first day and get inserted into the heavyweight/IC title mix- you need a steady hand who the audience doesn't perceive as a straight-up jobber to introduce them.

Dolph is fantastic at doing just this, which is why that's the role he's had for maybe five years now, with the occasional refresher feud (Miz) thrown in there to keep the character relevant. If you're thinking about this in terms of "who did Dolph Ziggler face that immediately made my dick hard and my nipples erect", you're overanalyzing this. He's a role player (non-LARP style), and he's one of the best people the WWE has ever had for his particular role.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

So I guess WWE's reasons for not wanting Angle to return to the ring were justified. Last night Kurt looked like he was having his lungs explode. I don't know really know if he had any cardio or preperation before the match or if he's in a training programm trying to get back into shape, but last night Kurt Angle looked worse than what Flair did back in 2010.

 

[OYDK]

So I guess WWE's reasons for not wanting Angle to return to the ring were justified. Last night Kurt looked like he was having his lungs explode. I don't know really know if he had any cardio or preperation before the match or if he's in a training programm trying to get back into shape, but last night Kurt Angle looked worse than what Flair did back in 2010.

That doesn't mean WWE is justified for not wanting Angle in the ring. You could argue they're justified because of his multiple neck surgeries, but arguing that WWE was right because Angle's cardio wasn't up to snuff is kind of ludicrous. The fact that Angle stepped into an 8-man no DQ clusterfuck with some of the best athletes in the business after a 7 month layoff and still did as well as he did is pretty incredible actually. Not to mention that he only had TWO DAYS to prepare. The Rock had a full year to prepare for his match with Cena at Mania 28 and still gassed out halfway through.

Don't really know what you were expecting.

 

[sikkbones]

Another issue I had with this return, Kurt angle in the entrance showed how small Rollins and ambrose are in comparison to angle...

I'm not that guy to bring up vanilla midgets.. But there is a definent difference in size BTW the 2 eras.

 

[ShinChan]

I really liked his return. He meshed up well with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. I will love to see him wrestle again but only if he's totally fit for it. I don't want him to harm himself for entertaining people through wrestling.