WWE News: Bret Hart Offended Kurt Angle

In WWE news, Kurt Angle revealed during an interview with Ring Rust Radio that Bret Hart offended him by choosing to work a match against Vince McMahon instead of him. The Olympic gold medalist was referring to the infamous match at Wrestlemania 26 in Phoenix, Arizona, where McMahon and Hart finally settled the score on the Montreal Screw Job by wrestling one another. Prior to that return match taking place, Angle had long been pining for a match against Hart, as he felt that the two of them could put on one of the best performances ever in a dream match.

“We were so close to doing it. We had talked about his return in WWE, but ultimately we just couldn’t make it happen. I understand why Bret took the match the following year with Vince at WrestleMania. I was a little bit offended, but when I talked to him he told me, ‘Kurt, I didn’t wrestle Vince that night. If I can’t go out there and put on the Bret Hart performance that I know I can, then I’m just not going to do it.’ I respected his decision for not wanting to after that.”

Even though he joined WWE without a lot of previous experience, Kurt Angle quickly grew to become one of the best overall performers in the entire business. A big reason for that rapid rise is the fact that Angle is a quick and devoted study. He admired Bret Hart for being one of the best in-ring performers, so he started to study a lot of his work. Angle observed that Hart really took pride in performing every single move. The Excellence of Execution wasn’t just an on-screen thing that his character did. It was something that Bret took to heart as a worker. Angle emulated that.

Bret Hart retired as an active in-ring performer in October of 2000. He had no choice after being severely injured during a match with Goldberg. Kurt Angle signed an eight year contract with WWE back in October of 1998. The problem was that they were in different promotions during that two year stretch. Hart was in WCW after famously leaving WWE due to Vince McMahon legitimately undermining him in Montreal. There was no way that he was coming back that soon. Angle had a chance to go to WCW, but opted to give his loyalty to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Wrestlemania 21, which was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was the setting for one of the best matches in WWE history. Kurt Angle took on Shawn Michaels in an epic match. There was a story attached, but no one really cared since the performance itself was the draw. Many view that as the best match in Angle’s career. A dream match against Bret Hart would have easily challenged for the top spot. Just like his feud with Shawn, Kurt would not really need the WWE creative department to come up with something for he and Bret. The match itself would have been a classic.

Kurt Angle has not been shy about telling fans about his future in professional wrestling. He has already stated that he is done with TNA when his contract expires in a couple of weeks. Angle has stated on more than one occasion that he would love to do another run with WWE and finish off his career at a Wrestlemania. Kurt has gone so far as to select the performer that he wants in the ring with him that night. Daniel Bryan vs. Angle would be an amazing dream match and a great way to say goodbye to professional wrestling.