Kurt Angle Turned Down UFC, WWE Star Likely Missing WrestleMania

Kurt Angle Turned Down UFC

Kurt Angle transitioned into the pro wrestling business quicker than anyone else. After his Olympic days were over, there were plenty of offers for Angle. 

In the very end, Angle would sign with WWE and later Impact Wresting. In an interview with SE Scoops, Angle admitted to being offered several lucrative deals by UFC President Dana White.

“Dana White gave me a great offer,” said Angle. “He’s been really good to me. I’ve reached out to him a couple of different times and he was willing to talk to me. 

“He gave me two separate deals two separate times and I backed out. I just knew that I couldn’t do it. I knew that if I did do it, I probably would’ve embarrassed myself.”

Angle cited his neck being in rough shape after breaking it a total of three times. The 1996 Olympic Games gold medalist felt if he was medical fit, then he would have “won the World Title” in the UFC. He also did not want to leaving his previous promotions with little warning or embarrass himself in MMA.

Still, Angle was a major success in WWE and Impact Wrestling; delivering some of the greatest matches ever. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017 and retired at WrestleMania 35. 

Popular Star Likely Missing WrestleMania 36

WrestleMania is that one time of the year where we see the biggest stars compete, Unfortunately, Jeff Hardy will likely not being making the trip to Florida.

According to PWInsider, Jeff has a new court date on April 6 for his DUI charges. That is one day after WrestleMania 36, so the odds of him appearing are very slim. 

2019 was not the best year for Jeff. After an injury, he returned right before WrestleMania 35 and ended up in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal on the pre-show. With the lack of time to build a storyline, that is how WWE booked Jeff and his older brother Matt Hardy.

Not much later, Jeff suffered a knee injury that would take about six to nine months for a full recovery. While away, Jeff once again found himself in trouble with the law. He was arrested for public intoxication and later a DUI.

WWE has frozen Jeff’s contract due the time he missed from injury. Also, they want the former WWE Champion to fix his life for the better before returning to work.

As we have been reporting, Matt’s contract is up in about a month. The money is not a problem for Matt, but he wants better use of his character on TV. Matt has done little in 2019 and the few matches he worked, he usually lost.

With Marty Scurll sticking with Ring of Honor, there is talk that All Elite Wrestling (AEW) could have Matt be the leader of the Dark Order stable.