Kurt Angle Reveals Why He Retired Early from Wrestling

STAMFORD, Conn. — Kurt Angle, the Olympic gold medalist and WWE Hall of Famer, has opened up about his decision to retire from professional wrestling, citing his desire to preserve his legacy and avoid being remembered as a “broken-down old man.” Angle, who had a decorated 21-year career, revealed the reasons behind his early retirement during an appearance on “Story Time with Dutch Mantell.”

“[WWE] wouldn’t even have me wrestle, they wouldn’t let me wrestle, I think they thought of me as a liability,” Angle said. He explained that his career trajectory in WWE was reversed from what he had envisioned. Instead of wrestling, becoming a general manager, and then entering the Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame first, served as GM, and only wrestled sporadically toward the end of his career.

Angle described how his inactivity during his nine-month stint as Raw‘s general manager affected his in-ring performance. “When I eventually got in the ring, I wasn’t the same person. I felt like I looked like an old man wrestling in the ring, that’s how bad it was,” he said. “That’s why I retired early, because I didn’t want the fans to remember me as this broken-down old man.”

The wrestling legend also suggested that his final WWE run was influenced by his departure from the company in 2006. He believes that Vince McMahon and WWE management held a grudge due to the circumstances of his exit. “When someone leaves a company like WWE in the way that I did, the company, and more specifically Vince McMahon, won’t forget that in a hurry,” Angle stated.

Angle’s return to WWE in 2017 was not without challenges. During an interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, he revealed that his reputation, including four DUIs, initially made WWE hesitant to bring him back. “Vince McMahon said ‘bad reputation,’ because I had four DUIs,” Angle recalled. “That’s when I was making really horrible choices.” After waiting nearly two years, Angle finally returned to WWE, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and later became Raw’s general manager.

Despite his successful career, Angle emphasized that his early retirement was a conscious choice to protect his legacy. “I wanted to be remembered fondly by the fans,” he said. “I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.”