WWE Reportedly Rehiring Kurt Angle Soon

Kurt Angle was one of the 30+ wrestlers to get released back in mid-April as part of WWE's cost-cutting measures, but it doesn't sound like the WWE Hall of Famer will be gone from the company for long. He popped up on WWE television twice this week, first on NXT as the referee for the Fight Pit match between Timothy Thatcher and Matt Riddle, then on SmackDown to introduce the latter's move to the Blue Brand. According to WrestlingNews.co's Paul Davis, Angle will be back with the company in an official capacity here in the near future

"I was told that everyone expects Angle to be back," Davis wrote, following up with a direct quote from a source — "If they haven't signed him already then they will make an offer to him soon. Vince doesn't want to lose him to AEW."

All signs point to Angle being back in his backstage role once he's rehired. The Olympic Gold Medalist and former WWE Champion has been out of in-ring action since his retirement match with Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35.

Back in January Angle made headlines by listing off his Mount Rushmore of professional wrestlers. Though many of his peers put him on the list, Angle opted not to include himself.

"A guy like Shawn Michaels would be on the Mount Rushmore, Ric Flair would be on Mount Rushmore," Angle said. "I don't see Brock as an overall athlete that would be up there. But don't get me wrong, what he does in the ring, no-one does better."

"'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock," he later added. "I would never put myself up there, it's just not who I am. I imagine some people do, but when I think about Mount Rushmore, I don't think of myself."

He then explained why Lesnar wasn't on the list.

"With Brock, in most cases they would pass him up," Angle said. "I think it's because he's not a guy--he's a man of very few words. He goes in that ring and performs as good, if not better, than anyone in the world, but in sports entertainment you have got to have something behind that. So, if you are talking about Mount Rushmore then you are talking about the overall entertainment--how people get wowed and what they say to people, to the fans, and how they pertain themselves in their character."