Vince Russo voices his opinion about Kurt Angle's retirement match.
WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle is putting the final touches on his in-ring career in WWE and has had matches against WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Apollo Crews, Chad Gable and this upcoming Monday on RAW he'll face Rey Mysterio. Kurt Angle's last match in WWE is scheduled for WrestleMania 35 against Baron Corbin. The reaction to Kurt Angle facing Baron Corbin at WrestleMania was not positive and Kurt's wife Giovanna even shared that she was disappointed with the decision.
Former WCW, WWE and TNA creative writer Vince Russo has a different idea as to why Baron Corbin was chosen to be Kurt Angle's final opponent and he feels that Angle is being punished by WWE for leaving the sports-entertainment company on his own terms in the early 2000s. Russo expressed his thoughts about this topic while guest appearing on the 411Mania podcast and added that when anyone leaves WWE on their own terms, they are viewed in a negative light.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with giving the fans what they want,” Russo said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with them doing it their way. Here’s what it has to do with bro: I worked for the WWE, okay, so I’m not talking out of school here. They are a very, very vindictive company. They will personally embarrass, belittle, degrade, punish a WWE talent in total disregard to what the fans think -- what’s the right thing to do. That’s exactly what they do. Bro, I know Kurt Angle, and look at the history of Kurt Angle. Kurt Angle left the WWE and went to TNA. That was Kurt Angle’s decision. Now bro, I’ve learned better than anybody, when you leave the WWE, and you leave them and it’s your choice to walk away, when you make that decision, you are blackballed. You are the enemy. Nobody walks away from us. We fire you. Nobody walks away from us." Russo continued, "So, trust me. The way I’ve been treated, I understand clearly, when you walk away on your own terms, you are the enemy. They will go out of their way to bury you and make you look bad. That’s exactly what they’ve done with Kurt Angle from day one. They brought him in as the authority figure. Stephanie McMahon cut off his nut sack every single week. Kurt Angle never got a payback. He had to sit there with his hand on his crotch. Finally, he’s going to have his last match, his last big match, and who is it against? Baron Corbin. That’s their way of getting back at Kurt Angle. They’re childish, they’re juvenile, that’s the way they’ve always been. That’s why I have zero interest in ever going back to that company again on a full-time basis because of things like this. Thank God Kurt Angle is a pro. Kurt Angle knows what’s going on. Kurt Angle expected it. Kurt Angle had to beg them to even take him back, and thank God. I’m sure he’s making a lot of money and laughing all the way to the bank, but that’s just the vindictive nature of the WWE. That’s the way they’ve done business. That’s the way they’ve always done business.” Russo concluded.
Former two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion Taz echoed the same sentiments back in October when he discussed not being invited back to WWE for SmackDown 1000 and stated that when one leaves WWE on their own terms, they are looked at in a negative light. To check out Fightful's article about Taz's comments, click here.
