Rusev was hoping to wrestle Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 31, but WWE didn't want that responsibility.
Miro, formerly Rusev in WWE, has always spoken highly of Kurt Angle, saying he wanted to take inspiration in his career from Angle.
Angle has also been complimentary of Rusev, saying he would have liked to face him in his career. Rusev actually had the idea to face Angle at WrestleMania 31, but WWE shot it down.
"The first year I was with WWE, I pitched for Kurt Angle to come back and wrestle, before I knew about (facing) John Cena (at WrestleMania). I wanted to bring back Kurt as the American hero. I talked to two people, who are really up there, 'Hey, how about we bring back Kurt. He's the greatest professional wrestler ever and USA coming back,' I was still (representing) Russia.'Kurt would have been the perfect person. They told me no. They were afraid, this is verbatim, 'We don't want to feel responsible if he comes back and dies,'" recalled Rusev on a recent Twitch stream.
Angle's contract with TNA expired at the end of 2014, but he ended up re-signing with the company after teasing a return to WWE. Rusev would face John Cena at WrestleMania 31, suffering his first defeat on the main roster.
Both Angle and Rusev were released by WWE in April as part of the company-wide cutbacks.
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