WWE legend Kurt Angle recently admitted that he wasn't "at all" pleased with how his final WWE run panned out.
After an 11-year hiatus, the Olympic gold medalist returned to WWE in 2017. During the post-WrestleMania edition of WWE Raw, chairman Vince McMahon introduced Angle — inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame just days earlier —as the new GM of the company's flagship program.
Aside from working as the GM, Angle also wrestled a handful of matches and worked as a backstage producer following his in-ring career. Though his final WWE tenure had plenty of memorable moments, the 53-year-old Angle isn't exactly happy with how it all played out.
"No, not at all," Angle said on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast (h/t WrestlingNews.co) when asked if he was content with his final WWE run. "I went back to WWE. It wasn’t a big welcome home. It was more of a, 'We’re going to show you what you did when you left us.' I didn’t have any hard feelings about it, but Vince McMahon just didn’t have any plans for me.
"I was doing more jobs than I was winning. I don’t blame him for that. I left the company high and dry in 2006, and coming back, I think he felt that I was a little bit of a liability because of my broken necks. I had four broken necks in WWE back in the 2000s. I also had a painkiller problem that I got myself out of, but I think that he thought I was a little bit of a liability so he didn’t want to utilize me the way he should have."
Angle's first WWE match in his second stint took place at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2017 pay-per-view. Angle replaced Roman Reigns (he and Bray Wyatt were removed with medical issues), and teamed up with The Shield (Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose) in a winning effort over The Miz, Kane, Braun Strowman, Sheamus and Cesaro.
On the Aug. 20, 2018 episode of WWE Raw, Stephanie McMahon told Angle to take a vacation. This essentially ended his run as the GM of Raw,and Angle would go on to wrestle several more matches before retiring after WrestleMania 35. In a match that was widely regarded as a disappointment, Angle lost via pinfall to Baron Corbin.
Though he was released from his role as a WWE producer in April 2020, Angle was later offered the opportunity to manage Riddle for the latter's promotion to the main roster. Angle decided to turn it down, noting that the financial offer was low.
Angle Wanted To Face John Cena In His Final Match
Angle actually hoped that his retirement match would take place against longtime WWE rival John Cena, but the company decided to go in another direction. Cena didn't actually wrestle at WrestleMania 35, though he showed up briefly to confront and attack Elias during one of the latter's concerts.
TheSportster Podcast has returned! Check out latest episodes of the show where Jim Parsons and Norman Quarrinton cover the latest news and events happening in the worlds of WWE, AEW and more!