The Big Lead

Kurt Angle hails returning WWE star as 'one of the most talented' he's ever been in the ring with

WWE legend reveals he loved working with fan-favorite AJ Styles, and explained how being the good guy in the ring is much harder than being the bad guy.

By Simon Head

May 15, 2013; New York, NY, USA; 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle attends the wrestling meet between Iran and USA at Grand Central Terminal. Iran won the meet 18-8. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
May 15, 2013; New York, NY, USA; 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle attends the wrestling meet between Iran and USA at Grand Central Terminal. Iran won the meet 18-8. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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Kurt Angle has heaped praise on AJ Styles following his return to WWE Raw on Monday.

Styles, who returned from a lengthy injury hiatus at the Royal Rumble, made his return to WWE Raw this week, and WWE legend Angle said that when it comes to pure in-ring ability, Styles is right among the best he's seen.

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"I had so many great matches with AJ Styles and so many great ones with Samoa Joe," he told greatoffshoresportsbooks.com.

"My matches with AJ were very unique and he was such an incredible in-ring performer.

"His athletic ability is up and above anybody, he's way up in the charts as far as talent. He's one of the most talented kids I've ever been in the ring with.

"It's one of those things where you're in the ring and you're not doing much work. They're doing all the work for you. They're flying around. All you do is catch them.

"He reminds me a lot of Rey Mysterio, just a little bit bigger!"

Styles returned to Raw in Nashville, and received a hero's welcome from the packed crowd in attendance. It showed that "The Phenomenal One" remains a huge star for the company, and is still one of the big babyfaces in the WWE.

Angle has played both sides of the character coin, having been a face and a heel in the past. Such was his impact as a heel, his theme song, which has been adopted by other wrestlers, and even UFC fighter Colby Covington, without fail draws chants of "You suck!" in time with the music.

Angle admitted that he preferred being a heel, and revealed that it's actually the much easier side of the coin to be.

"I like being a heel because you didn't have to be accepted by the fans," he explained.

"You had to get the fans to hate, hate you. And it wasn't that hard. So it was just easier for me.

"If I were to start out as a babyface, it wouldn't have worked. Starting out as a babyface is a really difficult thing to do, even as an Olympic gold medalist myself. So it's a lot easier to be a heel, and the fans will accept you a lot quicker as a human."

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