Kurt Angle To Be Special WWE 2K18 Pre-Order Download

Oh, it's true. It's damn true! After years of telling promoters that he was coming back to WWE, Kurt Angle FINALLY made it home. Earlier this year, Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and named as the new Raw General Manager. Well, it would seem, his return home just keeps getting bigger and better.

It was announced yesterday that Kurt Angle will be this year's exclusive WWE 2K18 Pre-order Download. Which, is a big damn deal. Not only is it Angle's first WWE video game appearance in nearly a decade, but if history is any indication, this may be Angle's road back to the ring.

Since downloadable content became a thing, the 2K bonus wrestler has played a HUGE role in WWE Television programming. Sting and Goldberg were both announced as the downloadable character, both returned to WWE programming and to the ring.

Kurt hasn't been shy about saying he wants to wrestle and he wants to perform in the ring at least a couple more times for the WWE Universe. So, this may be a first good step. They are setting up some sort of story for Angle on Raw involving Corey Graves and some sort of secret. It's being speculated that that storyline will lead to a SummerSlam match between Angle and Triple H.

At the moment, other than being the downloadable character, Angle's future is all wishful thinking and speculation. But, this certainly is a step in the right direction.

Here is the statement issued by 2K sports:

2K today announced that decorated Olympian, WWE Hall of Famer and current Raw General Manager, Kurt Angle, will return to WWE in-ring action for the first time in more than a decade – virtually – through WWE 2K18, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE video game franchise.

Best known for his remarkable in-ring accomplishments spanning nearly two decades, as well as his gold medal win in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Angle will appear in WWE 2K18 through two playable characters representing key milestones in his career: his WWE “American Hero” persona, as well as his ECW® “Wrestling Machine” persona. The playable characters will be available as bonus content for those who pre-order the game at participating retailers. For more information on all pre-order options, please visit wwe.2k.com.

“I was thrilled to return to WWE earlier this year, be honored as a WWE Hall of Fame inductee and find a new home with the best in the business every Monday night as the Raw General Manager,” said Kurt Angle. “And now, I get to follow in the footsteps of many incredible names, like Bill Goldberg, Sting, Ultimate Warrior and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and be featured as the WWE 2K18 pre-order character.”

“Kurt Angle has been the most fan-requested Superstar in the WWE 2K franchise for some time now, so it’s a pleasure to celebrate his popularity and incredible career through this year’s WWE 2K18 pre-order offer,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “His WWE and amateur wrestling achievements are also a perfect fit to help carry the torch for this year’s ‘Be Like No One’ worldwide marketing campaign. There’s no question Kurt succeeds on his own terms in everything he does.”

In addition to today’s news, media and fans are encouraged to watch Raw on Monday, July 10 – airing live on USA Network at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT – to see the official pre-order bonus trailer.