WLWB Special: My Top 5 Favorite WWE Moments In 2016, So Far

By Brandon Albright, @B_Rock1978

Wrestling Lockup with Brandon, brought to you by Triple Threat CLE brings you my latest wrestling blog.

It's been quite sometime since I last sat down and wrote a blog for the website, but here I am. I was recently tweeted by the Vince McMahon of Triple Threat CLE, Raven, and he wondered what my top 5 moments in wrestling were for 2016. After thinking long and hard, there are way too many moments to try to pick a top 5 throughout the wrestling world. So I'm going to share with you my top 5 moments in the WWE at the moment.

#5: Sting Enters The WWE Hall Of Fame: Now as I was writing this blog I was really going back and forth between this being number five and this being number four. The Stinger has done so much in the wrestling business and it was really an honor to see this man get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this past April. I remember growing up being a huge fan of Sting watching his memorable feuds against Ric Flair, Nikita Koloff, Vader, Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, Rick Rude, Lex Luger and so many other great wrestlers of the 80s. The Stinger has done it all in the wrestling business, he has won pretty much every major championship in the business, of course the WWE World Heavyweight Championship being the only exception. The Stinger may have officially announced his retirement, but myself and I'm sure many other wrestling fans are still hoping for that one last dream match against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

#4: Shane McMahon Returns: It was a huge night to remember back in March when Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon were interrupted by that famous "Here Comes the Money" intro of Shane McMahon. Shane McMahon returned to the WWE after a seven-year hiatus from the company, performing other business ventures on his own. Shane McMahon returned by stating that he still had some power in the WWE and he was actually next in line to take over the WWE when Vince McMahon stepped down. This infuriated the whole McMahon Family and even Triple H, as Vince McMahon forced his prodigal son into a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania against the Undertaker, to earn his power. Shane McMahon unfortunately came up the loser against the Undertaker and lost his spot in line to take over, but he has gone on to become the commissioner of SmackDown Live and is attempting to defeat Raw on a weekly basis.

#3: The Shield All Hold The World Title In One Night: This was a huge memorable night back at WWE Money in the Bank, as all three former members of The Shield held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship all in the same evening. The main event consisted of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns defending the title against Seth Rollins in Seth Rollins' return match from his leg surgery. Seth Rollins went on to defeat Roman Reigns to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship when the match was all said and done. What Seth Rollins wasn't expecting though was Dean Ambrose cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Seth Rollins. Ambrose went on to hit Dirty Deeds on Seth Rollins, score the pinfall and become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, making all three members of The Shield a world champion in one night.

#2: The Rise of Kevin Owens and Finn Balor: Triple H has created a huge money making machine down in Orlando, Florida called NXT. NXT has steered away from the entertainment part that the WWE gives us on a weekly basis and instead offers us wrestling matches. Two guys that have made it big in NXT and now are making it big in the WWE are Kevin Owens and Finn Balor. Finn Balor who has made a name for himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Prince Devitt and a former leader of The Bullet Club, has taken the WWE by storm after winning the NXT World Championship and then becoming the first ever WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam.

Kevin Owens meanwhile, who made a name for himself on the independent wrestling scene and Ring of Honor wrestling as Kevin Steen, has had a great run of his own. Within a two year time frame, Owens has won the NXT World Championship, the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and is now the current WWE Universal Champion. Finn Balor is currently suffering from a shoulder injury and Kevin Owens is still going strong, but I expect huge things from both of these men in 2017.

#1: AJ Styles Signs With The WWE: Whoever would have thought that former TNA World Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles would ever step foot in a WWE ring. Last January at the Royal Rumble all that came true as Styles entered and did fairly well in the Royal Rumble. Since entering the rumble, Styles has gone on to feud with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, turned heel, created the WWE version of The Bullet Club with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, has become one of WWE's highest merchandise seller and now has become the face of WWE Smackdown Live as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Styles has accomplished a lot in his 10 month time frame considering he came from TNA, which WWE is known to not care about pushing wrestlers from other promotions that made that wrestler famous.

So there you have it that is my Top 5 favorite moments that have happened so far in 2016. Now we do still have October, November and December left of the year, so this top 5 may possibly change before the end of the year. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, please follow me at @B_Rock1978 as I tweet a lot about sports, wrestling and entertainment and of course please follow @TripleThreatCLE as we provide you with many great writers that consistently blog about sports and entertainment as well.

Why I Want Kurt Angle In The WWE

By Brandon Albright, @B_Rock1978

Greetings fans of the man that won a Olympic gold medal with a broken freakin' neck, Kurt Angle! Wrestling Lockup with Brandon, is back with another blog, this time chronicling why I would love to see Kurt Angle back in the WWE and what I think he could do for the company. Oh it's true......it's damn true!

Now for those that haven't been following TNA (I know there are some out there and some probably think Angle actually retired 16 years ago, cause they don't watch TNA.) Kurt Angle has closed out a very stellar 16 year career in TNA recently, as his TNA contract has expired and Angle has chosen not to resign. Inside the Impact Zone, Angle accomplished a lot in his TNA career.

