WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle sat down with Collider Live to talk about his final match at WrestleMania 35. In the interview, Angle explained why Vince McMahon wanted Baron Corbin to be the opponent for Angle instead of John Cena.
Angle said, “It was my idea. I decided to retire at Mania. Vince didn’t tell me ‘Listen you’re done after Mania.’ I went to him and said ‘Listen I want to retire. I’m not able to do what I used to, and if I can’t be the old Kurt Angle I want to be done now.’ I was hearing a lot of feedback from people that Kurt looks like he’s in pain in the ring and he’s slower then he used to be.”
When Angle then suggested that the opponent could be John Cena, Vince was against it because of the program Corbin had been working with Angle. Vince told Angle, “You have a program that you’ve been doing for a year and I’m not throwing it away. It’s with Baron Corbin so whether you want to retire now or later, you’re going to wrestle Baron at WrestleMania.”
Kurt told McMahon that it was a fair rebuttal and dropped the subject. He would go on to lose to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania.
