8 WWE stars who made a surprising return to the company this decade

#4 Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle

Left in 2006; Returned in 2017 as part of HOF Class at WrestleMania 33

The Olympic Gold Medalist not only won a gold medal with a broken neck but also won many titles in the WWE during his first run. Angle joined the promotion with a lot of fanfare due to his amateur wrestling and Olympic credentials. He was a focal point of the promotion until 2006, having feuds with everyone from Stone Cold to The Rock to Triple H to Brock Lesnar.

In a surprising move, Angle left the WWE in 2006. While it was thought to be due to injuries, he ended up signing with TNA a few months later. The WWE Hall-of-Famer later revealed a few years ago that he left Vince McMahon's company because he felt like a liability to the company due to his neck injuries and the medications he was taking to deal with the pain.

While he was in TNA, he was just as successful as in WWE with many great matches and title runs. Since he might have felt like he had some unfinished business in the WWE, Angle returned to the company in 2017 when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. As we all know, he had his retirement match at WrestleMania 35 against Baron Corbin.