13-time World Champion doesn’t count his second WWE run; details reason behind early retirement
WWE veterans and legends often reflect on their run with the Stamford-based promotion. However, one veteran in particular doesn’t want to count his second stint with the company. Recently, Kurt Angle addressed why he retired early from in-ring competition.
Kurt Angle has often been called the best wrestler of his generation, as the star has multiple accolades throughout his twenty-plus-year career in wrestling. The former six-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, six-time WWE World Champion, and one-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion wasn’t too happy with how his final run went under Vince McMahon’s regime.
In an interview with WrestleZone, the Hall of Famer spoke extensively about his run as a performer in TNA Wrestling. However, the 55-year-old star didn’t want to count his second run under the Stamford-based promotion and explained why he decided to retire early from in-ring competition.
“I was a man on a mission there [TNA Wrestling], and I did incredibly well there. I don’t get enough accolades for it… I was really, really that good. I had an incredible career. Don’t get me wrong, the WWE career was great too, but me coming back in 2017, I don’t even count that because by then I lost a step and I wasn’t the same person, and the reason why I retired early is because I looked at myself on television. I was like, ‘This looks like an old man wrestling,’ and I didn’t like what I saw,” Angle said. [From 20:38 to 21:30]
Check out the video below:
Kurt Angle hasn’t wrestled outside WWE since WrestleMania 35
Veterans and legends often play fast and loose with retirement, as many have returned to in-ring competition for a match or two. However, Kurt Angle remained true to his words and hasn’t stepped out of retirement since 2019.
In 2017, Kurt Angle returned to the Stamford-based promotion and became a Hall of Famer. The return led to a short run in the company, and he went head-to-head and shoulder-to-shoulder against new and old faces.
However, he hung up the wrestling boots when he faced and lost to Baron Corbin in WWE at The Grandest Stage of Them All in New Jersey. The 55-year-old veteran made a few sporadic appearances for the product.
Apart from a few appearances under Triple H’s regime, Kurt Angle remains retired from in-ring competition and doesn’t want that to change.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit WrestleZone and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
Source: Sportskeeda
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