More than a year after his WWE release, many fans remain surprised that Kurt Angle hasn’t returned to the world of wrestling. He made two appearances on WWE programming following his departure, and he turned down an opportunity to manage Matt Riddle. As time has gone by, Angle’s absence from wrestling has left some fans scratchig their heads. As it turns out, two major promotions were interested in bringing the former world champion back to the ring, but he turned them down.
During an interview with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Angle stated that he received offers from both All Elite Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling to wrestle, but he knew his body wouldn’t let him perform at the level he would have wanted to.
“Well, I had had AEW, TNA, they’ve offered, but I can’t do it,” said Angle. “I wish I could. My body’s too banged up, I’m 52 years old, just trying to live my life now and try to live it in less pain. And I’m in a lot of pain right now, so I’m suffering from the career that I’ve had, but I don’t regret it.”
Angle previously revealed that Shaq tried to get him to work for AEW, but he wasn’t interested. In this interview, Angle explained that AEW approached him with a multiple-match deal, and IMPACT Wrestling offered him a one-off, but he turned them down because he knew that he had “lost a step.”
“AEW, I think it was like a seven-match deal,” said Angle. “TNA I think they were just gonna do one match, but I just felt like my final matches in WWE, I knew that I’d lost a step, I wasn’t the same as I was in my prime, and I didn’t like the person I was, the performer I was. So if I can’t perform at that level that I was in my prime, I’m not gonna do it anymore. And that’s why I turned down the offers from AEW and TNA.”
Still, Angle noted that he’ll “probably” make some appearances in a non-wrestling capacity at some point, but he’s focusing on other ventures, like his nutrition company, right now.
On non-wrestling appearances I’ve had offers for that, too, but I’ve been kind of sitting idle right now. Eventually I’ll probably go back to pro wrestling and do some appearances.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Fightful and leave a link back to this article for the transcription.
The full interview is available here:
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