Could Kurt Angle ever have been 'the guy'?

**dablackguy** · 05-01-2008, 03:42 PM

We have another thread going in which the question is posed as to who could be main eventing right now. In retrospect, I wonder if WWE had their 'next big thing' employed and didn't even know it.

In that thread I described the 4 criteria I believed was necessary to have someone be the top guy in the company. WOMD, weapons of mass destruction if you will. Anyways:

Wrestling ability: Kurt was an olympic gold medalist in amateur wrestling and a solid all around wrestler

Over: Certainly was over

Mic skills: Started out mediocre but got much much better over time, even in his late WWE days, I'd say he was still improving

Draw: This is where I think it gets interesting. Kurt wasn't a huge draw, but I think if WWE had played up the Gold Medalist thing, they could have gotten some mainstream attention(and maybe mainstream fans) out of it. Wrestling purists appreciated his ability.

Looking back, I think he had the tools to be the guy. Problem is that he didn't get into the company particularly young, so I assume his stay at the top would have been short. Second, looking at the landscape at the time, he couldn't have been on Smackdown and be the #1 guy. He'd have had to have been on Raw. Given the political landscape there, I think he'd have been cut down before gaining any real legs there.

Yet, WWE made him the number 1 guy on smackdown, then the number 1 guy on ECW, so they obviously thought something of him.

So what do you say? Could Kurt ever have been #1 for 3-5 years? And would the company have been successful if he were?

05-01-2008, 03:42 PM	#1
dablackguy Tacos! Posts: 795	Could Kurt Angle ever have been 'the guy'? We have another thread going in which the question is posed as to who could be main eventing right now. In retrospect, I wonder if WWE had their 'next big thing' employed and didn't even know it. In that thread I described the 4 criteria I believed was necessary to have someone be the top guy in the company. WOMD, weapons of mass destruction if you will. Anyways: Wrestling ability: Kurt was an olympic gold medalist in amateur wrestling and a solid all around wrestler Over: Certainly was over Mic skills: Started out mediocre but got much much better over time, even in his late WWE days, I'd say he was still improving Draw: This is where I think it gets interesting. Kurt wasn't a huge draw, but I think if WWE had played up the Gold Medalist thing, they could have gotten some mainstream attention(and maybe mainstream fans) out of it. Wrestling purists appreciated his ability. Looking back, I think he had the tools to be the guy. Problem is that he didn't get into the company particularly young, so I assume his stay at the top would have been short. Second, looking at the landscape at the time, he couldn't have been on Smackdown and be the #1 guy. He'd have had to have been on Raw. Given the political landscape there, I think he'd have been cut down before gaining any real legs there. Yet, WWE made him the number 1 guy on smackdown, then the number 1 guy on ECW, so they obviously thought something of him. So what do you say? Could Kurt ever have been #1 for 3-5 years? And would the company have been successful if he were? The question isn't: Who's Next? Who's First? Who's There? It isn't even Who's Left? The question is, who gives a shit?