Kurt Angle recounts the night he asked Vince McMahon for his release

Kurt Angle is a 14-time professional wrestling world champion, with titles collected in WWE, TNA, and Japan. He is in both the WWE and TNA/Impact Hall of Fames, a two-time NCAA Division 1 National Champion, and has also won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Games with, as he likes to say, ‘a broken freaking neck.’ At every stop in his career, Angle has reached the top of the mountain, and now he’s taking his Three I’s; Intensity, Intelligence, and Integrity, to the podcast world as he joins host Conrad Thompson to take a look back at some of the matches, feuds and moments that turned an Olympic gold medalist into one of the greatest sports entertainers of all time. It’s True. It’s damn true
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[@justanotheryoutuber1997]

Man, I went from wanting to crack a perc Angle joke to almost crying. You can tell Kurt was at a true low point seeing how he still gets emotional about it. No doubt my favorite wrestler and a role model to so many more

[@Hakeem990]

Facts

[@garyhen1707]

I was stuck on that shit after a bad disabilitating accident, now I'm fine and been off those drugs. Its probably the hardest thing to get over in my life.....sucks!

[@garyhen1707]

I know just what Kurt was/is going through, its the help you need, but the tradeoff with the withdrawals just became too much to keep going through, when your taking 90 in a week like I got used to, it really costs you everything in your life. Cause you really don't want to do shit during that period, not even talk to anyone, the anxiety was through the fucking roof for me. And because you have that going on, you can't sleep. Nothing is that bad, even death probably goes quicker than that.

[@garyhen1707]

@Blue 30's just stopped, went through that hell for a while, it tough to do, but, I remember coming to the conclusion that, even though I needed it from having my ankle,to/fib and elbow shattered due to a guy running me over with his speeding motorcycle, the constant trade off of feeling relief from the pain killers to running out so fast and then facing hell for however long it takes, that trade of feeling relief was NOT worth it to me anymore. I never took drugs before that accident, so that and along with this new pain, is probably why I liked it too much. There is no way people can take that stuff and not get hooked, and during the WDs, you never believe you can stop, that craving is extreme, that anxiety is extreme. The doctors might try to give you sub's or some type of methadone, it just keeps you stuck on it though, its the hardest thing to overcome, but it does very slowly get better, but I just kept telling myself, I don't want to go through this hell anymore, that's really what did it for me. I'd say avoid hospitals, pharmacies, anyone who can give it to you for at least 4-5 months, cause those were always reminders and if I seen those places or people, that overwhelming feeling of I gotta have it came back immediately. I hope that helps anyone who wanted the help. Cause you will not quit unless you reach that point when you realize the trade isn't worth it anymore.

[@garyhen1707]

@Blue 30's BTW I no longer take either, the kratom did help greatly for the cravings and anxiety of WDs too.

[@Teeheehee093]

He's so lucky he didn't end up like Eddie and Benoit

[@brickgoon]

He's was definitely on that path. He's very blessed and fortunate he made it through those hard times.

[@souryabanik]

Yea, they were too intense!

[@Boody617]

You mean his kids are lucky he didn’t end up like Benoit

[@fabiansanchez2370]

💯💯

[@JohnDoe-qu7gm]

Pain killers and Roids are two different things. Eddie’s heart blew up from Roid abuse. Benoit?!?!? Who the hell knows what happened to that dude. It’s all speculation, there is no definitive CTE, depression, drug abuse. All of those things happen to a lot of people and they don’t commit murder suicide.

[@Goochbag8]

Immediately teared up as soon as Kurt did. This is like seeing your best friend cry. I just want to give this man a hug.

[@brianm1185]

That’s exactly what might of happened.

[@2Wheels1rider]

i was on Oxycontin for 12 years, and after hearing your story a couple years back, it gave me the willpower to get off them. You are a true inspiration Kurt. Thank you.

