WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle sends an emotional message to One Direction singer Liam Payne after his tragic death at 31 years of age

Kurt Angle may have retired from in-ring competition after he wrestled Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, but the star took the time to say a fond word about former One Direction singer, Liam Payne. Payne died tragically at only 31 years of age.

On October 16, 2024, Payne died after he was suspected to have fallen from the third-floor balcony at CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Police were called to the hotel earlier because of an "aggressive man" who might have been intoxicated.

The call to the police noted that the man's life may be in danger due to his room having a balcony. Payne fell from the balcony soon after emergency services arrived. The medical team reported a cranial fracture among other serious injuries leading to his immediate death.

In the past, Kurt Angle wrestled against Liam Payne when the star was still a part of One Direction. It was done to promote their album, Midnight Memories. He took this moment to react to the sad demise of the young star.

The WWE legend took to X (fka Twitter) and said that it was an honor for him to step in the ring with Payne. In the match, Payne defeated Angle after hitting a modified head-scissors finisher, while wearing a masked costume.

"RIP @LiamPayne ….it was an honor to step in the ring with you during 1 D Day! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏," wrote Angle.

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Kurt Angle also spoke about being fined by Vince McMahon

The WWE Hall of Famer also shared a story about how Vince McMahon made him and Stone Cold stay in character when they were shooting skits. The wrestlers used to try and get each other to break character, but McMahon warned that if they did so, then they would find themselves being fined.

Angle still did, but when he was fined, he realized that he had to stop doing it or he'd have no money left.

"Vince [McMahon] said, 'Hey, we're going to do these pre-tapes, but last week was a disaster because you guys kept breaking characters. You guys kept laughing. So, this week, if you break character, you get fined $2,000.' So, I got fined $8,000 because I broke character four different times. I started getting serious. I was like, 'I can't do that anymore, I'm going to lose all my money.' So, I wouldn't break character anymore, I don't know how I was able to do it," Kurt Angle said.

Angle went on to keep working for McMahon and became a legend for the Stamford-based company during his storied career.