Kurt Angle Explains Difficulty Returning To WWE

When Kurt Angle returned to WWE in 2017, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame based off the seven-year run he had with the company between 1999 and 2006, where he won multiple WWE Championships and had some of the best matches in company history. However, his run after his Hall of Fame induction was less than memorable, and during an episode of the "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" podcast, Angle admitted that he had difficulty going back to WWE due to a combination of money problems in TNA, and a bad reputation from things that had happened in his personal life.

"I could be safe to say that the money was running out [in TNA] and I could see that, and I was making seven figures a year, so they were paying me handsomely. I figured if they wanted to keep me they would have to pay me another seven figures, and I didn't think they were going to be able to do that, so that's when I decided this might be the right time. I tried to go back to WWE and Vince McMahon said 'bad reputation,' because I had four DUIs. That's when I was making really horrible choices and I had four DUIs, so Vince had me sit and I waited for about a year and a half, two years before they brought me."

While Angle's second run with WWE wasn't memorable, one thing that has lived on his the nickname "Perc Angle" that was coined by fans during his time in TNA. Angle has admitted that he wants that name to remain in the past, and while he knows fans mean no harm by calling him that, it hurts his feelings as it reminds him of a time he'd rather not remember.

Please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.