[@schnarfschnarf5886]

Awesome.. I try to stay Busy at least a lil bit.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

Good luck make people aware around how bad drug abuse is cause I have read many try drugs for fun which leads to their life getting ruined

[@2Wheels1rider]

@@ShubhamMishrabro i was put on them post surgery and just left on them. my Dr's not once mentioned coming off them.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

@@2Wheels1rider damn why. I think doctor make patients aware they can get addict to it

[@2Wheels1rider]

@@ShubhamMishrabro Well, when i was first put on them in 2008, Perdue pharma ( now bankrupt & criminally charged ) marketed them as un-addictable. Which is crazy as you dont need to be a dr to know opiates are addictive. I guess it was because they are synthetic and new at the time? i was just a 21yo kid in pain, and wanted it to stop. At least its over now though. Kurts drug service still helps to this day, they're great!

[@jjayflash]

This is a touching story. WWE made him a star but he became bigger and had much better matches in TNA. He put that company on the map and not only that for better or worse it kinda saved his life. He met his second wife and 2013 was the turning point year in his life. Now he's alive to tell his story. Much respect

[@jamalwalker]

I can't think of 1 match in TNA that he had that was as good as his matches with Shawn or Benoit

[@MrBeenus]

Name a TNA match that was better than his match against Chris Benoit at Royal rumble 2003. You can't.

[@jayu9642]

lol why are you people bent on focusing on that part and not the positive part about Kurt changing his life

[@jerelminter]

I remember Kurt telling this story numerous times in the past, things didn't get much better for him when he went to TNA. He was still fucked up on drugs until he got 5 DUI's and then his wife threatened to leave him and take his kids away, and that's when Kurt finally got his act together.

[@chaitubhai1449]

But she still left kurt and shanked up with Jeff jaret

[@daveramirez1948]

@@chaitubhai1449 exactly what I thought

[@chaitubhai1449]

@@ill_be_frank that's the irony women always disrespect nice guys

[@WCWThunderRosa]

@@chaitubhai1449 no, his second wife

[@frostbite3318]

@@chaitubhai1449 you sound like an incel when you say that

[@steves2199]

Really powerful stuff, and it takes a big man to open up about all this personal stuff. As much as I enjoyed Kurt’s WWE career I think I prefer his TNA tenure. When you look at Kurt’s career as a whole there’s no doubt that he’s one of the all time greats.

[@D1Fring]

I have to agree there too. I didn’t watch much TNA but Kurt pulled some moves and matches that I didn’t even know he had in him due to his style of wrestling. He was a legit machine there

[@mobeeg5868]

He was an amazing heel too

[@taylorevans1199]

I would’ve preferred TNA so much more if they hadn’t brought Karen into the storyline

[@zim1966]

Main event mafia and his match w/ Sting in the empty auditorium on saturday morning was great

[@chowder1272]

Tna schedule is way better than WWE, as per Booker T.

[@DBonaldi]

He is a true inspiration to us all. He’s a honest, decent, hard working badass and we as men, could learn a lot from this guy right here.

[@josh-lv6wx]

Agreed. That man is the personification of hard work

[@Ultradude604]

The 3 i's. Integrity, intensity, intelligence.

[@wah666]

If conrad was conducting this interview, after kurt finished telling that incredibly emotional story: “…well what meltzer said happened was….”

[@alo4912]

"According to rumor and innuendo meltzer said....."

[@adamchristie7626]

😂😂😂

[@souryabanik]

Arm chair quarterback...lmao!

[@S1873]

So refreshing him not being on here, especially for such a deep story.

[@neutralgenius25]

@Jon Esser bad take

[@dustindow4480]

Damn Kurt was really really in a terrible space and growing watching as a kid/teenager you'd never know.. I didn't know until he went to tna about how bad everything was for him.. dude is literally one of my all time favorites so to see how he overcame everything is so amazing and uplifting to so many people

[@PERC_-ANGLE]

I suppose it depends on how you grow up and who you are surrounded by. I grew up with addicts and i could tell there was something off with Kurt from 2006 onward … I was born in 1995 but that’s just me tho

[@Natefuentes]

Can we just take a minute and appreciate a wrestler like Kurt Angle admitting it was his fault things went poorly and not the company's fault. I swear shoot interviews make me dislike some of my childhood heros but here we have a man that admits he had a problem. Much love to Kurt, the Wrestling Cyborg!

