Kurt Angle’s retirement tour before WrestleMania 35 has already featured matches against up-and-comers in Apollo Crews and Chad Gable, and he’ll have two TNA throwback matches against Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle this week.
Over the weekend, WWE announced that Kurt Angle and AJ Styles would face off one last time, and it would be Angle’s final match on SmackDown Live. The Olympic gold medalist, of course, was once a member of the vaunted “SmackDown Six”, carrying the brand in its early stages with fellow legends Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero (among others) beside him.
Already hyped about the dream match between Styles and Angle on WWE Television on Tuesday in Connecticut, the WWE Universe received word of a dream match on the Mar. 25 episode of Monday Night Raw between Angle and Samoa Joe in Boston.
Joe and Angle, like Angle and Styles, have had their battles in TNA, and this figures to be a huge dream match for wrestling fans to sink their teeth into. Although Angle has prevailed against all of his opponents to this point, he could end up falling short against someone as dominant as Joe, who heads into WrestleMania 35 as the United States Champion with an upcoming match against Mysterio.
Meanwhile, Angle is penciled to face Baron Corbin, though the WWE Universe’s displeasure at the matchup could force a change. Wrestling fans have been hoping for John Cena to face Angle in a match that would bring both careers full circle, just as Angle vs. Joe and Angle vs. Styles are throwbacks to Kurt’s earlier days, specifically in a rival promotion.
That will be a development to watch on tonight’s Raw, especially since Joe is a member of the SmackDown Live roster. The WWE Universe has seen Shelton Benjamin appear on Raw – at Paul Heyman’s behest – in a “throwback” moment, and it is doubtful most fans will have complaints about Joe briefly switching brands to face Angle. If it creates a different “angle” for the US Title heading into ‘Mania, even with Joe scheduled to face Rey, that might be all the better.
The WWE Universe should be hyped for the clash between Joe and Angle, who must face a different legend of the industry on SmackDown tomorrow night on Mar. 26 in Styles.