Kurt Angle leads Hall of Fame class of 2017

Kurt Angle, the 1996 U.S. Olympic gold medalist who performed for WWE from 1998 to 2006 as a six-time WWE world champion, will headline the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

Angle received the news Monday afternoon that he'll be inducted as part of a ceremony to be held on Friday, March 31, as part of the WrestleMania 33 weekend festivities, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

While the news is likely to catch many pro wrestling fans off guard, considering Angle's standing with WWE since his departure, no one was more surprised than the decorated former amateur who also won two NCAA Division I national championships during his time at Clarion University.

"I was shocked. I've been out of WWE for a long time and out of touch with them so I didn't really expect this," Angle told ESPN.com. "It's a huge honor. This is the only Hall of Fame that I'm not in and probably [the one] I want to be in the most. This is the one that means the most for me. I had a lot of fun entertaining the fans for seven years with WWE, and I'm glad that my hard work paid off."

Angle, 48, spent 10 years with rival TNA after asking for his release from WWE in 2006. His post-WWE career was littered with legal issues and well-documented problems with substance abuse, though he's been clean for the last three years.

Asked to describe his relationship with WWE executives Vince McMahon and Paul "Triple H" Levesque over the past decade, Angle laughed before saying, "There wasn't one." But he went on to describe their breakup as mutual.

"It was one of those things where when I left WWE, it wasn't on bad terms," Angle said. "It was just that I couldn't do anything for them anymore because I was banged up and they couldn't do anything more for me. I never felt ill will against them. It wasn't like a nasty parting, it was just our time is up. You go your way, and I'll go mine."

Angle said he spoke briefly with Levesque last May, where the seeds were planted for an eventual reunion of some kind with the company. But an immediate follow-up call never came, causing Angle to doubt his chances.

On Monday afternoon, Levesque made the call himself to break the news regarding the Hall of Fame.

"I figured they either decided they didn't want to do anything with me or they forgot," Angle said. "Hunter said they never forgot and he called and told me this is the first thing they want to do. And whether I wrestle or not after this -- which is irrelevant right now -- I'm just really proud to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

"I gave a lot of energy and time to WWE those first seven years, and I'm grateful that they recognized it."

Read More at - http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/18489557/kurt-angle-headline-wwe-hall-fame-class-2017

Awesome choice. Took to pro wrestling like a duck to water and quickly rose to become one of the best ever.

Whos going to induct him? Surely Triple H?

Samo wrote:Awesome choice. Took to pro wrestling like a duck to water and quickly rose to become one of the best ever.

Whos going to induct him?  Surely Triple H?

Lesnar? Joe? AJ? Isnt he friends with Shane?

Lesnar is a shout but doubt he'll even be there. Wont be Joe or AJ as they'll have to acknowledge TNA. Shane could be a possibility

Samo wrote:Lesnar is a shout but doubt he'll even be there. Wont be Joe or AJ as they'll have to acknowledge TNA. Shane could be a possibility

If Brocks getting paid he'll be there and they've already acknowledged AJ was in TNA sure it could be dead by that time anyway

Given the amount of comedy he did them could E+C induct him?

JR has expressed interest.

Kurt Angle said Stone Cold would be the no brainer.

Stone Cold or Shane for me.

Anyone recon he will still have one more title run? Would love to see it.

I'd imagine he'd have some ppv matches but I don't really see the point in putting the title on him

delighted with this, not so much his inclusion into the HoF, it's no something I pay much attention too but it definitely opens the door to him working again with the WWE which if rotated smartly could only be a good thing, while I doubt he'll ever be as consistent as he was at his peak, if they manage him properly like something between Lesnar and Taker then we could easily get 3 top matches a year out of him

Angle as coach/manager for American Alpha for Team Angle 2.0 would be great

Kay Fabe wrote:delighted with this, not so much his inclusion into the HoF, it's no something I pay much attention too but it definitely opens the door to him working again with the WWE which if rotated smartly could only be a good thing, while I doubt he'll ever be as consistent as he was at his peak, if they manage him properly like something between Lesnar and Taker then we could easily get 3 top matches a year out of him

I've been waiting for Lesnar vs Angle to happen again. Just seems so WWE to play on that history. Goldberg/Lesnar has history and monsters, but Angle/Lesnar is basically something you'd tell a young fan they couldnt miss. You'd tell them that for Lesnar/Goldberg at Mania just to see the joy seep from them.

Lesnar and Angle's Iron Man match on SmackDown is one of my favourite matches ever. Its rare that two guys click as much as these two did, but Angle had that affect with most people.

I missed Lesnar/Angle the first time around as I'd stopped watching, it was a feud I enjoyed watching back, it's definitely something I'd want to see again in real time, good shout, also the beauty of Kurt Angle a bit like Shawn Michaels is that he doesn't need to win to get over, these big stars who return often need wins for their return to be viewed successful or not, with Angle all you need is for him to have a great match, he built himself up as a guy who was the best but not someone who was undefeatable, he had that vulnerability about him which for me always make for a far more interesting character.

Rumours that he will be in the rumble match

He's been pulled from an indy show that weekend too which only adds fuel to the fire. Imagine the pop if his music hits.