On last night's episode of WWE Raw, Kurt Angle announced that he will have a farewell bout at WrestleMania 35. The 50-year-old Angle has been wrestling for over two decades and is widely considered as one of the greatest of all-time. But father time is undefeated and Angle came to the decision that it's time for him to step away from the ring following one more match at WrestleMania 35.
Speaking to WWE.com, Angle discussed his thought process leading to his decision.
"It was really tough for me to come to the decision. It actually has been nipping at me for the past year. I'm 50 years old. I know I'm not the same as I used to be," said Angle. "I'm slower in the ring. I can still get the job done, but if I can't perform at the Kurt Angle of 2006 (level), I don't want to perform at all. You finally know when your time has come and you gotta make a decision. I decided that I want to keep my legacy intact and retiring is the best decision for me."
Angle continued, stating he won't coast going into his final bout.
"The grips I'm coming to is...I'm gonna have to work harder than I've ever had to work," he said. "In 27 days, if I want to be the Kurt Angle that I expect to be, the old one, then I have a lot of work cut out for me. The next 27 days will be some of the hardest days of my life. A lot of training, mental and physical preparation. I'm not gonna go easy on myself. This is my moment."
As far as an opponent goes, Angle mentioned John Cena, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and Bobby Lashley as potential opponents. Curiously, Cena posted one of his infamous non-captioned Instagram photos of a young Kurt Angle. Angle was Cena's first opponent in WWE. As of now, Angle does not have an opponent for WrestleMania 35.
You can view the entire interview with Angle in the video above.
