Kurt Angle Says Baron Corbin Is The Best Heel Today, Talks Why Corbin Was His WrestleMania Opponent

Many were shocked at the choice of Baron Corbin being Kurt Angle's retirement opponent at WrestleMania. Angle was a guest on Busted Open Radio this week with Bully Ray and Dave LaGreca. While there, he discussed the match and what went into it.

"I think Vince (McMahon) felt if Jason (Jordan) is not going to be around, we are going to use Baron," Angle stated. "I think Baron ends up getting Jason's spot and rightfully so, I loved Baron's progress, loved his look, he is really good, takes care of you in the ring and he is a great worker. It occurred at WrestleMania 35 because that is where we were going in the first place."

Injuries aside, Angle threw Vince a curveball when he said that WrestleMania 35 would be his retirement match a short time before the event.

"Vince didn't know I wanted to retire at 35," Angle explained. "When I spring it on him five-weeks before WrestleMania, I gave him a list of guys I wanted to work with. We started to have the farewell matches going into Mania, Vince said he knew who I wanted (John Cena), and if it was 36 it could have happened. But we had been working this program for a year and they just were not going to drop it.

"So, if I wanted to retire this year, it had to be Baron, I was fine with that and I respected the decision. Was Baron the right person? Probably not. But I think Baron Corbin right now is the best heel in the business right now. People genuinely hate him and that is real heat."

There has been a vast amount of debate on Corbin and his abilities. Many feel that Corbin has go-away heat and that his character is boring. Angle feels that nothing is further from the truth, and sees big things in the future for Corbin

"No, I don't, I think he is rather entertaining," Angle exclaimed. "We taught him a lot about showing more emotion, doing a lot more on his promos and he has caught on. I don't see anything else he can do that is going to make him a better heel. He really likes it. Somewhere down the line, he will be a babyface, but not anytime soon. He will have a heel title run at some point."

In regard to today's crop of superstars, Angle feels they are doing great. But comparisons to superstars of yesteryear are hard to live up to but feels they have excelled in other areas.

"That's tough, I don't think they could do any better than what they are doing," Angle said. "I think it is difficult to get to the level of superstardom of Stone Cold, The Rock, and Undertaker. Considering back in their prime the ratings were pretty extraordinary, there were a couple of times we were over 10 million viewers on Raw. Hard to get to that level of superstardom when you have 2 million views each week instead of 10 million.

"But from an international standpoint, WWE is bigger than they have ever been. They have reached out to more countries, have more TV deals, which means more eyes on the product. It's hard to compare."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.