Kurt Angle was meant to be a pivotal part of ECW.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Kurt Angle Show on AdFreeShows, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed that Vince McMahon wanted him to be the face of the re-launched brand. Furthermore, because he would be working in smaller arenas and making less money, Angle was paid triple for PPVs to maintain the salary he would've earned while on Raw or SmackDown. Here is what he said:
"ECW was a very popular brand. What they were able to do with what they had was nothing short of incredible. Vince McMahon buying it and ended up putting it on air, I do understand that. I get it because it's just another popular brand that he owns and that he's part of. A quick story, when he decided to start ECW he came to me and he said, hey, I want you to be the face of this new company that I'm starting. I said, well, what is it? He said ECW. I said that's ECW? He said yes, we're gonna ramp it up and I want you to be the face, but I'm going to tell you this, you're gonna work in smaller arenas and make less money. I said why would I want to do that? He said don't worry, I'll take care of you. So what he did is I would do the house shows and the TV, and then the PPVs Vince would triple my pay so that I would get the same money as I would if I was on Raw or SmackDown. So he would triple my PPV buy pay to make up for the TV and house shows and the money I made there. So he did promise that and he did go through with it."
Angle was drafted to ECW on May 29, 2006. Unfortunately, less than three months later he was granted an early release from his WWE contract due to health concerns. The Olympian would go on to work for IMPACT Wrestling for the next decade, returning to the WWE in 2017.
On March 6, 2021, Angle posted a video on Twitter that shows him putting on his ring gear with the ending text reading “to be continued.”
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