WWE Opinions: Why Kurt Angle Will Not Return to WWE

Kurt Angle has had a long, successful career in the wrestling ring from being a gold medal winner, to working eight years with both WWE and TNA. He was incredibly over with the WWE crowd before leaving in 2006.

Ring Rust Radio recently interviewed former the WWE and current TNA wrestler on a wide variety of topics about the wrestling business. In the interview, he addressed his expiring contract (ends on September 21) with TNA and hinted that he will be making a decision in a few weeks.

"Mike Chiari: You previously said on Jim Ross’ podcast that your TNA contract expires on September 21, which is now less than two weeks away. At that point, you seemed open to exploring all options whether that’s re-signing with TNA or perhaps returning to WWE. Now that decision time is kind of on the horizon, where do things stand currently for you and what direction do you envision yourself going in?Well right now I’m not at liberty to say where I’m going but I will tell you I’m going to do the right thing for me and my family. I am in the process of structuring a deal and I do have a company in mind. I haven’t said yes because I want to make it a public thing with the company and myself. I can’t really say who it is or where I’m going but I can tell you it’s going to happen in the next two weeks before my contract is even up. I won’t be wrestling until January but there will be a signing in the next couple of weeks."

More from WWE

His decision will be something that the wrestling world will be anticipating, especially WWE fans. They will take his last line of “I won’t be wrestling until January but there will be a signing in the next couple of weeks” as a hint that he’ll be coming back for the Royal Rumble, an event known for Superstar returns and legend appearances. However, it shouldn’t be expected that Angle will return to the company that gave him his start. WWE showed last month that they do not hold Angle in a very high regard, as shown by the incident that happened between him and Triple H over the phone.

"Kurt Angle recently made inquiries about returning to WWE. Angle spoke to Triple H on the phone and was said to be pretty much blown off. Angle then called Vince McMahon but Vince told him that Triple H makes the talent decisions now. This led to Triple H being upset with Angle for trying to go over his head. This was all confirmed by Mark Madden, who had Angle on his show, and other sources."

Unless this was some way of hiding the real, behind the scenes discussions, it made the chance of him returning to WWE even less likely. If anything, the odds should be in TNA’s favor of retaining Angle, who has been part of the company since 2006.

Towards the middle of the interview, Angle went into how he became a better performer on Impact Wrestling from maturing and “mastering the craft” of wrestling. Could he bring that back to WWE? Maybe, but he may prefer to continue it in the company that has given him more respect.

There’s also Angle’s recent drug and alcohol use that caused him to go into rehab towards the back half of 2013. With TNA willingly bringing him back after two months and WWE giving wrestlers a very thin line to cross, he would probably be better off sticking with Dixie Carter and company. One wrong move could cause him to be fired by WWE if he rejoined them. There’s also the fact that he’s talking about his potential new contract while still being under his current deal. That alone could signify his stay with TNA.

The sleeper company is Global Force Wrestling, which TNA founder and former WWE and WCW wrestler Jeff Jarrett created recently. Angle and Jarrett know each other from when they were both in TNA. One thing to note here is that Jarrett is married to Kurt’s ex-wife, so things may not be so smooth.

Wrestling fans will be waiting to see what’s next in the career of Kurt Angle. TNA seems the most likely destination, however, anything can happen.

Home/WWE