Kurt Angle WWE
Kurt Angle, pictured at the Lions Gate Premiere of “See No Evil” at the Century Stadium Promenade 25 on May 8, 2006 in Orange, California, has returned to WWE as the new GM of “Monday Night Raw.” Getty Images

Having spent more than a decade away from WWE, Kurt Angle is finally set to return to the world’s biggest wrestling promotion. The legendary superstar has been named as the first inductee into the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame.

Angle will officially be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, one night before WrestleMania 33. With Angle coming back to the company that put him on the map, there will be plenty of speculation regarding his WWE future inside the ring.

Angle had his first WWE match in 1999, wrestling with the company for seven years. He went on to wrestle for various promotions around the world, including a 10-year run with TNA. Angle spoke with Triple H about a potential return to WWE last May, but nothing materialized after that until he was recently informed about his upcoming induction.

“I figured they either decided they didn’t want to do anything with me or they forgot,” Angle told ESPN.com. “[Triple H] 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.”

Since leaving TNA last year, Angle has wrestled a handful of matches on the independent circuit. Not much is known about his in-ring future, though he says there aren’t any plans as of now to return to WWE’s squared circle.

“We have not talked about any wrestling,” Angle said. “Whether we do or not, that remains to be seen. ... There are no guarantees. I think right now the most important thing is the Hall of Fame -- and I think both sides feel that way.”

It’s certainly possible that Angle isn’t being fully truthful, hoping to keep plans for a future WWE match a surprise. Goldberg told ESPN in October that he hadn’t agreed to come back and wrestle for the company, but the former WCW star headlined Survivor Series against Brock Lesnar just a few weeks later.

If Angle does have at least one more WWE match, it could come within the next few months. It would make sense for him to be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, possibly setting up a match at WrestleMania 33.

Until Angle officially makes his return, WWE fans will be left waiting, as they have been for the last decade.

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