Kurt Angle Remembers WWE Developmental As 'Primitive,' Wanted To Quit

Newly minted WWE Superstars have vast resources at their disposal thanks to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. However, when Kurt Angle was just starting out in the business, the company didn't have developmental resources in place like "NXT" or even Florida Championship Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling to help him learn the ropes. On the latest episode of "The Kurt Angle Show," the host reminisced about his introduction to professional wrestling and the grueling schedule he endured. Alongside the likes of Edge, Christian, and future WWE head trainer Matt Bloom (also known in WWE as Albert, A-Train, and Tensai), Angle first learned from Dory Funk Jr. and Dr. Tom Pritchard.

"Starting out, you only trained five days [and] you trained all day long," Angle recalled. "You're taking 300 bumps a day. It was brutal. I literally quit after the first day because I was like, 'I can't do this.' I told my manager I can't bump around like this [because] it's like beating the sh*t out of yourself. He said to stay until the end of the day to see if I could make it and I did, but I was ready to walk out because it was like self-abuse. [And] the thing is, I was only doing this five days a month, then I would go home and wait for 25 days."

Angle eventually received additional help from the company and it kick-started his Hall of Fame career.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Kurt Angle Show" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.