Kurt Angle has admitted that one WWE match was not his best work and credited his opponent for making him look good in the ring.
Earning the nickname of The Wrestling Machine and being regarded as one of the best in-ring workers of all time, it was seemingly impossible for the Olympic Gold Medalist to have a bad match. However, when it came to one dream match, Angle admitted it was not the best.
When Angle returned to WWE in 2017 after a decade in TNA, the roster looked completely different to when he left. With numerous first-time-ever dream matches at his disposal, fans were excited to see how the Hall of Famer would compete against a new set of opponents.
However, due to a combination of years of wear and tear coupled with time out of the ring as the Raw General Manager, Angle only competed in 3 matches in 2017. With a significant amount of time out of the ring, Angle has admitted that he had lost a step and knew that it was time to retire.
Announcing in March 2019 that he would be retiring at WrestleMania, Angle competed in his final few matches before losing to Baron Corbin at Mania 35. One of the matches was against Chad Gable, a star many have compared to Angle given his own Olympic history and in-ring skills.
“Chad Gable Is Incredible”: Kurt Angle
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet about the match, Angle admitted he was past his prime at that point and gave all the credit to Gable for how the match turned out:
“That was when I was at my worst. It was okay, but Chad made me look good. Chad is incredible. He’s a very talented kid, and I’m just glad that they’re utilizing him properly, I know because he’s undersized a little bit, they didn’t know what to do with them. But this kid could be a World Champion and be very marketable. I mean, especially with the gimmick he has right now with the whole USA thing and the ‘You Suck’ and everything, he’s like my son. [He should have been your son]. Yeah, he should have been, exactly. But Vince McMahon had other ideas having Jason Jordan be my son, which was ridiculous, but that was cool.”
Also in the interview, Kurt Angle admitted that he should have retired 10 years earlier.
In other news, a spoiler has emerged on a WWE Royal Rumble surprise entrant.
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