Kurt Angle Gets Honest About Coping with a Mid-Life Crisis After Leaving Wrestling

Kurt Angle retired from WWE after WrestleMania 35, and he hasn’t wrestled since that End of Days from Baron Corbin. That’s not to say it wasn’t a bit of a struggle along the way after that final match.

Kurt Angle recently appeared on the True Geordie podcast to share insights about his life and wrestling career. During the conversation, the WWE Hall of Famer touched upon his retirement from professional wrestling and how it led to a mid-life crisis.

Angle’s retirement match took place at WrestleMania 35, where he faced Baron Corbin. While Angle had expressed his desire for John Cena to be his retirement opponent, Vince McMahon chose Corbin due to their ongoing storyline. McMahon also offered Angle the opportunity to face Cena if he continued wrestling for another year. However, Angle declined this option due to concerns about the toll it would take on his body.

“Oh, I had it. I had it, say, for about a year after I retired. I didn’t go out the way I wanted to. I was not in the best of shape when I went out. I was slowing down. The reason why I retired is because I noticed that I wasn’t half the wrestler I was, and I didn’t want fans to remember me as this broken-down, aging wrestler. So that’s why I retired. I didn’t get to go out the way I wanted to, so that was really difficult on me. So I did go through a little bit of a crisis for about a year, and I finally got through it, and it took me some time. I thought, ‘You know what, you accomplish a lot. You should be proud of yourself.’”

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Angle mentioned that he has reached a stage in life where any achievement is an extra bonus, as he believes he has already accomplished everything he needed to. He takes the most pride in conquering his addiction.

Kurt Angle had a WWE Hall of Fame career, but those days of taking bumps are behind him now. He can focus on other things, and he has also made enough money to live comfortably at this point as well. Hopefully, he can look back at everything he achieved and feel more than satisfied.

What’s your take on Kurt Angle’s career in the ring? Let us know what you think in the comments section!