WWE TLC 2017 5 Takeaways: Finn Balor and AJ Styles Tear Down The House
By Tim Sherry
Photo by WWE.com
2. Kurt Angle Still Has It……In Short Spurts
Let’s face the truth, had Roman Reigns been been healthy, this match’s quality would’ve been better. But nostalgia ruled the day as Kurt Angle, at age 48, stepped back into a WWE ring for the first time in 11 years. When the news first came out, many were skeptical what the Olympic gold medalist would have left in terms of in-ring ability. But even if he were half of what he used to be, the match would still be good based solely on the fact that we, as fans, get to see him compete again. And the results? “The Wrestling Machine” can still get it done.
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Sure, the WWE did the right thing and protected Angle. He went hard for a solid ten minutes, German suplexing anyone he could get his hands on before being power-slammed through a table by Braun Strowman in what was one of the most harrowing scenes of the night. And after about a 20 minute rest, he returned to close out the final five minutes of the match. Booking-wise, it was brilliant. At his age and after his time away from the ring (it had been over six months since he’d wrestled in any ring), his usage Sunday night was done perfectly. Angle proved that he was still in shape and that the endless charisma that had been one of the things that made him so successful over a near 20-year career, was still fully intact.
So as well as Angle did at TLC, he still has a ways to go if he wants to step inside the ring in singles action in the near future. Hopefully he sticks to the GM role for a while and maybe just uses the “big 4” PPV’s as his time to wrestle. But if TLC is any indication of what the fans think of seeing “The American Hero” lace up the boots, there will be plenty of reasons to see it happen a few more times.