Kurt Angle stands firmly behind the work he was able to do in TNA Wrestling when he joined the promotion after departing from WWE in 2006. Angle returned to WWE in 2017, where he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and became the Raw General Manager. The legendary wrestler later wrestled select matches.
However, Angle knew his body was broken down and couldn’t wrestle at the same level as he once did. Angle lost to Baron Corbin in his farewell match at the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event in East Rutherford, NJ, at MetLife Stadium.
While speaking with WrestleZone, Angle stated that his TNA run doesn’t get enough love from fans.
Angle stated, “You know what, I always get, ‘You know, Kurt Angle would have been the best of all time if he would have stuck in the WWE and wrestled there for 20 years.’ That may be true, but what’s the difference? I wrestled in TNA for 11 of my 20 years, and I think that should be added on. I had a better career in TNA. I was wrestling guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe and Sting. I had a lot better career in TNA because I came into my own. When you’re a professional wrestler, it takes you about six or seven years to really master your craft. That’s when I left WWE after six years. I went to TNA and I was a man on a mission there. I just did incredibly well there.”
Angle continued, “I don’t get enough accolades for it. I know that a lot of people consider me one of the best of all times now regardless of my TNA career, but that career gets a little bit stifled. That really bothers me a little bit because I was really that good. I had an incredible career. Don’t get me wrong, the WWE career was great too. Now, me coming back to the WWE in 2017, I don’t even count that because by then I lost a step, I wasn’t the same person. The reason why I retired early is because I looked at myself on television and I was like, ‘Wow, this looks like an old man wrestling.’ And I didn’t like what I saw.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit WrestleZone with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