[@justinroark88]

4:00 is incredibly sad. When he effectively said "he's going to die" it sent chills up my spine

[@giovannireyes9455]

Ah Kurt.. I know everyone says this but you TRULY are my favorite wrestler. Much love brother 💪🏽🏅

[@TheBigChad]

I love Kurt, you don’t see anyone as open as he is, as honest as he is. Intensity, integrity, intelligence. A true American hero

[@GypsyDanger514]

Oh it’s true, it’s damn true.

[@obersveyourmind]

Man, this made me sad...I freaking love Kurt. He is a legend.

[@josh-lv6wx]

Wow. This really moved me Kurt. Thank you so much for the years of entertainment

[@drazsweeden]

Kurt has give it all , the best wrestler ever .. Wish to see you back in wwe

[@King_JappyJoe]

Kurt Angle is a true inspiration to alot of us recovering Addicts. Hope God gives him the power to keep winning the war

[@AD-ur1fk]

Amen

[@dannycardona211]

Theres no evidence for a god

[@dmcgeejr16]

@@dannycardona211 that’s false; you are evidence.

[@mikemunoz3927]

Kurt is the man! So moved and inspired by how much he has endured and where he is at now. Kurt is a true role model, it's true, it's true.

[@nickybutt9733]

This could make a badass cry; well, it made me cry. I love King Kurt

[@lewisprice4482]

The man gave it his all to put on great matches to entertain us all despite how much pain he was in, a true hero

[@jzk0517]

Respect to Kurt for being so open and honest We love you Kurt and are thankful you’re still with us today

[@akinretoyejustin]

So happy for Kurt! Glad he still with us and thriving!

[@TheWMDR]

I hated it when he left.. I enjoyed the time he had in TNA and all the matches he had with the likes of AJ Styles, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, etc. and then when he finally came back though it was really towards the end of his career he was pretty much done I felt like Kurt didn’t get treated with the respect he deserved when he got back to the WWE I mean we’re talking about Kurt fucking Angle here, perhaps the greatest technical wrestler of all time and it was like it ment nothing when he returned

[@refuerzo69]

Thank you Kurt for sharing this story with us, it was very emotional because I truly believe you were one of the best wrestler & entertainer in history. I hope nobody else repeats this ever. I don’t want nobody to harm themselves for my entertainment. You have to know when to stop, and that’s when you lose control. Thank God Kurt is still alive and we can still hear from his wisdom & experience! 🙏🏼

[@King-zb2iv]

I got a 100 on Kurt he would kick Vince ass lol

[@Slimkeen54]

I got 500 Kurt will beat the shit outa Vince

[@combatx3373]

Lol dude he is an gold medalist in Olympics definitely kurt would have beat the shit out of both shane and vince together

[@023achilles]

Might not have kicked his ass that day though, with his injuries, and addictions. But man, with 3 months to get ready, wow, he would brutalize Vince.

[@RicoSuavae]

I got 1,000 on Shane knocking him out cold if it comes to grappling Kurt Gina slam him around but even then gonna be tough but stand up street fight I got Shane in that fight

[@brianfournierjr7438]

He kicked Brock Lesnar's ass in a shoot fight, I think he could handle Vince, Shane, And even Johnny Ace!

[@thangyselfmade7028]

Damn 😔 glad you pulled through! You have a story to tell to help the future generations

[@rockk9753]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha wtf is up with that pose in your profile pic looks fruity as hell

[@thangyselfmade7028]

@@rockk9753 sorry brotha maybe I should change it was like 18 at the time just didn’t think it was a big deal? Is it bothering you?

[@rockk9753]

@@thangyselfmade7028 no it was just really hilarious you looked fruity why you change it? It was funny

[@thangyselfmade7028]

@@rockk9753 I was dumb for having my face on a KZbin account lol 😂

[@rockk9753]

@@thangyselfmade7028 not really, it was just that pose that was a bit too much so I busted out laughing lol

[@schnarfschnarf5886]

Pittsburgh says hello Kurt... Remember the old days and pizza outlet commercial.

[@robertthethird7801]

I respect Kurt so much everything he’s been through is a inspiration my 🐐 4life

[@thelastwordwithkenny7183]

Kurt is amazing

[@maodijong3661]

I just wish Kurt's final run in the wwe was more. General manager, having an in story son was terrible. He should have had one major match!

