WWE News: Kurt Angle Reveals Why He Turned Down Offer To Manage Matt Riddle
In a recent interview, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle opened up on a number of topics, including the offer he received to manage Matt Riddle on Friday Night SmackDown and the reasons why he decided to not accept it.
As transcribed by PWInsider on Wednesday, Angle was interviewed last week by the publication’s Mike Johnson and Dave Scherer, and one of the topics he touched on was the chance he had to return to WWE shortly after he was released as part of the promotion’s coronavirus-related budget cuts. This would have involved him managing Riddle’s career following his main roster call-up, though as Angle recalled, he needed time to work on his Physically Fit nutrition brand. He also noted that he wasn’t satisfied with the money he was offered.
“Two reasons – one was my company I started needed my attention 100%, especially with the virus thing and I had to just be there for the company and the other thing was the money, it just…it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t going to manage somebody for the amount of money they wanted to give me.”
In addition, Angle agreed with Scherer’s suggestion that it would have been too dangerous to travel to Florida for WWE tapings, given the threat of the pandemic and the fact that the former Olympic gold medalist has young children at home. He also agreed with the PWInsider journalist when the latter hinted that WWE’s offer might not have been worth all the risk.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Angle first admitted in June that he turned down the chance to be Riddle’s manager. This came just a few days after he made an appearance on NXT, serving as the special guest referee in the former UFC fighter’s final match on the black-and-gold brand — a cage match where he lost to Timothy Thatcher. Although Angle declined to state the reasons behind his decision at that time, he did not rule out the possibility of working with Riddle in the future.
A few weeks prior to the interview with PWInsider, Angle made similar comments on the Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast, where he likewise explained that he chose to not return to WWE because he wanted to concentrate on his nutrition business. He also revealed that he was offered other jobs apart from the onscreen managerial role, including a coaching job and one where he’d be signed to a WWE Legends contract. While he rejected all these offers, he said that there’s “no bad blood” between him and his former employer.
