BETTER OFF LIVE

Kurt freakin' Angle. In only a few short years since his arrival in the WWE, some already consider him one of the greatest of all time. At a glance, it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? His debut, if memory serves, was less than four years ago. Is he truly such an incredible athlete to be considered already on par with Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Steve Austin?

Yes, he is, but this isn't a column about how much I respect Kurt Angle's ability. I do, of course, but that isn't my purpose here today. I would like to propose a move that I believe can help invigorate both the terrible Raw main event scene and the stale WWE in general. By "propose," I do not expect the WWE to actually read this. More that I wish to propose the idea to my readers for my, and hopefully your, enjoyment.

Trade Kurt Angle to Raw before the end of the year. Simple, isn't it? Trade Angle from the blue team to the red team. So simple, in fact, that one might question what a seemingly small move could do for Raw besides a very short ratings boost for the shock factor. Well, I am so glad you (and by "you," I mean "I") asked.

--SMACKDOWN POTENTIAL--

As it pertains to the Smackdown roster, Angle has nearly done it all. Where to go next? Restart his feud with Brock Lesnar? Been there. Done that. Twice. Even another rematch at Wrestlemania XX seems too soon from where I sit. Big Show? Terrible idea both from the staindpoint of the casual fan who knows it's been done to death and from the fan of good wrestling. Show does not exhibit enough skill to be in the main event in the first place, let alone remain in the title hunt for so long.

Chris Benoit, perhaps? Angle vs. Benoit has been done so many times and in so many ways that even I, who consider these men to be in the top five in all of the WWE, think that it's best to seperate these two for at least another six months to a year. The only way I would like to see these two men in the ring again would be if Angle is packing his bags for Raw and needs to drop the title to best man to take his place. More on that later, though. Undertaker just had his shot on Smackdown. Great match. I can't take that away from the aged wrestler. Still, I've seen enough of these two together. The Dead Man should be working with up-and-coming talent again. Not placed in the main event for the umpteenth time.

There are only two or three fresh feuds for Angle on Smackdown...

John Cena. Angle faced Cena in his pre-rapper debut. It was a short but sweet match to establish Cena as a rising star on the Smackdown brand. The two grapplers have never had a nice, long Pay-Per-View bout, though. Cena stuck his head out of the midcard level and snuck a peek at the main event with his feud against Brock Lesnar earlier this year. The feud was clever, highlighted by the Master of Thugonomics' rhymes far more than the champion.

If John Cena is to stay in the upper echelons of Smackdown, he needs to see the main event once more before the year is out. A feud with Angle hasn't been done before, and, more important, it can and will yield a great match. However, Cena should not, under any circumstances, take the title. This match could help him prepare for the day he takes the championship, but he isn't ready just yet.

Eddie Guerrero. The greatest Smackdown feud that has yet to happen. Guerrero has solidified himself as the top midcarder. He holds the United States Championship, which if it is the equivalent of the Intercontinental Championship, historically could lead to the main event. Guerrero is the last of the greatest in the WWE who hasn't seen a PPV world title shot. It's time.

Guerrero, another of those in said top five, has never faced Kurt Angle one-on-one in a Pay-Per-View match. Angle is the perfect man to catapault Guerrero into the main event. Both are incredible ring technicians who can pull a four star match from anyone. Put in the same ring, I expect nothing less than a classic.

Who else is there? Who else can convincingly challenge Angle for the title? Rhyno? Maybe but not yet. A-Train? Sweet fancy Moses, no! He may not be as bad as some say, but he isn't that good either. The fact is that Kurt Angle has done so much on Smackdown that the only logical next step is Raw once his last remaining untapped feuds are over. So, what waits for him on live television?

--RAW POTENTIAL--

Let's start off big...

Shawn Michaels. I don't like to throw around a term like "dream match," but no other phrase does this justice. The man who could be the greatest wrestler this side of the millennium against the man who arguably was the best of the 90's. Ever since the Heartbreak Kid returned to the ring, the wrestling community has been proposing matches we never thought we'd see. Recently, we were treated to Ric Flair vs. Shawn Micheals, but what could have been the match of the year wasn't allowed to even reach twenty minutes. Probably not even eighteen if I remember correctly.

This will be different. It must be different. Even if the bookers plan this match blindfolded, it will still be incredible. Michaels, while not the man he was a few years ago, can still go. He is still better than most of the Raw roster, despite being a part-timer. It will draw money and it will blow the roof off the arena. Even though Chris Benoit is my favorite wrestler, part of me thinks there is no match I would like to see more than Angle vs. Michaels.

Rob Van Dam. He has had two forgettable moments in the main event. Once in a triple threat (which barely counts, if you ask me) and another with a hobbled Triple H. Van Dam makes a far better babyface main eventer than those we've seen lately. I'm looking at you, Nash.

Even though the Invasion angle of two years ago was disappointing on some levels, we were still treated to some great wrestling. RVD broke into the midcard scene with great speed, and Angle put on some of his best matches against Steve Austin. Van Dam and Angle fought each other too. Well, sort of. The main event of one of the WCW/ECW Alliance PPVs was Angle vs. Austin vs. Van Dam. Not a one-on-one match. This feud is fresh. Angle and Van Dam has never been done before on PPV. It's both brand new and likely will produce a good match. People sometimes say the Van Dam's style doesn't mesh well with many wrestlers, but Angle can adapt to anyone.

Booker T. At present, the Booker Man is injured. My hope is that it will not be career-threatening. If he can come back to Raw, his ovation (not to mention his obvious talent) should be enough to convince the WWE to let him see another one-on-one PPV main event before he retires. We've seen Booker and Kurt Angle once before, but it was on Raw, so that means it wasn't long enough. I want a real feud with a great match at the blowoff.

That's not all, though. Ric Flair may be a possiblity, but I don't want the Nature Boy in a PPV's main event anymore. Maybe before Angle takes the championship. Chris Jericho hasn't faced Angle in a year or two. That's a match I want to see again, especially if it brings Y2J out of his strange funk. What's more, when The Rock returns next year, that's another feud that hasn't been done to death. At least, not in the last couple years.

There is so much for Kurt Angle on Raw, and the ripple effects are numerous...

--BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE--

Kurt Angle can bring fresh feuds to Raw, which can help elevate the sometimes-main eventers like Rob Van Dam and Booker T. There's more, though. If Angle leaves Smackdown, it might finally help Chris Benoit see the WWE Championship. Benoit, unfortunately, is sometimes seen as Kurt Angle without the personality. Incredible in the ring but only so-so on the microphone. I disagree that Benoit doesn't have charisma, but that's another topic for another column. If Angle is nowhere to be found, the Smackdown bookers may come to the conclusion that it's time for Benoit to shine.

Also, if Angle shows up on Raw, there will need to be a trade. My wish is for Hurricane and Lance Storm to leave for the Smackdown cruiserweight division. Storm is at least as much of a cruiserweight as Matt Hardy was. These two wrestlers belong on Smackdown, and Angle's move can give that opportunity.

I hope I have convinced you, good reader, of the potential for Kurt Angle on Raw. If I haven't, let this final fact sink in for a moment. Considering Triple H is soon to be taking time off to heal his nagging injuries and enjoy his honeymoon, if Kurt Angle doesn't appear on Monday nights soon, the top name on Raw may be Goldberg.

That is reason enough.