WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle Reveals Why He Decided To Retire

Kurt Angle's final run in WWE would have looked a lot different if the Olympic gold medalist had his way.

Angle returned to WWE in 2017 after 11 years away from the company. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame over WrestleMania 33 weekend in Orlando before being introduced as the new General Manager of Raw the night after 'Mania.

Vince McMahon Delayed Kurt Angle's In-Ring Comeback

Despite feeling fit enough to get back into a WWE ring, Angle was restricted to General Manager duties for his first few months back in the old New York territory. He would eventually lace his boots back up for a major WrestleMania 34 program alongside Ronda Rousey against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, but the former WWE Champion felt like he had a lot more to offer before then.

Speaking to The Undertaker on the Six Feet Under podcast, Angle explained he was ready to wrestle the moment he came back to WWE, but Vince McMahon shared a different viewpoint.

“The thing is, when I came back to WWE, after I left for 11 years, when I came back, I was wrestling really good, but Vince had a different idea. He wanted to induct me into the Hall of Fame first before I wrestled. So I did the Hall of Fame. Then Vince came to me and said, ‘Hey, we wanted to make you the GM of Raw. I said, ‘Vince, I want to wrestle.’ He said, ‘We’ll get to that.’"
Kurt Angle

Angle Didn't Want Injuries to Tarnish His Legacy

But as WWE 'got to that' with Angle's in-ring return, the former TNA World Champion's body was breaking down following a lengthy career that had taken its toll on him, with multiple major injuries and surgeries proving too much to bear as he approached his 50s.

“So he makes me GM of Raw, and during this time, my knees are arthritic and they’re getting tighter, and I’m less active, and for eight months, I didn’t do anything. Then all of a sudden, he’s like, ‘Kurt, I want you to wrestle.’ That’s gonna be a problem."
Kurt Angle

Angle's knee issues caused his performance levels to drop due to his decreasing mobility and athleticism. This would provide Angle with his reason for retiring in 2019.

"When I got in there, I looked like crap. I mean, I couldn’t do anything. It made me want to retire earlier than I wanted to. That’s why I retired with Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. I didn’t want people to look at me and say, ‘Gosh, He used to be great, but now…’ Yeah. I didn’t want that. So I decided, ‘This is it.'”
Kurt Angle

Angle would finish up his career with a quick loss to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. The decision to pair Angle with Corbin was heavily criticised by many fans, with some of Angle's most legendary opponents on the WWE roster at the time such as AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio and Samoa Joe.

(H/T Fightful for the transcriptions)

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