In the first match of the night at WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar in a match lasting less than five minutes.
After the match finished, fans saw Paul Heyman enter the ring and hug Lesnar. Shortly after, Lesnar exited the ring and made his way to the back with Heyman. While Lesnar did not officially confirm his retirement, both he and WWE’s commentary team strongly hinted at it when he left his gear in the ring.
Shortly after, WWE Hall of Famer Angle reacted to what happened on social media and wrote, “Love you my brother. There will only be one like you. Enjoy retirement Brock [Lesnar].”
Angle and Lesnar share a long history. The duo main-evented WrestleMania 19, where Lesnar defeated Angle for the WWE Championship. Both have also faced each other in several matches throughout their career.
Later, during the WWE WrestleMania 42 post-show, Joe Tessitore also teased Lesnar retiring after the match. However, there are currently no confirmed updates on it.
Love you my brother. There will only be one like you. Enjoy retirement Brock. pic.twitter.com/UqYaa1B3t7
For this week’s new Wrestling Observer Newsletter that has been added to the archives, Dave Meltzer leads off with TNA “figuring it out” and the legend of the match at April 2008’s TNA Lockdown between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle.
Releases were brewing at UFC and business for EliteXC were looking bad which Dave delved into.
Dave also had a ton of results, a look at the attempted comeback of the All Japan Champion Carnival after a bad 2007 edition, news and more.
Oh, there was also the debut of the Yamma Pit Fighting Championships.
NJPW newcomer Aaron Wolf is paying homage to fellow Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle with one of his wrestling moves.
Wolf, a decorated judo champion, made his pro wrestling debut at Wrestle Kingdom 20 and used a triangle choke to defeat EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship. Wolf also performed an Olympic Slam during the match — and the move is set to be a regular part of Wolf’s arsenal. He is asking for the move to be called the Angle Slam as a nod to Kurt Angle and the Olympic heritage they share.
Aaron Wolf wants his Olympic Slam referred to as the Angle Slam, in reverence to fellow Olympic gold medalist and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. That’s badass! 🔥
— Walker Stewart (ウォーカー・スチュワート) (@VelvetVoiceWS) January 6, 2026
“Aaron Wolf wants his Olympic Slam referred to as the Angle Slam, in reverence to fellow Olympic gold medalist and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle,” NJPW English-language commentator Walker Stewart tweeted. “That’s badass!”
The move has been called both the Olympic Slam and Angle Slam in the past.
Along with his Olympic and WWE success, Angle did work some NJPW matches in the late 2000s and held a version of the IWGP Championship, though his reign is not officially recognized by NJPW. The 57-year-old Angle is currently a broadcaster and partner in Real American Freestyle.
NJPW is hoping that Wolf will become a significant star as the company enters a new era following the retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi. At New Year Dash, Wolf teamed with Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato in a victory over EVIL, Ren Narita, Don Fale & Dick Togo.
Wolf’s first NEVER title defense will take place at the New Beginning in Osaka on February 11 with him putting the championship on the line against Narita.
Kurt Angle has shared a statement on John Cena’s retirement.
On the June 27, 2002 edition of WWE SmackDown, Cena made his WWE debut by answering Angle’s open challenge. When Angle asked him what quality he possessed that made him think he could wrestle Angle, Cena responded, “Ruthless Aggression,” before slapping Angle in the face to start the match.
On Saturday, Angle posted to Instagram reflecting on Cena’s debut, writing:
“Who in the hell are you? I’m John Cena. From his unforgettable moments in the ring to his inspiring presence outside of it, John Cena has truly left an indelible mark on the world of sports entertainment. I am proud to have been part of his journey, and what a ride it has been for him. His dedication, resilience, and passion have inspired countless fans and peers alike. As he embarks on his well-deserved retirement, I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life. Enjoy your last ride, John….a legend forever. Welcome to retirement, my friend.”
Angle defeated Cena in less than six minutes that night. The two would go on to wrestle another seven singles matches against each other on WWE programming. Angle holds a 5–3 edge in their all-time singles series and also won their final match, a First Blood bout on the January 2, 2006 edition of Raw.
