Kurt Angle recently appeared on the True Geordie podcast, where the WWE Hall of Famer talked about his life and career. During it, the former WWE Champion discussed his retirement from pro wrestling and having a mid-life crisis because of it.
Angle’s last match
Angle lost to Baron Corbin in his farewell match at the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event in East Rutherford, NJ, at MetLife Stadium. Angle has publicly talked about wanting John Cena to be his retirement opponent, but Vince McMahon insisted it be Corbin that year due to their storyline, and if Angle wrestled for another year, then he could have the chance to get the Cena match. However, Angle decided against it due to his body.
“Oh, I had it. I had it, say, for about a year after I retired. I didn’t go out the way I wanted to. I was not in the best of shape when I went out. I was slowing down. The reason why I retired is because I noticed that I wasn’t half the wrestler I was, and I didn’t want fans to remember me as this broken-down, aging wrestler. So that’s why I retired. I didn’t get to go out the way I wanted to, so that was really difficult on me. So I did go through a little bit of a crisis for about a year, and I finally got through it, and it took me some time. I thought, ‘You know what, you accomplish a lot. You should be proud of yourself.’”
Angle’s accomplishments
Angle noted that he’s at the point in life where anything he does is icing on top of the cake because there’s nothing else he needs to accomplish. He’s most proud of overcoming his addiction.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit True Geordie with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.