[@lutherheggs451]

Except for the FACT that you could tell he was a shell of what he was in that last WWE run. Even when they put him in the ring you could see that he could barely walk or move real well. They weren't going to put him in a major match when they can see the trouble he's having just doing basic stuff.

[@maodijong3661]

@@lutherheggs451 a major match isn't necessarily main eventing a major ppv but it's gotta be more than the silly stories he was part of. Heck put him in a series of multi man matches or important tag matches (think they tried with the shield) . Heck instead of a long run, give him a big one off, not a final match against corbin lol

[@ehhhhhhh6141]

You’re the man Kurt! Glad you’re still with us.

[@scottinthedark]

Such respect for kurt

[@cjwhits9813]

I’m glad Kurt got the help and took the break from WWE when he did, think sometimes wrestlers need to prioritise their physical/mental well-being rather than working/wrestling themselves to death

[@BearofTexas]

Words can't express how much I appreciate Kurt Angle. God bless you, Kurt. Thank you for everything.

[@richboyprado]

Thank you for your honesty Kurt. Each one of us who’ve had a painkiller vice, can feel and relate to your pain. Keep fighting the good fight Kurt.

[@garyhen1707]

This is probably the reason why he won't go to aew, Vinny and wwe really saved his life.

[@matthewsmith8727]

Also aew is absolute trash

[@mr.d00m37]

@@matthewsmith8727 Cope

[@Collinzmusic]

That's some story Kurt. Great context and honesty too. I know you lost family as well and I know it's hard and you got through it and you are a fighter by nature. You're a Legend in the industry and your legacy will live on forever 🙏

[@suprcrzy]

He's the GOAT!! Kurt and Ric will always be 1 and 1a in my book! God bless you Kurt Angle! 🇺🇲

[@rockk9753]

Which Ric? Flair? Flair sucks

[@vincentfollowme5308]

Please tip me , I need to pay my monthly bills

[@QuestOfChris]

Love to Kurt. Forever a legend. So sorry to hear it got that low. Proud of how far you've come since that point. Inspirational 🙏🏻👊🏻🔥

[@Collinzmusic]

Kurt i may not comment on all the podcasts and yours all the time but I just want to leave you know you've made your impact on the world with your presence and you still are doing so. I will say a prayer for you before sleep man.

[@Kristina-cp4rp]

Unbelievable. I listened to this in the gym and had to stop working out and take a break to gather myself. When he said "I had to get out" that was one of the purest outpours of emotion I've ever heard. This is true emotion, and I think anyone who has been through hard times can relate to this. Good for you Kurt for showing this side of you. Love the show 🙏

[@TDoTxBEASTMODEx]

Love Kurt

[@Dylangreen2122]

Pittsburgh loves Kurt Angle ❤

[@ASHESWEALLFALLDOWN]

KURT ❤️🥺 this breaks my heart I'm happy you got the ending you seeked

[@thomass1891]

People may judge Vince McMahon as being selfish for not wanting to release Kurt.. But you have to look at it from a business perspective. Kurt Angle was one of the biggest draws at that time! Losing a mega star like Kurt Angle wasn't going to be just a mild setback.

[@themaddogofcrenshaw7367]

Marks judge Vince for literally everything

[@saygoodnighttothebadguy]

I really enjoyed his run in TNA. Especially his feuds with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. Some of his best work ever. You would've never known he was an addict. Looking at some of his videos here on KZbin years later, you can tell he was a shell of himself. A testament to his greatness.

[@blackout8777]

Good work but nah his best work ever will always be his WWF feuds. Greatest rookie year of wrestling of ALL TIME

[@packlesswolf1]

What's makes me sad is I didn't know he wrestled after WWE. It blew my mind. Like 10 years of matches and countless tv appearance.

[@arslaanpasha3334]

​@@blackout8777 Nope. His matches in TNA were better than WWE

[@atikulislam6359]

When kurt started to cry, tears started to drop my eyes too.