The segment involving Angle and Cena’s future was addressed by Dave Meltzer in the July 1, 2002 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer wrote:
“Of all the developmental guys, Cena is the one with the most potential because he’s such a strong interview. He’s improved a lot of late and is much closer to being ready than he was six weeks ago, but they seem now to be rushing to get everyone in at the same time and they are appearing on TV with no build-up.”
Angle’s Instagram post about the segment with Cena is below:
When he was coming up in WWE, Kurt Angle had the benefit of learning from two all-time greats.
The WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist spoke with Going Ringside and reflected on what it was like to work with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin early in his pro wrestling career. Angle said The Rock taught him a lot about cutting promos — but Austin was the person he learned the most from overall.
“He was so entertaining, the guy was such a phenomenal athlete,” Angle said about Rock. “And his promo skills were above everybody else’s. He taught me a lot about cutting promos. He taught me a lot about wrestling in the ring.
“‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin actually was the one guy that I learned the most from. He was one of those guys who would call the match out in the ring, you know? He was an old-school wrestler. That means you don’t plan a lot of it backstage, you just go out there and do it. Improvise. And he was a great improviser. Him and Triple H and Undertaker were three of the best improvisers I’ve ever wrestled.”
Going Ringside also asked Angle to name the hardest opponent he ever faced in the ring.
“Brock Lesnar,” Angle responded. “He was a mixture of power, speed, agility. And he was so — 300 pounds and moved like a cat. I had never been in the ring with an athlete like that. He was an animal.”
Kurt Angle believes Chad Gable has what it takes to be a main eventer in WWE.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show this week, Angle was asked about the similarities between himself and Gable. Angle responded by speaking very highly of Gable and saying that he believes Gable could definitely be a main event star, even if he is a little undersized.
“I think he’s great. I’m just happy that he was able to find his niche,” Angle said. “I know it’s kind of identical to mine, but if it works for him, I’m happy for him. I think regardless whether he did my character or anybody else’s, I think the kid’s incredibly talented. So I think that he would have succeeded either way.
“You know the problem with him? And I think it’s only because the office looks at him like this, but he’s a little undersized. But that’s not an excuse. Chris Benoit was 5-foot-9. Eddie Guerrero was 5-foot-8. Rey Mysterio’s 5-foot-5. So someone like Chad could definitely be a main eventer.”
Since June, Gable has been sidelined with a shoulder injury that required surgery. He’s the leader of American Made — a WWE faction with The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile — along with originally portraying the El Grande Americano character that is now played by Ludwig Kaiser.
Gable and Angle did have a singles match against each other in 2019, but that was one of the last matches of Angle’s career when he was no longer able to wrestle at his peak.
The 56-year-old Angle told Helwani that he does not watch WWE weekly but still keeps up with the current product. He praised Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns and said it’s been really cool to see John Cena’s retirement tour.
Angle was asked how he feels Paul “Triple H” Levesque is doing as WWE’s head of creative.
“He’s doing incredibly well. I’m so proud of him. He’s a great leader,” Angle said. “And the thing is, him being retired and out of the business, he really looks at it as, ‘I need to focus on this business and make it the best it can be.’ And he’s done that incredibly well. So I think TKO made the right decision by making him in charge of creative. And I think he’s doing an amazing job.”
Kurt Angle reflected on Hulk Hogan asking him to be part of his Real American Freestyle promotion during a recent interview.
Angle was a guest on Wednesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show to promote RAF’s second event, which takes place Saturday, October 25 at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State. Angle will be on commentary for the show on Fox Nation’s broadcast. During the interview, Angle revealed that he initially turned Hogan down on being part of the promotion.
Angle said:
“(Hogan) said, listen, we can make this thing really big, but I need you to be a part of the team. Well, I turned him down because the first time he offered me a certain amount of money and I said, well, to be a part of this promotion, I probably need a little bit more than that. And he said, well, we can’t give it to you right now.”
Angle then mentioned he was in contact with a similar promotion, the Champions League of American Wrestling, and turned them down as well before going back to Hogan to re-negotiate.
“We talked again and we made it work. And then he passed away in the process of me signing the contract. So Chad Bronstein, the other owner, continued on with me and he signed me on. So I’m really excited about this because for the first time, I feel like freestyle wrestling could be mainstream.”
