There’s been a lot of complaining about Baron Corbin being Kurt Angle’s final opponent at WrestleMania 35 this Sunday. At first, I was one of them.
Baron Corbin is the best WWE could come up with? Meanwhile on Raw and SmackDown in recent weeks, Angle has wrestled AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Some even wanted to see a full-circle moment with John Cena facing Angle at WrestleMania.
But if this Angle farewell tour has shown us anything, it’s that Angle simply can’t do it. His born is battered and torn to pieces. The man can barely — if at all — move his neck from side to side. He’s not the Angle from 2004. Heck, he’s not the Angle from 2015. His body has betrayed him and he’s too hurt and has had too many surgeries to put on a Kurt Angle classic match.
Knowing those parameters, Baron Corbin makes a lot of sense, actually. Angle can’t last more than five minutes in the ring, and anything longer than that could jeopardize his health. Angle has always taken risks, including moonsaulting off of cages in TNA just a few years ago. I don’t want to see any risks taken on Sunday. It’s scary watching Angle in the ring. If you’re truly of fan of his, you don’t want to see the man do something that could seriously impact the rest of his life.
His neck is practically bionic at this point, held together after surgeries with who knows what? Any wrong move, any wrong bump, and we could be talking about a serious injury.
If Angle needs to get in and out quickly, then a squash win over Corbin is best. Maybe he catches him with an Angle Slam or snatches an Ankle Lock. Let him get in and out safely … please.
Kurt Angle isn’t physically capable of wrestling a four-star match. So why put him in there with a four-star opponent?
