Kurt Angle Turns Down TNA Deal In Hope Of WWE Contract

TNA.comKurt Angle has told the Jim Ross show podcast that his TNA contract expires on September 21st. Angle said that he had turned down TNA's offer of a new deal, stating that he expects his next wrestling deal to be his final one as an active wrestler. The only other wrestling company that could afford Angle is WWE, so clearly his hope is upon leaving TNA he'll get signed by WWE for a high profile farewell run. That hope is unlikely to materialise into an actual WWE return. The last time Angle's contract was up, WWE made no offer. Angle is enthusiastic for a return to the big league, but the company has serious reservations on employing someone who is seen to have a range of liabilities. "He's pretty beat up, he's getting way too many injuries" Dave Meltzer says on Wrestling Observer Radio, "Obviously he wants to go to WWE, but Vince has said so many times he would never take Kurt back." There is a general bad feeling toward Kurt within WWE, with Meltzer hinting at some sort of incident between Angle and WWE a few years ago on a shared Pittsburgh flight "He was on the same flight as some WWE guys, and he got some negative reviews, and whatever it was, it hurt his cause with the WWE guys." The sad reality for Angle is that he's 46 later this year and should probably have been retired over a decade ago with a major neck injury. Vince McMahon let him go in 2006 because he didn't want an Olympian dying on WWE's watch. Kurt's personal problems have only escalated since joining TNA in 2006 and he is in even worse physical condition now. He's a potential problem that WWE simply don't need, they're looking to the future, not the past. "There's always a chance they'll do something but I don't think so," Meltzer adds, "It would definitely be challenging on the physical."