Later in the conversation, Angle revealed that he owns a percentage of RAF in addition to working commentary for the promotion.
Angle continued to say of Hogan:
“Terry, him and I were always close. We had a mutual respect for each other. I remember when I got the opportunity to wrestle him, and not only did I wrestle him but he really surprised me. He was probably in his late 50s and I was in the prime of my career, and we had a great match. And the crazy thing is I’m the first one to ever make him tap out and I never thought he’d go for it, but he did. He had enough respect for me to say you know what Kurt, I’ll do the job tonight. And it was really cool that Hulk Hogan did that for me. He took me to another level.”
“I was a fan boy, I’m like holy crap I’m wrestling Hulk Hogan, I was so excited.”
Angle’s full interview with Ariel Helwani can be viewed below:
After watching “The Smashing Machine,” Kurt Angle believes fellow WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has leveled up into being one of the best actors working in Hollywood.
The movie opened last weekend and tells the story of Mark Kerr, centered around his MMA stardom, battle with painkiller addiction, and relationship with his wife Dawn. Kerr and Angle were amateur wrestling opponents back in the day, and Angle greatly enjoyed how The Rock portrayed him.
“Just watched The Smashing Machine. What a fantastic film that I believe will be considered a classic,” Angle tweeted today. “Mark Kerr was ‘The Guy’ I had to beat to qualify for the Olympic Games, which pushed me to transform into a version of myself I never thought I could be. Your story, beyond wrestling, is truly inspirational, my friend.
“For Dwayne Johnson to take on such a role and elevate it to another level in his career makes me consider him one of the greatest performers today. Watching Dwayne transform into Mark Kerr through this film was like deja vu…..no words, just applause. This movie deserves an Oscar, and I believe it will receive the recognition it merits. Well done, my brothers.”
The box office returns for “The Smashing Machine’s” opening weekend were underwhelming, drawing the lowest numbers of The Rock’s acting career. But Johnson has received Oscar buzz for his performance and remains committed to his newfound pursuit of expanding his range as an actor.
“In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere,” Johnson wrote this week. “And I will always run to that opportunity.”
The 56-year-old Angle — who is under a WWE legends contract — is involved with Real American Freestyle, working on the broadcast team for the newly formed freestyle wrestling league. Eric Bischoff is one of the founders of the organization.
Kurt Angle praised The Rock during a recent interview, mentioning that it’s “really cool” he plays Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine.
During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Angle spoke about how when he first got to WWE, Rock made sure Angle know he was accepted.
Angle said:
“The cool thing about him is he was really giving. I was an Olympic gold medalist, it wasn’t like I was a nobody coming into WWE but when you go in there with an ego you’re going to get in trouble very quickly. So I never had that ego and I always felt that these stars that I was going to wrestle like The Rock and Stone Cold, I put them at a higher level above me. But Dwayne always brought me up to that level and said, ‘Hey, you’re with us. You’re up here with us. You’re not down there with the rest.'”
He continued:
“He was always very generous with the way he wrestled. He was my first world championship match where I won the world championship. He didn’t have to say yes, but he did. So I’m just very grateful. I think The Rock has done so much for my career and I’m so grateful that he’s in the movie The Smashing Machine, that he played Mark Kerr. It’s all coming back, it’s going full circle and I think that’s really cool that he’s playing my biggest nemesis Mark Kerr.”
Angle defeated The Rock at No Mercy on October 22, 2000 to win his first world championship. Rock won it back from him that February at No Way Out. In total, they wrestled against each other on 7 pay-per-views between 2000 and 2002.
Also during the interview, Angle gave an update on the movie being written about his life, saying that the script is just about finished.
“We’re almost done with the script. We already got the investors, so we’re in a good position right now,” Angle said.
In a previous interview on Talk is Jericho, Angle noted that the film will cover the story of his Olympic gold medal win in 1996. The project will be directed by the Nelms brothers, who directed Red Right Hand (2024) and Fatman (2020).
Former TNA head Scott D’Amore has confirmed that Brock Lesnar was interested in signing with the company back in 2007.
