Kurt Angle praises The Bloodline, Roman Reigns: 'He is the best wrestler today'

The story of The Bloodline in WWE has been one most captivating ones in all of wrestling, and a WWE Hall of Famer is applauding the work of it − even after he criticized it.

In August 2023, four-time WWE Champion and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle didn't believe when Paul Heyman confidently said The Bloodline was in "bottom of the third" of its storyline, which Heyman fired back at. Now more than a year later at The Bloodline is still dominating WWE and heads into Survivor Series: WarGames with another main event match taking place on Saturday. Maybe Heyman's third inning proclamation was right, and Angle is loving what he has seen unfold.

"The Bloodline thing has been really incredible," Angle told USA TODAY Sports. "It's done amazing things for the sport."

While Angle applauded The Bloodline, he highly praised the work of Roman Reigns during the run. Since The Bloodline formed in the summer of 2021, Reigns has gone from a menacing, hated champion to now someone the crowd loves as he seeks to reclaim the title of Tribal Chief. Angle said he has done so much for his heritage for the past few years and has launched himself to the top of the sport as a result.

"Roman, I will say, he is the best wrestler today," Angle said. "Roman caught on and started improving very quickly and learning, and he continuously got better and better, and then he became the best. Right now, he's red-hot. He could be the biggest baby face in the company or the biggest heel, depending on what he chooses to do."

As for how long the story has been going, Angle said it "ridiculous" how it's been able to continuously develop because "it never happens" in the sport. Angle hopes the payoff for it works, but no matter what happens, it will be well worth it.

Kurt Angle's work with USA wrestling

Other than keeping his eye on the wrestling world, Angle is also working on raising money for USA wrestling as preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will be underway before we know it.

The gold medalist from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics said many U.S. wrestlers don't have the income to just focus on their training − something he experienced prior to his time − so the goal is to get enough money so wrestlers don't have to work other jobs that take away from competing.

In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA walked away with seven medals in wrestling, highlighted by the gold medals won by Amit Elor in the women’s wrestling 68-kilogram weight and Sarah Hildebrandt in the 50-kilogram class. It won the third most in wrestling behind Japan and Iran, and Angle wants Team USA to build on the success.

"These athletes, they're going to need to be taken care of," he said. "As long as they can train and compete full-time and not have to worry about anything else, they're going to make history. I believe that."

An added benefit will be the home field advantage Team USA will get in the next Olympics. Angel recalled what it was like to compete in front of your home country and he didn't really have to adjust to time zones or a different lifestyle during the Games. When it gets to that time in four years, he believes it will be a big boost.

"There are going to be other people from other parts of the world, but most of that crowd will be USA, and that's such a huge advantage to have your home country cheering for you," Angle said.

Angle is also having a movie made about him. Focused on his Olympic career, he said the script for the movie is nearly finished and the project is looking for investors so it can start filming.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kurt Angle says Roman Reigns 'is the best wrestler today'