Kurt Angle may have had some all-time classics in the ring, but the Olympic Gold Medalist wanted no part of competing for AEW. Speaking to Kenny McIntosh for Inside The Ropes, Angle shared that he turned down multiple offers from AEW because their plans for him involved getting back in the ring.
“AEW did offer me a couple of times. 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.”
Angle hasn’t competed since WrestleMania 35 where he lost to Baron Corbin in what was promoted as the Olympian’s final match. The match was the culmination of a two-year return to wrestling in WWE, though many fans felt that the Hall of Famer had lost a step or two in the ring. Kurt has since said he wishes John Cena had been his final opponent. Cena also appeared on the show in a non-wrestling segment with Elias.
Angle is a fully-fledged WWE guy, despite his lengthy career in TNA where he also reached World Championship glory. AEW offered Angle a ten-match contract, but that did nothing to sway the Olympic Gold Medalist. While Kurt continues to make appearances in wrestling, his days in the ring are well and truly over, much to the chagrin of fans who would have loved to see what he could’ve done in an AEW setting.
