What’s the story?
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler recently appeared on an episode of his podcast “Dinner with the King”, alongside his co-host Glenn Moore.
During the podcast, Lawler spoke about several WWE-related topics including his WrestleMania 27 match and the possibility of Daniel Bryan and Kurt Angle returning to professional wrestling in the future. Lawler stated that Kurt Angle was likely to return to wrestling before Daniel Bryan does.
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In case you didn’t know...
Daniel Bryan is the current General Manager of WWE's SmackDown LIVE brand. Bryan is a former WWE Superstar who had an illustrious and decorated career with the company until it was cut short due to medical reasons, forcing Bryan to retire from in-ring action altogether.
Kurt Angle, on the other hand, is the General Manager of WWE RAW. Angle was first signed by the WWE in 1998 and stayed with the company till 2006, winning several Championships and accolades in the process. He had subsequently joined Impact Wrestling (TNA), before making his return on the post-WrestleMania 33 edition of RAW.
Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle and Jerry Lawler are all said to be on WWE’s “no-touch” list, which implies that they’re not allowed to partake in any physical altercations whatsoever.
The heart of the matter
Jerry Lawler predicted that Kurt Angle, who is currently with the WWE in a non-wrestling role, would return to in-ring action before Daniel Bryan does. Lawler then added that he understood what Angle and Bryan were going through with their current roles and stated that neither Bryan nor Angle “got into this business” to be General Managers.
Also read: 5 WWE Superstars who had to relinquish their titles due to injury
Lawler then went on to say that both Angle and Bryan were only working their on-air roles because it’s what the WWE wants them to do right now, adding that it was probably eating both Angle and Bryan up inside. He was quoted as saying:
“I know that they (Angle and Bryan) would both rather be out there performing in front of all the fans in the ring. And it’s gotta be eating them both up inside that the WWE thinks they are not capable of doing that anymore.”
Lawler also revealed that he got paid $127,000 for his WrestleMania 27 match against Michael Cole and stated that it was his “biggest payday ever”.
What’s next?
Even though Daniel Bryan has been dropping hints about making a possible return to professional wrestling and Kurt Angle has often hinted at the same for himself, it is quite clear that neither of them is going to be wrestling inside a WWE ring for the foreseeable future.
Regardless, Bryan and Angle will have a lot on their plate in the coming weeks with their brand-exclusive Pay Per Views before SummerSlam 2017.
Angle will be busy taking care of matters at the 9th July 2017 RAW-exclusive Great Balls of Fire Pay Per View, while Bryan will have his sights set on the 23rd July 2017 SmackDown-exclusive Battleground Pay Per View instead.
Author’s take
Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan are two of the finest products of the professional wrestling industry. Although the two took very different approaches on their path to the WWE, with Angle being an Olympic Wrestler and Bryan being an Independent Pro Wrestler, they are undoubtedly two of the best in-ring performers of all time.
Any fan of professional wrestling would certainly want to see these two go at it once again, but any return to professional wrestling for either Angle or Bryan should not materialise at the expense of their health.
There is a reason that the WWE have kept both Angle and Bryan out of in-ring action and I hope, for their sake, that it stays that way until they’re medically cleared beyond all doubt as being fit to compete again.
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