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Every WWE Superstar has their own way of dealing with retirement. While some get the itch to wrestle again, others fully embrace the transition.
Such is the case with wrestling legend Kurt Angle. He recently confirmed he would never wrestle again.
The Olympic gold medalist hasn't laced up his boots since losing to Baron Corbin in his retirement match at WrestleMania 35.
In an interview with Counted Out, Kurt Angle shared his reasons for never coming out of retirement after all these years. He opened up about his conversation with Vince McMahon upon returning to WWE for his last run.
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Angle revealed that he wanted to continue wrestling, but instead, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and then became the General Manager of RAW.
"When I came back to the WWE, I was in really good shape. I was in wrestling shape. I was ready to go, and they kind of swerved me. They said, 'Hey, we're gonna induct you into the Hall of Fame. I said, 'Well, I'm not retiring.' They said, 'That's alright, we'll induct you first, then you can wrestle eventually.' So they induct me into Hall of Fame, and that night, Vince McMahon comes up to me and says, 'Hey, we want you to be GM of RAW. I was like, 'But I want to wrestle, and I'm not retired yet.' He says, 'Don't worry, we'll get to that.' So I become the GM of RAW, and I'm working and I'm no longer being active in the ring."
The 56-year-old stalwart stated that he was out of shape when WWE asked him to wrestle. He felt he had lost a step and called it quits on his in-ring career. Kurt Angle made it clear that he intends to stand firm in his decision.
"So as I'm doing this every week I'm wrestling, and I'm watching tapes of it, and I was like, 'Oh my god, I hate the way I look. I look like an old man. So that's when I decided I wanted to retire, and I told Vince McMahon, 'Vince, I want to retire. I said at WrestleMania, and I want John Cena. He said, 'You can't have John Cena. You have a program with Baron Corbin. You have to finish it.' So I said, Okay, I understand that. He said, If you want Cena, you could wait the following year. And I didn't want to wait another year because of the way I was wrestling...I felt like I couldn't do it anymore. It's out of my hands, and I decided I would never step in the ring again, and I'm sticking to that to this day." (From 40:30 to 42:27)
Check out the full interview below:
Kurt Angle is open to returning to WWE
Kurt Angle's in-ring days are behind him, but he isn't ruling out the possibility of returning to WWE in a new role.
The Olympic gold medalist laid down certain conditions if Triple H was to bring him back to manage American Made.
"It's pretty evident who they would probably have me manage, and that's Chad Gable and the Creed Brothers. They haven't approached me yet. I think they will eventually, but I'm not quite sure. But if they do, you know, like I said before, it would have to be, you know, how much work they want me to do and how much money they want to pay me. That's the two most important things."
Angle and Gable have shared the ring several times before. However, the idea of seeing them work together would help elevate Gable to a whole new level.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit the Counted Out podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.