[@AintFredoYou]

I got chills listening to this story. I’m so fuckin happy that Kurt was able to break free and get himself together and continue to live his life. I’ll listen to Kurt tell any story as long as he’s telling em. Subbed 🤝

[@Dylangreen2122]

Thank you so much for sharing that Kurt...you don't know what hearing that does for people

[@roman3493]

Man I was going to cry when for a bit.

[@KushWilson]

I’m so happy he’s still here with us he gave us everything and I’m very grateful just happy to know he’s doing well

[@david-TheRave]

Respect to Kurt for telling that story

[@jbtreshawn]

2001 Angle is my favorite year from a wrestler ever. Ik the unforgiven 2001 title win was for 9-11 aftermath but damn Kurt, Austin and Jr made it so special

[@durden2480]

Kurt your awesome for sharing this story. I know that couldn’t be easy for you going through all that.

[@kennyortiz100]

Love you Kurt

[@Timmichanga361]

I have so much more respect and admiration for KA now than i did way back when. He's one of my fav guys to go back and watch. He has done so much as a representative for the US and for WWE....he deserves so much credit.

[@cool-lemon]

So sad to hear Kurt talk like this and where his mind was during that time period. But man, I'm SO GLAD he sorted himself out and got back on the right path again. Addiction is horrible, not many people can escape it, especially when you're a pro athlete with heaps of money and admiration from fans, it can be so easy to just let the addiction swallow you up. I'm so glad it's 2023 and I can write about my happiness for Kurt getting sober. Such a shame we lost so many iconic wrestlers to addictions.

[@thepolarphantasm2319]

If AEW were ever to hire a GM, I'd want it to be Kurt. Nobody says "tough but fair" to me like Kurt

[@khalidtaib7590]

Kurt angle is a living legend 🕊🕊😩 it takes a real man to open up as he did right now, not an easy thing at all

[@DayZer1987]

So good that Kurt is open enough to share these stories, it takes a real man to admit when they've been an addict, done wrong and put their hands up and own that. Kurt is one of my favourite of all time, top 5 for sure.

[@Bd187]

Mannnn I love Kurt now more now than I ever did after the real emotion i appreciate it

[@justinperrotta2701]

I love you Kurt. I’m in the same battle rite now myself. Wish me luck.

[@G.M.O..]

Jesus. I just clicked because I love hearing Kurts stories but this is just heart breaking. So glad he's able to be here now and do these podcasts

[@TuPapiRicoSuave]

Kurt you’re a fucking beast! No doubt! This is some powerful story shit! Keep on snappin’ unc!

[@Spencerlayne]

One of my child hood hero's man. A true legend. Saddens me to hear this. The stuff these guys out there bodies and minds through for us for decades man. 5hsnk you Kurt. 👊🏾

[@mrT-qp1mf]

Your a top man kurt. Glad you got your life back on track. Must admit when I was a kid I didn't appreciate you until I grew up an realised how good you realy are. Your a bad ass kurt an gave us so many good moments. Thank you

[@Squeakypickles619]

WE LOVE AND APPRECIATE TF OUT OF YOU KURT!!!! THANKYOU!!!!🙏🇺🇸🦅🥇

[@eoinreilly3925]

I've always loved Kurt Angle literally from the first time I seen him work In my humble opinion he is the very best technician to ever step foot in any ring & maybe 8or9 on the mic He's an inspiration and I love him all the more for this seeing this clip

[@slamicite]

It is a blessing that Kurt is still with us despite all he's been through

[@brotaku25]

Kurt definitely is an inspiration as an athlete and performer, but most of all a man. Its true!! Its damn true!! Thank you for sharing your story Kurt!

[@DWtechfan]

I went to a meet and greet for Slammiversary 2007 in Nashville and Kurt was there. He was being cordial to fans that I could see but about 20 or 30 minutes after he arrived, he was so high on painkillers that he was nodding off. At that time, it wasn't really common knowledge that Kurt was having these issues. I was actually worried as a fan of Kurt's and just as another human being that he would end up as another casualty of the wrestling business. Thank God he made it through and is around to see the fruits of his many years of hard work.

[@juandelgadillo1617]

He was my favorite wrestler then and even watching this now... he is My Olympic hero!

[@Rschr101]

Stay well Kurt. Always be one of the GOATs. Its true!

