When it comes to professional wrestling, there are few who were better in their prime than Kurt Angle. The Olympic gold medalist joined WWE in the late 90’s and immediately adapted to become one of the fastest rising stars in company history. This was despite entering the intense world of professional wrestling with a messed up neck, something which would remain an issue up until retirement. The wear and tear on his body is intense, and once he stopped training after becoming the GM of Monday Night RAW, it all piled up.
Kurt Angle Had One Last Run In WWE
While before coming to WWE again he wrestled on a somewhat frequent basis, he was taken out of the ring for a while to be in an on-screen authority role. He would wrestle on occasion, pitching in to help The Shield, joining Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania, and finishing up his career with a loss of Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania. His final run was a nice send off, but with how rough of shape he was in, it was sad to see. You could tell he still had the brain to put on a wrestling classic, but his body could no longer keep up.
Struggling To Stay Clean
Considering his long standing neck issues, it is no shock that Kurt Angle ended up with a painkiller addiction to cope. It got so bad, that when WWE tried to send him to rehab, he instead left the company to go compete in Impact Wrestling for the bulk of his career. There his addiction only got worse, with a more lax wellness policy not giving him much reason to try to stop. He has been clean from this addiction for six years, despite the pain.
Would He Do It All Again?
Kurt Angle was on Carl Frampton and Chris Lloyd’s TKO show and he spoke on many topics regarding his career, from his amateur wrestling roots to his career as a professional wrestling. Kurt was asked if he would do everything over again. He said, “I don’t know. I mean, I’m hurting pretty badly. My knees, my back, my neck. Sometimes I think about would I go back? My quality of life right now sucks. So, I do have a lot of suffering. I had a painkiller addiction that I overcame about 6 years ago. You know, staying clean and struggling the way I have been, it’s very difficult.”
It is a shame to see a legend in such bad shape, but Kurt Angle simply never knew when to say enough and stop. He could have retired from the ring in 2006 when he left WWE and still been every bit the legend he is today, but for the love of wrestling he powered on. It’s hard to say if the memories and matches are worth it in the end.
Do you think Kurt Angle pushed himself too hard during his career as a wrestler? Let us know in the comments down below.
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