This past week, Kurt Angle revealed the news on his podcast, saying Lesnar (then a free agent) called and asked Angle if he could get him into TNA. Angle said Lesnar asked him what he was making and that if Angle could get Lesnar the same deal, he was in. Angle said he then asked TNA management and was told no, speculating it was a budget issue due to the amount of talent they were already paying high salaries to.
In his weekly column for Uncrowned, D’Amore, no longer with TNA, confirmed part of that story as “absolutely true” and that Angle approached him about it.
“Kurt was very excited about this and, obviously, it would have been a huge, maybe trajectory-altering signing for TNA. I passed it on to Dixie Carter, who owned TNA at the time. But, as you already know, it didn’t happen.
“It’s a huge what-if, not just for TNA, but for Lesnar. If he came to TNA on a big contract in 2007, would he have still debuted in MMA that year? Would he have felt the need to go fight in the UFC in 2008 and help usher in a legion of new fans for the UFC? I suppose we’ll never know.”
Lesnar left WWE in 2004 due to burnout and the travel schedule among other reasons. After several matches for NJPW and a memorable run in UFC that saw him become one of their biggest stars and their heavyweight champion, Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012 and has been there in some form or fashion ever since. He competes against John Cena at Saturday’s WWE Wrestlepalooza in his first match back in more than two years.
The first part of the most important week for the TNA promotion, the Victory Road PPV, was not a home run, but was a mild success amidst all kinds of late negotiations.
In the end, negotiations with Sting fell through, and a last minute deal was made with Randy Savage, 52, who has not appeared on a wrestling TV show in more than four years, to take his planned spot which was to be in the final scene on the PPV after Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were wreaking havoc on everyone. But that turned out to be a waste, when two days later, Savage quit the company, blaming it on Hulk Hogan and saying the company had an unsafe working environment.
It was clear the company’s direction has totally changed, from one to a company trying to use talent from the past that Vince McMahon doesn’t want, to garner interest. Besides the aforementioned trio, Diamond Dallas Page also debuted the 11/9 Impact tapings, and Jerry Jarrett tried at the last minute to get Hulk Hogan to make an appearance on the PPV.
Kurt Angle has a hard time watching his final WWE run, admitting that he “looked like crap” before retirement.
On a new episode of The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, Angle appeared as the guest and discussed his 2017 return to WWE. Angle felt like he was wrestling pretty well at the time, but Vince McMahon wanted him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and then serve as the general manager of Raw before competing. Once McMahon decided to have him wrestle, Angle’s knees were in such bad condition that he couldn’t perform like he wanted to.
“When I came back, I was wrestling really good, but Vince had a different idea,” Angle said. “He wanted to induct me into the Hall of Fame first, before I wrestled. So I did the Hall of Fame and then Vince came to me and said, ‘Hey, we want to make you the GM of Raw.’ And I said, ‘Vince, I want to wrestle.’ He said, ‘We’ll get to that.’ So he makes me GM of Raw. And during this time, my knees are arthritic and they’re getting tighter and I’m less active. And for eight months, I didn’t do anything. Then all of a sudden he’s like, ‘Kurt, I want you to wrestle.’ That’s going to be a problem [laughs].
“Literally, when I got in there, I looked like crap. I mean, I couldn’t do anything. It made me want to retire earlier than I wanted to. That’s why I retired with Baron Corbin at WrestleMania [35]. Because I didn’t want people to look at me and say, ‘Gosh, he used to be great, but now…’ I didn’t want that. So I decided this is it.”
Angle underwent a double knee replacement in 2022 that has helped things. His neck is in rough shape, though, with Angle unable to feel either one of his pinkies and also getting pain down his arms. Angle said he’s tried different methods like stem cell treatment and exploring possible surgery, but there’s nothing he can do except deal with it.
“I feel pretty good. The only thing that bothers me now is I have motor skill problems,” Angle said. “My hands shake, because my neck is so bad. And there’s nothing I can do about it. My neck naturally fused together, I think I already told you that. So I don’t have any more discs in between my vertebrae. It just all fused together, it’s all bone. I went to have disc replacement surgery, and the doctor took an MRI. He said, ‘You don’t have any discs.'”
The 56-year-old Angle said he’s just glad his knees work, preferring to deal with neck issues rather than knee pain.
