Kurt Angle has revealed why he turned down a multi-million offer from WWE. The Olympic gold medalist signed with WWE in 1998 and made his televised debut a year later.
However, if WWE had gotten their way, Angle would have joined the sports entertainment giant earlier. Having just clinched the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, he was approached by WWE with an offer, but he rejected it.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Kurt Angle mentioned that Vince McMahon made him a sizeable offer.
“So they approached me, they invited me up to headquarters. Vince McMahon met with me. He threw a multi-million dollar deal in front of my face. And I never saw money like that or money in general, to be honest. And I said, ‘Vince, can I take it home and think about it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, take it home. Think about if you decide to sign it, send it back,'” he recalled.The WWE Hall of Famer added that his brothers and coach were adamant that he shouldn’t join the Stamford-based company since pro wrestling wasn’t real.
“So, I went home, and I talked to my brothers, and they said, ‘You’re not doing that cr*p. You’re the real deal. That’s fake.’ So they were saying, ‘Listen, you’re an Olympic gold medalist. You’re legit. That is not real, that is, predetermined is a better word for it.’ So, they and my coaches said the same thing. They said, ‘You’re not doing that.’ So, I turned it down,” he said.
You can watch the interview below:
However, after WWE stylized itself as a sports entertainment company, Kurt Angle said it delegitimized pro wrestling, as they were open about the business. This led to him calling the promotion, who then asked him to give a trial. It ended up a success, and the rest is history.
Kurt Angle names the type of wrestlers he liked to compete against in the ring
During the interview, it was brought up that The Rock recently mentioned that Kurt Angle was one of his favorite wrestlers to face in WWE.
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When asked what style of wrestlers he preferred competing against, Angle said he mostly liked to share the ring with technical wrestlers.
He named Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Jericho as some of his favorite opponents from that category, while saying he enjoyed working with The Rock because of his pace.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit Sports Illustrated and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
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About the author
Sherjeel Malik
Sherjeel Malik
Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.
While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.
Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.
If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.
When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.
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Edited by Sherjeel Malik