Kurt Angle had a Hall of Fame career and is regarded as one of the best in-ring and all-around performers in the history of the sport.
Angle won championships in WWE, TNA, and NJPW during his career.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Angle was asked if he had any regrets in his career.
“I wish I would finished my career in WWE ten years shorter. WWE and TNA, so in other words, instead of 20 years, I think ten would have been enough. I think I would have been okay. But I pushed myself further and got into my 40s and kept working at a high pace. The reason why I retired is because I was losing a step, and I could see when I’d watch me on film. I didn’t like what I saw, and I didn’t want the fans remembering me as a broken down Kurt Angle. I wanted them to remember me when I was in my prime. That occurred when I went back to the WWE for the second time, and that was in 2017. When I came back, they wanted to induct me into the Hall of Fame. I was like, ‘Vince, I’m not done wrestling.’ He’s like, ‘Well, we’ll get to the wrestling.’ Then that night after the Hall of Fame, he said, ‘I want you to be a General Manager of Raw.’ I was like, ‘Vince, I want to wrestle.’ He said, ‘It’s coming.’ So he made me General Manager of Raw for nine months, and during those nine months, I was inactive. I never got in the ring. I was so busy doing General Manager stuff, I couldn’t get in the ring. By the time they had me wrestle, I looked like an old man. Taking those nine months off, especially at my age, close to 50, I shut down. My body shut down. My knees were bent full-time, I couldn’t straighten my knees out. I had to have knee replacements. Now, my knees straighten out," he said.
Angle had his retirement match at WrestleMania 35, losing to Baron Corbin.
Elsewhere during the interview, Angle discussed the "Perc Angle" nickname. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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