Kurt Angle is excited at the prospect of WWE owning the TNA Wrestling library.
Angle was a guest on Ken Anderson’s Mic Check podcast recently and discussed the current partnership between TNA Wrestling and WWE, saying he didn’t think in a million years the two companies would ever work together.
“I never thought in a million years WWE would ever partner up with TNA,” Angle said on the show.
He also mentioned that he’s excited about the partnership because he feels it will eventually lead to WWE owning the TNA Wrestling library.
“The reason why I love it is because I know eventually the WWE is going to buy the TNA library and the WWE will now own all the Kurt Angle footage at TNA and the WWE fans are going to be able to have access to it.”
“I had a much better career at TNA than I did WWE and I was there a lot longer too. So most of my career was in TNA and a lot of the WWE fans didn’t see me.”
“I know it’s going to happen eventually. I just never thought it would in a million years. But now that they have partnered and they’re both invested in each other, I think eventually they’re going to buy the library.”
Angle spent ten years in TNA Wrestling from 2006 until 2016, ultimately returning to WWE in January 2017. He is a six-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion and was inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame in 2013. He’s also a former X-Division Champion and held the TNA Tag Team Championships twice, once with Sting and once with AJ Styles.
Angle’s full appearance on the podcast is available below:
Kurt Angle is excited to work with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff again, this time outside of the professional wrestling world.
It was announced last week that Angle has joined Hogan and Bischoff’s Real American Freestyle organization as a commentator and analyst. He’ll be part of the broadcast team for the organization’s inaugural event on August 30 working alongside combat sports veterans Chael Sonnen and Bubba Jenkins.
“It’ll be like it was in TNA and WWE. You know, I worked with these guys for years,” the 56-year-old Angle said. “I understand their philosophies and what they bring to the table, and they bring nothing but good. They’re going to be able to make this a little more entertaining than a regular amateur wrestling duel would be.”
The Wolstein Center in Cleveland is hosting Real American Freestyle’s August 30 event. It was announced today that the organization has reached a deal with Fox Nation to broadcast the show.
Hogan and Bischoff have partnered with amateur wrestling coach Izzy Martinez for this venture. Angle — a legend in both amateur and pro wrestling — told TMZ Sports that one of the things that drew him to Real American Freestyle is that the promotion has signed the top Olympic-style wrestlers available and will have the best of the best on display.
Angle believes that, if something like this existed when he was younger, he might have never even entered pro wrestling.
“Oh gosh, I would have loved to have had this. This would have been my thing,” he said. You know, I don’t even know if I would have crossed over into pro wrestling. I probably would have stuck with amateur wrestling. We didn’t have a pro league back then. So I’m a little jealous, but I’m also excited to be a part of it.”
It was announced today that Angle — a Hall of Famer in both amateur and pro wrestling — “will serve as live event commentator, analyst, and partner” for Real American Freestyle Wrestling, calling the promotion’s inaugural show alongside combat sports greats Chael Sonnen and Bubba Jenkins. The event is set to take place in Cleveland on August 30.
“I grew up freestyle wrestling, and achieved the highest level of success in the sport. I couldn’t be prouder to support athletes at all levels of their careers and partner with Real American Freestyle to make it happen,” the Olympic gold medalist said in a press release. “Chael and Bubba will bring a unique aspect to their analysis given their own backgrounds in combat sports, and I’m excited to join them for RAF01 to bring freestyle wrestling to audiences around the world.”
The formation of Real American Freestyle was announced this April with Hogan, Bischoff, and wrestling coach Izzy Martinez leading the venture. The Wolstein Center in Cleveland is hosting the August 30 event.
“Kurt Angle is a living legend. He’s achieved every accomplishment he could in wrestling, so it makes sense that he’s partnering with Real American Freestyle as we actively change the name of the game across the sport,” Hogan was quoted as saying. “Kurt will provide fire, infamy, and unparalleled experience to the commentary and analysis of our live events. We couldn’t be more excited to have him on the Real American team.”
Hogan has been experiencing health issues ahead of the Real American Freestyle launch, but his wife is denying rumors that he’s in grave condition. Sky Daily Hogan said her husband has been in and out of the hospital over the past six weeks as he recovers from neck fusion surgery.