6-Time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, 1-Time TNA X-Division Champion, 2-Time TNA World Tag Team Champion, 2-Time King of the Mountain, Back to back feuds of the year with Samoa Joe in 2006 and 2007, match of the year against Sting in 2007 and of course inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2013. Very impressive considering WWE was sceptical of Angle's future when he left the company in 2000.

But I'm not here to blog and bash WWE, I actually want to blog about why I'd love to see the Olympic hero back where it all started, the WWE. Now this blog will contain all pros on why I want Angle back in WWE, I'm not blogging any cons, because I really want to see Angle back in the WWE and I honestly don't care about the cons. (If you're looking for Angle bashing, you won't find it here cause I'm a huge fan of Angle.)

*** NXT and Mentoring ***

Of course the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Kurt Angle possibly returning to the WWE, is putting him in NXT. NXT has become not just a training ground for up and comers, but has now blossomed into its own promotion. Guys that have already made their names on main rosters, like Rhyno, Brian Kendrick, Jushin Thunder Liger, James Storm, Samoa Joe and Austin Aries have all graced the halls of Full Sail University. Putting Kurt Angle on NXT would not only be smart, but business smart. Putting Angle in matches against guys like Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Austin Aries and of course Samoa Joe would be another huge shot to the arm of NXT and continue to build NXT as its own promotion. Angle could also be used as a stepping stone to the main roster, but in a good way. Basically if you can go toe to toe with Angle and impress him, then you're ready for the main roster.

Angle would also be there backstage for the mentoring. Any wrestler having second thoughts about a match or their limitations, Angle would be there to give his advice and help nourish that up and comer. Angle would be there to not only make a wrestler better at their craft in the ring, but also build their minds to appreciate what the business means and why it's so important.

*** A WWE Retirement Tour ***

TNA let Angle do a retirement tour, why not WWE? Right now WWE is known for many part timers on the roster. Guys like Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho and The Rock for example. It baffles my mind on why WWE wouldn't pull the trigger and give Angle a three month run and have one hell of a retirement tour. That's a definite guaranteed three months worth of quality five star matches and three pay per views that could gain huge subscribers that are Angle fans.

Now if I was Vince McMahon, I'd debut Angle the first week of January, have him announce his retirement tour on RAW and then go from there.  I'd have Angle wrestle on 2 RAW's in January, Royal Rumble, 2 RAW's in February, Fastlane, 3 RAW's in March and finally his retirement match at Wrestlemania. That's a total of ten matches that Angle would have against the WWE's best. After thinking about it for a little bit, I've decided on the 10 guys I would choose in this tour and why.

RAW: Neville. Angle praises the up and comer and sees a bright future for Neville. Angle vs. Neville would be the perfect kick off to Angle's retirement tour.

RAW: Alberto Del Rio. You definitely have to throw in just one opponent that hates America and have Angle stand up for our country. Del Rio and Angle are masters of mat and submission wrestling.

Royal Rumble: Kevin Owens. Owens wants to prove that Angle is way out of his league, has no business in the WWE and frankly is too "old".

RAW: Cesaro. Angle understands how Cesaro has been held back through the years and tells Cesaro to reach way down and give him a five star match and put the WWE back on notice.

RAW: Chris Jericho. Jericho and Angle had memorable matches with each other when both were starting out in WWE. This is a definite must on the tour.

Fastlane: AJ Styles. Angle is reliving his past matches against AJ back in TNA and wants to see if the kid still has it.

Kurt Angle comes out the night after Fastlane and brags about his great match with AJ Styles. Now it's time to look ahead to three guys that were a dominant faction in the WWE. Angle challenges all three former members of The Shield as his next opponents leading into his retirement match at Wrestlemania.

RAW: Dean Ambrose
RAW: Seth Rollins
RAW: Roman Reigns

Wrestlemania: John Cena. Without Kurt Angle there would've been no John Cena. Cena made his WWE debut, wrestling Angle on Smackdown. I think it would only be fitting that Cena was Angle's last opponent.

*** WWE Behind-The-Scenes Position ***

Of course once the retirement tour ends, where would Kurt Angle go from there? How about a backstage mentor, or a road agent or a wrestling talent scout. Angle could do what guys like Michael P.S. Hayes, Ted Dibiase and Arn Anderson have done in the past, be that go to guy backstage when needed. With Angle's experience in the business, Angle could be there to help that up and comer from NXT find their gimmick to put them over on the main roster. Angle could be there to give advice and tell a wrestler what he thinks is and isn't working for them when he watches them wrestle. Angle, being a follower of amateur wrestling could be on the look out for any impressive talent coming up that could be a WWE fit. Maybe a nice suit and tie job inside WWE Headquarters?

*** WWE Hall of Fame ***

Of course another reason to see Kurt Angle back in the WWE is so he can take his rightful place inside the WWE Hall of Fame. Angle definitely is WWE HOF worthy.

Maybe Kurt Angle will just ride off into the sunset and enjoy retirement from wrestling for good and not even attempt a WWE comeback. Now again this whole blog was nothing but my wishes of nonsense that'll probably never happen. I also know that all the pros I've listed above have many cons. One thing is for sure though, before Angle calls it a career, I would love to one day see him back in a WWE ring.