When Kurt Angle returned to WWE, it was obvious to fans that he'd have to work a limited schedule. The Olympic Gold Medalist's health had deteriorated and, at 50, this wasn't an Angle in his prime.
Despite that, he impressed in matches with the likes of Triple H, Ronda Rousey, and The Shield, but Vince McMahon's backwards approach to booking Angle did him no favours.
WWE brought the former TNA star back into the fold for a WWE Hall of Fame induction and then made him RAW General Manager. Ring rust set in and by the time Angle's final run rolled around, he struggled.
In a new interview, the former WWE Champion shared his take on what went wrong.
"When WWE brought me back after I spent 11 years in TNA, they had a different plan for me than I did," he explained. "They wanted to induct me into the Hall of Fame first. And I was like, 'Vince, the Hall of Fame should be last, when I retire.' He said, 'Well, we want to induct you into the Hall of Fame and get a feel for you, make sure you’re doing okay.'"
"When you get away from it at the age I was...fans could tell that I was not the same wrestler. I looked older, I wrestled like I was older, I felt like I was looking like an old man. And I didn’t like what I saw."
Angle had hoped to retire in a match with John Cena; instead, McMahon forced him into a bout with Baron Corbin which ended his in-ring career at WrestleMania to widespread disappointment.
Recently, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels shared his belief that Angle doesn't receive enough credit during a sit-down with NXT stars Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams and Roxanne Perez:
"Probably a guy that doesn't get as much credit as he should for attention to detail...he looks like a scary son of a gun when he wants to go. That's where I guess I always say with you guys, you got to go out there and not be afraid to just don't have any inhibitions inside you, just go out there trying to make each other's stuff look the best."
"I will say that this was one that I felt a bunch of pressure in, you know what I mean? First time, Kurt and I, WrestleMania. This one on paper, this has got to be fantastic. Believe it or not, both he and I felt the pressure of that, and you know you always want to deliver on the hype."
You can hear more from Angle in the player below.