Is Kurt Angle Returning to WWE Soon?

Now that Bill Goldberg has returned to WWE, there are only two huge names that have yet to return to the company since leaving: Kurt Angle and CM Punk.

For now, Punk is focused on developing as a mixed martial artist, and there’s a strong chance that he’ll get another fight in the UFC. On top of that, he still isn’t on the best of terms with the WWE brass, so it’ll probably be a long time before he returns to the company.

As for Kurt Angle, there’s a pretty good chance that we’ll see him on WWE television in 2017. In fact, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there’s a strong chance that he’ll be the pre-order bonus for next year’s WWE 2K video game. But, the question that everyone is dying to know the answer to is: will our Olympic Hero return to WWE at the Royal Rumble?

It’s been a little over a decade since we last saw Angle in a WWE ring, and he’s had his fair share of issues — which he detailed on a recent edition of the Steve Austin Show podcast — since he was released from the company back in 2006.

Angle finished up with TNA/Impact Wrestling — which is where he’s spent the last decade of his career — earlier this year. Since his departure, he’s wrestled on select independent shows, and he’s planning to sign an exclusive contract with whoever offers him the best deal in 2017.

Two years ago, Angle tested the market as a free agent, and he ultimately decided to re-sign with TNA. Why? Because WWE wasn’t interested in meeting with him. At the time, he was newly sober, and there was concern from WWE’s end about whether or not he could remain sober.

Now, Angle says that he hasn’t drank or taken any prescription drugs in over three years, and it appears that WWE now has faith that he’ll be able to stay clean and sober, because, for the first time since he left the company ten years ago, they publicly acknowledged him via their Instagram page. Of course, it was just a “happy birthday” post, as Angle recently celebrated his 48th birthday. But, it’s a start.

Over the summer, Angle said that he had spoken to Triple H — who is now in charge of signing new talent — about a return to the company, and he said that, for the first time in a long time, they’re interested in bringing him back.

httpss://youtube.com/watch?v=l_YWwZe1YIQ

The 2017 Royal Rumble is the perfect place for a Kurt Angle return — it’ll be WWE’s biggest Rumble event of all time, and an Angle return would probably blow the roof off of the Alamodome, especially if WWE is able to keep it a secret beforehand.

WWE typically has three or four surprise entrants in their annual 30-man match, and 2017’s Rumble will probably be no exception. Guys like Finn Balor — who is currently out of action due to a shoulder injury — and current NXT star Samoa Joe are rumored to be surprise entrants for next month’s event, but so far, we haven’t heard anything regarding Kurt Angle showing up on January 29.

In recent years, we’ve pretty much known who the surprise entrants in the Rumble were going to be a few weeks in advance. Take this past year for example: we knew that AJ Styles was going to show up almost a month beforehand. So, if Angle is going to be a part of the 2017 Royal Rumble, we’ll probably hear about it two, or three weeks before the event. But, as of this writing, there’s nothing new regarding our Olympic Hero’s return to WWE.

Do you want to see Kurt Angle back in WWE? If so, should he return at the 2017 Royal Rumble? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and make sure to visit our Facebook page for the very latest on Kurt Angle’s possible return to WWE.