Kurt Angle to return, AJ Styles to face Finn Balor at WWE TLC

Holy motherload, Batman. Kurt Angle is returning to the ring, replacing Roman Reigns, and Finn Balor will face AJ Styles at WWE TLC on Sunday.

An outbreak of meningitis in the RAW locker room has flipped WWE TLC’s card upside down. Earlier this week on Thursday, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet alluded to possible changes to the card. On Friday, WWE announced two major changes. Bray Wyatt, who reportedly contracted the virus, is out of the equation. Roman Reigns is also out on Sunday, as well, and delivers a big blow to the much-anticipated Shield reunion. Their replacements? Oh, just AJ Styles and Kurt Angle.

No, seriously. AJ Styles is facing Finn Balor on Sunday. And Kurt Angle, who has not wrestled in WWE in 11 years, is returning to the ring for the 5-on-3 TLC match.

WWE announced as much on their Twitter account. In the words of the Olympic Gold medalist and Hall of Famer: “It’s true, it’s damn true.”

The circumstances of this are, obviously, very unfortunate. The hope is that Bray, Roman, and anyone else who has contracted the virus (JoJo and Bo Dallas have also reportedly) heals up promptly. There’s no telling what other changes to the card could come. But, with WWE being this out in front already, some more are likely to be on the horizon. So, you might want to have your eyes peeled.

With all that said, this is completely bonkers. Kurt Angle, who hasn’t wrestled in a WWE ring since he faced Sabu on WWE ECW in August 2006, is back. Angle will be in the 5-on-3 Handicap TLC match, teaming up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. This newfound trio will have to face Braun Strowman, The Miz, Kane, Cesaro and Sheamus. Can you imagine Braun squaring off with Angle? You won’t have to for too much longer. It’s going to happen at some point on Sunday.

And then there’s AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor. The two have never faced off in a 1-on-1 on match. The only time that Styles and Balor have been in the same ring with each other was back in 2008. At Wrestle Kingdom 2, Styles was part of a team that featured Christian Cage and Petey Williams, representing TNA. They faced Balor, who was known as Prince Devitt at the time, as well as Minoru and Milano Collection A. T. So for the first time ever, anywhere, the two former Bullet Club leaders will tangle with each other. Does this mean we’ll see an appearance from the Good Brothers? It’s possible! I mean, Kurt Angle is wrestling on Sunday, for goodness sake. Anything is possible.

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They used to say, “Anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation.” This might even be a step too far for WWE, though. But, hey, whatever works, right?