Kurt Angle made an appearance on the latest episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet to discuss a wide range of topics, including the way his career ended and his belief that it should’ve ended 10 years earlier than it did.
Angle joined TNA Wrestling after departing from WWE in 2006 and has spoken highly of his work in the promotion. 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. Because Angle knew his body was broken down and couldn’t wrestle at the same level as he once did, he opted to retire. Angle lost to Baron Corbin in his farewell match at the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event in East Rutherford, NJ, at MetLife Stadium.
“You know what I wish I would have? I think I wish I would have finished my career in WWE, 10 years shorter. WWE and TNA. So, in other words, instead of 20 years, I think 10 would have been enough, and I think I would have been okay, but I pushed myself further and, you know, got into my 40s and kept working at a high pace. The reason why I retired is because I was losing a step, and I could see it when I watched me on film. I didn’t like what I saw, and I didn’t want the fans to remember me as a broken-down Kurt Angle. I wanted them to remember me when I was in my prime, and that occurred when I went back to the WWE for the second time, and that was in 2017. When I came back, I ended up they wanted to induct me into Hall of Fame. And I was like, Vince, I’m not done wrestling. He’s like, ‘Well, we’ll get to the wrestling.’ And then he said that that night after the Hall of Fame, he said, ‘I want you to be a general manager of Raw.’ I was like, ‘Vince, I want to wrestle.’ He said, ‘It’s coming.’ So he made me the general manager of Raw for nine months, and during those nine months, I was inactive. I never got in the ring. I was so busy doing general manager stuff I couldn’t get in the ring. And by the time they had me wrestle, I looked like an old man. Taking those nine months off, especially at my age, close to 50. I shut down. My body shut down, and my knees were bent full time like I couldn’t [straighten] my knees out. I had to have knee replacements. Now, my knee is straight. I had a rough time in that ring.”
When asked whether there was a chance to go back to WWE in 2009.
“No, I was happy in TNA. I was literally moving along nicely. And I love being there. The great thing about it is, you know, you got to be creative yourself. They would give you an idea, a promo, and you would write the promo and do it. And you know, when you wrestled, usually you have agents that will structure the matches for you. We did it ourselves for the most part.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
