On the latest episode of “The Kurt Angle Show” on AdFreeShows.com, Angle and Conrad Thompson cover WrestleMania 35 and Angle’s retirement.
Angle goes into detail on how he learned that Baron Corbin would be his opponent and he reveals that he wanted John Cena to be his final opponent. Angle gave his thoughts on getting booked to get attacked by Lars Sullivan on Raw, what went wrong during his short run with The Shield, why he turned down offers to return to WWE, and more.
Here are some highlights:
Angle was asked if he was surprised to get the call to be inducted into The Hall of Fame:
“It was a surprise because I was planning on continuing to wrestle. I was expecting a call from the WWE eventually, and when I did expect a call, I thought that Vince McMahon was going to ask me to come back to wrestle, but they did the opposite. They decided to induct me into The Hall of Fame, which is what you do when you retire. I told Vince I didn’t want to retire. He said, ‘We will get around to wrestling eventually.’ I think I was a liability for the company and I think that’s the reason Vince wanted to start me out within The Hall of Fame and then he gave me the general manager spot the following night on Raw. I did that for about a year. I think he was getting a feel for me to see how I was handling the situation and If I stayed clean even though when I came back to WWE, I was clean and sober for four years in 2017. I don’t think I had an issue with that. I think that Vince McMahon just wanted to make sure that I was continuing on staying clean while I was with the company.”
Angle talking about hearing he was going to be the General Manager for RAW:
“Actually it occurred on the night of the Hall of Fame. Right before I went out to accept the award, Vince McMahon came into my locker room backstage. He said, ‘We want you to be General Manager of RAW starting tomorrow. He offered me a deal. I said, ‘Well, I still want to wrestle.’ He said, ‘We’ll get around to that eventually. Don’t worry about that. We’ll get there.’ I said, ‘Ok, as long as I know I’m going to wrestle.’ I got the offer the night before at The Hall of Fame and the next day is when I started the General Manager job.’
Angle was asked what he thought about the storyline of Jason Jordan being illegitimate son:
“I was excited because I wanted to pair up with Jason and Chad when they were tag team partners. I wanted to wrestle and I wanted to be The World Champion and have them be the Tag Team Champions just like Team Angle. I thought it made a lot of sense. They decided I was going to have an illegitimate son and they weren’t sure who it was going to be and they decided to pick Jason over Chad.
I’m not sure why but it might have been a politically correct move. I was happy. I was excited about it because Jason is a great talent. He was improving every week. He was on his way to main event status until he hurt his neck. That’s where the program ended. I was stuck high and dry without a partner for the next WrestleMania because that’s who I was going to wrestle was Jason. They immediately paired me up with Baron Corbin. Baron was more of a bully. I was more of the victim. I didn’t like that, but that’s what they gave me, but the program was fine. I was ok with it. It was a lot of fun to do. Baron is a great talent. I didn’t expect him to be my opponent at WrestleMania because at that time, I don’t think he was at the level that he deserved to go into WrestleMania wrestling a Hall of Fame legend. Even though afterward they utilized him pretty good and he was on his way to main event status.
I think my WrestleMania match ignited that. Vince wanted me to get him over. That was the plan and I knew that. At the time when they told me, I was thinking that this is going to be my last match and I’m going to retire and I need to tell Vince and if I want an opponent other than Baron, I need to tell him right now. I went to his office and I said, ‘I’m going to retire at WrestleMania. I know you have a program planned with Baron, but I would like to have John Cena because I started his career and I want him to end mine.’ I thought it made a lot of sense. He said, ‘You’re not doing that this year. You can possibly do it next year if you continue to wrestle for a year.’ I said, ‘No. I want to retire this year because my body is breaking down and I feel like I don’t want to go on after that. I’m not able to perform at the level I expect to. I’m not crazy about wrestling Baron, not only because of his status at the time, and don’t get me wrong. Baron was a great worker and very professional. He was great to work with. I just don’t think at that time he was at the level to be wrestling a main eventer or Hall of Famer.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit “The Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows.com” with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
Hear all about @RealKurtAngle's farewell tour on the Road to WrestleMania 35 on Episode 3⃣ of @TheAnglePod!
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