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Former WWE and TNA champion Kurt Angle, 47, stated he is heading back to WWE but there is no timeframe as to when during an interview with Mark Madden on Madden's Pittsburgh sports radio show yesterday to promote the Pittsburgh's Pirates "Legends of Wrestling Night" tomorrow evening.
The 1996 Olympic gold medalist stated that he, Vince McMahon and Triple H had conversations about Angle returning to WWE "about six weeks ago." Angle said that they are good terms. He said that he would be return to WWE, but didn't know when. Angle said the company has not spoken with him about the brand split at all and have not spoken with him specifically about that. Angle said, "No one has spoken to me about coming in for the brand split."
Angle said that he and Triple H talked about Angle completing his career in WWE. He said "Vince and Triple H were great and we had a great talk." He said they told him that they were looking to push younger talents, as opposed to older names but "then the brand split happened" and he laughed. He said he can't say what they were going to do. Angle said that when he spoke with them, it was six or seven weeks ago and he doesn't know where they were in terms of the brand split.
Madden brought up the idea of using Angle a lot for a few months into the brand split and Angle said that he would be able to do that because he can still go the way he used to. He noted that he's had a few matches since leaving TNA to keep ring rust off and praised his recent match with Zack Sabre Jr. He said Sabre is really good but needs to put on some muscle and looks very young but thinks he will develop into one of the top three talents in the world. They noted he's in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic but Sabre will end up a Heavyweight star in Angle's opinion.
Angle said he can still wrestle but feels he'd like to manage talents in the future, specifically naming American Alpha. He said he's heard they are going to be called up but talents are usually the last to know.
Angle said his health is good and he feels good now. He said he was reckless during his WWE run and was addicted to painkillers and "had to get out" and go to TNA. He said if "you want me to have five star matches", he needs to have time off and not have 100 days on the road a year. He said TNA did that the last year he was there and used him sparingly. Angle said DDPYoga has really made him feel young again and he began using it after watching the documentary on Jake Roberts. He said that without DDPYoga, he woudn't be able to wrestle and it's allowed him to continue to wrestle at the level he's able to perform at.
Angle was asked about Brock Lesnar's chances in UFC. Angle said when he wrestled Brock in a shoot before a WWE show, Angle was the age that Brock is now, 37. He said he felt well there and imagines Brock does these days. He said Brock was sick and didn't care about his last few UFC fights but now, it's about pride and he's healthy.
When asked about dealing with Brock's size, Angle said he always wrestled larger guys and never had a problem with that. He said that Brock learned a few good moves and may have limited himself as an amateur wrestler. He said that had Brock spent more time on technique and tried for the Olympics, he would have been an even better wrestler.
Madden said that MMA got too big too late for Angle. Kurt said he spoke with Dana White several times but he just didn't have the upper body strength that he used to have due to his neck issues. He said his neck issues led to Daniel Puder catching him in a keylock and at that point, he never should have been in a legitimate contest with the Tough Enough talents due to the issues with his neck at that point.
Angle was asked about the Olympics being in Brazil and the zika virus and whether he would have go. Angle said if it was 1996 and it was him, he would have said "Hell yes" and went because the gold medal meant everything to him. He said that as an athlete, winning the medal means everything and defines your life. He said that he prays that everyone who goes maintains their health.
Angle left WWE in 2006 after being moved to the ECW brand when there were concerns about his health. During an article on the WWE website at the time, Angle claimed he was retiring as he was unable to wrestle without taking pain medication. Angle would then jump to TNA. Angle left TNA at the end of 2015, although the company did offer him a non-wrestling role to stay with the company.
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