Kurt Angle On Ideal Retirement Opponent, Champ Vs. Champ

Kurt Angle Wanted To Postpone Retirement Match, Face John Cena

When Kurt Angle officially retired after facing off against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania last year, many were left wanting more.

Now, it turns out, Angle kind of did too.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Angle revealed that his original plans included postponing his final match another year and taking on John Cena one final time. However, with Cena unavailable and Angle feeling the need to retire due to his physical limits, the Corbin match was made.

“Yeah, most likely (I would have ended my career) with John Cena, but I decided not to because I chose to — I wanted John last WrestleMania, but we already had a storyline going with Baron Corbin and myself,” Angle said. “Vince said, ‘If you’re gonna retire you’re gonna finish with Baron Corbin if you don’t mind because you guys have a great storyline’ and Vince was right. I said, ‘Okay I’ll wrestle Baron and it’ll be my last match and that’s it.”

Cena did make a minor appearance at WrestleMania 35 in his Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, taking out Elias. Angle, meanwhile, lost to Corbin, leaving the ring after delivering a speech.

Angle was an Olympic gold medalist, along with holding the WCW and WWF heavyweight titles, United States title and tag team belts during his career. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.

Toni Storm To Face Rhea Ripley At WWE Worlds Collide

If Toni Storm captures the NXT UK women’s title this weekend at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II, we will have a champion vs. champion match at WWE Worlds Collide.

Storm challenged NXT women’s champion Rhea Ripley, who accepted the bout for the January 25 event held during Royal Rumble weekend. The card features members of the NXT roster meeting their counterparts from NXT United Kingdom.

Storm will challenge reigning NXT UK women’s champion Kay Lee Ray and Piper Niven in a triple threat contest this Sunday night.

The New Zealand born Storm is a former NXT UK champion, winning the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament after making it to the semifinals the year before.

Ripley, who was born in Australia and was the first-ever NXT UK women’s champion, is the first athlete to hold both the NXT UK and NXT titles. The 23-year-old is also the first Australian female champion in WWE history.

This past December, Ripley captured the title with a victory over Shayna Baszler, ending her 416-day run atop the division.