Kurt Angle has revealed that he could be tempted to return to the ring for a monster payday and a match in Saudi Arabia.
WWE has been holding shows in Saudi Arabia since 2014, when they ran a series of live events in Riyadh.
However, the company entered into a more formal agreement with the Saudi government in 2018, when they signed a 10-year deal which sees two events being held in the Kingdom each year.
The events have seen many Hall of Famers put their boots back on for a huge payday. In 2018, this included Shawn Michaels, who came out of retirement after eight to reform D-Generation X with Triple H one last time at Crown Jewel.
The pair took on The Undertaker and Kane in a match that was beset by problems. Michaels suffered a bloodied nose, Kane’s mask was inadvertently removed and Triple H would tear a pectoral muscle.
The bout was panned by fans and critics alike, even winning ‘Worst Angle of the Year’ in CBS Sports and ‘Worst Match of the Year’ in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.
Despite this, Shawn Michaels likely still walked away with a smile on his face as he reportedly received a huge $3 million payday for the event.
Kurt Angle would return to the ring for a Shawn Michaels payday
On the most recent edition of The Kurt Angle Show (available early on AdFreeShows), the WWE Hall of Famer discussed the payday, saying it could be a reward for Michaels’ loyalty over the years.
“Well, you know what, I’m not a WWE lifer. Shawn is. his loyalty is still with the WWE, and they paid him very well for it.”
When asked if he would come out of retirement for a similar deal, Angle joked he’s be there in a second despite his injuries.
“What are you talking about? I would do it in a second. Good knees or bad knees, I would do it in a second.” (H/T Fightful)
Kurt Angle also discussed the deal WWE has in place with Saudi Arabia, noting that the government there “spends a lot of money”
“I love that and the main reason is money, money, money,” Angle said. “You know, when you go to these places, they spend a lot of money.
“These were bought shows. Saudi Arabia bought them from WWE and I believe it was like, like a billion dollars for five years where they did two shows a year. So you’re talking $200 million for two shows a year. That’s incredible.
“You know what? The fans didn’t have to pay for it. The government paid for them. Everything was paid for, for the wrestlers, the WWE, and all the fans.
“The country, actually the government, paid for everything so the fans could enjoy themselves. There were 75,000 fans, it was incredible.” (H/T WrestlingNews.co)
When it comes to his own appearances at Saudi Shows, Angle explained that he didn’t get the same kind of money as Shawn Michaels because he wasn’t in as big a spot as HBK.
“I will say this. They didn’t put me in great spots. You know, I think I did a Royal Rumble. I was an entrant of a battle royal. I also did like a seven minute match with Dolph Ziggler.
“The match wasn’t, you know, Dolph was great. Don’t get me wrong. But at this point in time, I wasn’t so great because I kind of lost a step at this particular time in my career, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be.
“I was hoping more main event status, but still, the money was still really good. It was like I main evented a pay-per-view. That’s the equivalency.” (H/T WrestlingNews.co)
On the same episode, Kurt Angle revealed that he almost drowned on a recent vacation, but was saved through the quick thinking of his daughter.