Kurt Angle had a legendary in-ring career which, unfortunately, was compromised by his past issues with painkillers. Following a successful run in TNA, the Olympic Gold Medallist returned to WWE, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and became RAW General Manager.
Ring rust set in during that time and he was ultimately retired by Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. That's not the match he or fans wanted and it turns out AEW President Tony Khan did try to tempt him back for one more bout.
"AEW did offer me a couple of times," Angle told Inside the Ropes. "Tony Khan absolutely adores me, from what I heard - I don’t know if that’s true or not. But they did offer me two different deals, and, unfortunately, they both had to do with wrestling, and I knew I couldn’t do it."
In a separate conversation with The Takedown on SI, Angle addressed his current health issues and why those have closed the door on him ever stepping back into the squared circle.
"Listen, my body, I need replacements, I had five neck surgeries," he explained. "I had my back surgery last year. I have to have shoulder replacements. I am in no condition to be getting in the ring and wrestling."
"Now, don't get me wrong, I do some stuff. I'm actually doing a commercial for CBS tomorrow for the Steelers versus the Ravens game, where I'm going to dress up in a Steelers singlet and [TV host] Kyle Brandt is gonna dress up in a Ravens singlet and we're gonna go at it. We're gonna do this for a pregame commercial for the Steelers-Ravens game on Sunday, so I'm looking forward to that."
Angle would go on to say that while he can do stunt work, he'd rather not risk wrestling again due to the injuries that could follow.
The beloved wrestler also dismissed rumours that he'll be part of John Cena's planned retirement tour. "A lot of people ask me if I’m gonna wrestle Cena for his retirement tour [Laughs]," Angle said. "No. No."
It's a shame Angle didn't get to end his career the way he wanted and an even bigger shame that he can't get back into the ring (even WCW icon Goldberg plans to wrestle a WWE match next year).
Still, we're grateful for everything Angle did and his legacy is by no means tarnished by the way he had to say goodbye to fans.