[@mikebowman5819]

Shew.. really emotional stuff. Thanks for sharing this Kurt.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

Damn kurt this was heavy story

[@miamimagicians]

This is the best interview I've ever seen I've had tears

[@brianconnelly1238]

On behalf of fans everywhere, we're happy you're healthy again, more importantly than that, we're happy you're still with us... We love you Kurt

[@jerminator356]

I'm so happy that Kurt is in a great place he is one of the greatest of all time

[@phillyretrokid]

we are all going through battles. I admire and respect Kurt Angle bc he communicated his issues with Vince. He didnt ignore or text. He faced him like a man. Something this generation needs to learn.

[@TheKhaosDemon]

Is this the day after your ECW show at the Westchester County Center? I was there and I remember Angle looking seriously beat up. Mr. Angle, thank you for everything you did!

[@jaerockchalk3216]

the more i listen to this absolute legend the more i love em , you the man Champ

[@rezenking8426]

20-25 pills at a time..... good lord i get worried about 2 IBP 800's at the same time and this man did like 25 vics at once and lived

[@Shlumbus69]

Thank you for sharing that Kurt, I'm very glad you got clean

[@Connor-ki8zv]

You can hear the emotions in Kurt's voice when talking about Vince cause Vince in more ways than one was like a fatherly figure to Kurt. Vince wanted Kurt to go to rehab, get help and come back when he's healthy, but he went against Vince's wishes and basically pushed through the pain and continued wrestling. Kurt is highly regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world bar none and that says a lot about a guy who put his life and soul on the line month in month out giving it 100% in every match he was in.

[@jimbo_crawdaddy]

I couldn't stand Kurt & that is actually a compliment to how good he was. Never knew. I am very happy the dude got straight & he didn't end up as so many others have. God bless ya KA.

[@smoothpoon86]

We love you K.A., thank your for your sacrifices for our amusement

[@OpenTopicsBoxing]

Wow…..never knew. Glad Kurt got it together. We lost so many superstars 🥲. We are proud of you Kurt 💪🏿

[@dgmr22]

Seeing a beast like Kurt Angle get emotional makes you realise how seriously bad things were for him at WWE. The crazy things this man did in the ring to entertain us all, the injuries he got and didn't flinch. Kurt's one of a kind.

[@artforpizza]

what a great guy, im glad i got to watch the man work in his prime.

[@gothard5]

I remember watching the sit down interview with Kurt and Vince on Raw where Kurt said he was going to take some time off to get some injuries taken care of and to heal up. A very short time later, Kurt debuts on TNA Impact. I remember being super pissed off at Kurt for jumping to another company instead of actually doing what he said he was going to do.

[@alessandroguglielmo719]

Kurt,you re a badass. Just for sharing this and everything that you did. Thank you man we love you

[@rockstar450]

Holy shit his story hit my heart like a tonne of bricks. A true man who opens up. It’s damn true.

[@williamscott7285]

Angle is a class act. Inspiring guy

[@WashingtonAI]

one of the greatest of all time. so sad he had to go through this

[@KingofNewark]

I love Kurt. I am happy that one of my heroes growing up is okay now . I hate how so many of the wrestlers I grew up watching are gone now.

[@jerrystuch6723]

This poor guy. I knew he fought very hard figuratively speaking for his release but I didn’t know it was like this. Seeing this man break down into tears publicly like that tells me Kurt had more going on within himself that maybe he didn’t even know of at the time ❤️❤️🙏🙏. I’m glad Vince relented and told him he had his release.

[@Connor-ki8zv]

Well you gotta understand what Kurt was going through at that time. As he said in this video, he was on percs not once did he wrestle high or under the influence unlike a certain person that did. Anyhow, around this time, Kurt was in A TON of pain mostly because of the neck injury in the 96 Olympics and other injuries he suffered in the WWE. If Kurt didn't have the broken freaking neck, I believe he would be wrestling part time even now, but due to his age, I think it's safe to say he's pretty much done.

[@pdc2268]

the wrestling business is a tough business listen to these wrestlers man its a rough ass business

[@noncookiecutter6753]

Thank you for sharing this kurt

[@Johnnycpublic]

Finally kurt got a better mic