This Monday night on RAW, we saw the conclusion of the Kurt Angle and Corey Graves text messaging mystery, when it was revealed that Jason Jordan was the illegitimate child of Kurt Angle. Some fans were let down by the reveal, feeling that it was a slight anti-climax.
I can see how affiliating Jordan and Angle in some way would be a positive rub for Jordan, a young and upcoming talent. However, going as far as making the pair father and son can add multiple complexities and connotations to the storyline, resulting in it being too far-fetched to work. It also crosses a line of kayfabe which is far too difficult to maintain in 2017, given how openly exposed the business is in this day and age. Without any further ado, here are five reasons why The Angle/Jordan storyline doesn’t work.
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#5 Kurt didn't really do anything wrong
The storyline was built up as something that could ruin Angle’s WWE career. However, despite the fact it was revealed that Angle had an illegitimate child, he really didn't do anything wrong.
He made it clear that he only found out about Jason Jordan recently, so there is no real issue of Angle being neglectful towards his son.
In addition to that, he stated that he was in a relationship with the mother at the time of conception, so there is no seedy affair to speak of. I fail to see how or why this revelation would have ever ruined Angle and why Angle and Graves played it up as such a career-ending threat.
#4 It hurts your legacy stars
The likes of Randy Orton, Charlotte Flair and many others, are true third and second generation stars. The WWE often reference their family legacies as a way to build stars who legitimately have family ties.
Giving Kurt Angle a "fake" son, damages the credibility of the actual legacy stars whose legitimate family ties are a big part of who they are and how the WWE book them to get over to the fans.
It could be argued that the Jordan/Angle relationship cheapens the real family ties that the company celebrate so frequently.
#3 There is no turning back
There is no undoing the fact that the WWE has opted to go down this route. If Jason Jordan fails in this role, the WWE can not ever go back and repackage him or get away from the fact that they have decided to make him the son of the Olympic Gold medalist.
If WWE ever did decide to book any storyline where they erased the angle and booked Jordan in a different way, it would be a huge credibility killer for the company. I don’t think the WWE would ever reverse what we learned from the reveal, therefore it’s hard to see what will happen with Jason Jordan’s career if this push fails.
#2 Kayfabe is dead
The WWE Network do so many documentary and reality style shows like WWE 24, Ride Along, Table for 3 and many others. These programs often refer to storylines and insider information, where the superstars appear out of character.
WWE have taken a unique turn with this storyline and will now need to decide if they want to concede that he is not Angle's real son in these programs or if they want to damage the credibility of these shows by kayfabing the Jordan and Angle relationship as legitimate.
#1 There is no pay-off
Some fans may argue the revelation itself, that Jason Jordan was Angle’s son, was the big payoff to Angle and Graves text messaging storyline. However, I disagree, that the reveal of a lower mid-card tag team talent was a sufficient payoff, after the WWE dedicated months of TV time to the storyline.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that there will be an actual payoff that is satisfying. Jordan is likely to become an upper mid-card wrestler on Monday Night RAW. He is highly unlikely to turn heel on his father and set up a match against Angle.
Conversely, it is also highly unlikely to lead to a storyline where Angle trains his son to ascend to the top of RAW and become the WWE Universal Champion. Without either of these two scenarios materialising, it’s hard to see what the payoff will be from the storyline. It simply seems like a strange way to elevate Jordan from a lower mid-card tag talent on SmackDown to an upper mid-card singles talent on RAW.
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