Kurt Angle: If I Hadn't Left WWE, I'd Be the Greatest of All Time

Kurt Angle would be considered among the all-time greats in professional wrestling had he not left WWE, according to the Olympian. 

Angle arrived in the WWF in 1999, becoming the first Olympic Gold Medalist under contract. Angle originally laughed at the idea of becoming a pro-wrestler following his win in the Olympics, but would be won over when seeing WWF live. Within a year of his debut, Angle would win the WWF Championship and would hold several more titles during his tenure. 

Kurt's Regret

In 2006, Angle abruptly left WWE during a personal battle with substance addiction. During a recent 'Ask Kurt Anything' edition of his podcast, the Olympian was asked if there would be anything he changed about his career. 

"The one thing I would love to change is I wish I didn't get injured so much because that's what caused my painkiller problem and then my painkiller problem caused me to leave the WWE because I felt like if I wasn't gonna leave, I was gonna end up doing something pretty bad, which was overdose on painkillers. So I thought it was right for me to leave, but if I wouldn't have left the WWE and I would have wrestled there 20 straight years, I really believe to this day I'd be the greatest of all time."

Angle would be granted his release from WWE in August 2006 after a fiery exchange with Vince McMahon in Titan Towers. The meeting, which is said to have included Shane McMahon and John Lauriniaitis, saw Angle explain the amount of pain he was in. McMahon, who wished to keep Kurt on the roster but enter him in rehab, reportedly read out text messages sent by an inebriated Kurt, in which he threatened to attack the Chairman. 

Despite his physical issues and his addiction to painkillers, Kurt would join TNA Wrestling within weeks of his exit from WWE. Kurt would return to WWE in 2017 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and has made appearances for WWE ever since. 

H/T - Wrestling News