Kurt Angle Reveals His Original WrestleMania 35 Plans, Provides Jason Jordan Update
When Kurt Angle made his return back to the WWE in 2017, the Hall of Famer never thought that his career would come full circle from starting his career in the WWE and retiring there roughly 20 years later. During his interview with Chris Van Vliet, Angle mentioned that his mapped out plan of how he was going to be presented back in the WWE was quite the opposite of what WWE management had in mind.
"The plan for me was to wrestle first, do the general manager role second and Hall of Fame third," Angle addressed. "For me, they (WWE Management) went the opposite; Hall of Fame first, GM second and wrestle third. For me, that was a lot harder."
When it came towards stage three of WWE's plan for him to retire, Angle knew that he wanted to hang it up right after his match at WrestleMania 35.
"I knew I was done when I went to Vince McMahon and told him I wanted to retire after this past match at WrestleMania," Angle stated. "I believe he wanted me to go another year, but I just didn't want to do it anymore. I know what I'm capable of now, and it's not enough for me to be comfortable going out there and performing if I can't do it like the old Kurt Angle. I don't want to do it anymore."
It's no surprise that fans weren't too keen on having Baron Corbin be the wrestler that retired Angle at WrestleMania 35 last April. However, that was not supposed to happen. Angle addresses who would have been his original opponent before the change.
"(On who he would've faced originally during his retirement match at WM35) It would have been Jason Jordan," Angle announced. "Jason, unfortunately, got injured, but that would have been my opponent at Mania.
"I adore that kid. He's so talented. He got a lot of heat for being my son. He played the part great – he was a spoiled brat. He was using me to get what he wanted. A lot of fans hated him just like Baron Corbin, but I think that's good. He was really good in the ring."
Jordan was pulled out of in-ring competition back in February of 2018, after suffering a neck injury similar to the ones Angle had throughout his career. Angle gave Van Vliet an update on Jordan's status, and whether or not he will be back in the ring anytime soon.
"He's good," Angle began. "I expect him to come back. He's still waiting. He has some problems with his circulation and using his left hand. So, he's going to have to wait a little bit longer. He might need another surgery, that might be why he still is not able to function properly, but he's a lot better than he was."
Even though couldn't fight his "son," he still had a great time wrestling Corbin one last time. Angle praises Corbin and believes that he is a great wrestler regardless of the feedback he has received from fans.
"Baron's a great wrestler," Angle noted. "He's a great talent. A lot of people don't like him, but he's good at his job. He's the top heel in the business right now. I know people might naturally hate him, but that's a good thing. I got to wrestle the top heel in the business, that's how I look at it."
To view Angle's full interview with Chris Van Vliet, click here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.