There was a solid decade in professional wrestling where one could make the case that Kurt Angle was the best professional wrestler on Earth. The Olympian's post-WWE as part of TNA is legendary for a slew of wild spots and chaotic matches, though Angle has since publicly admitted that he struggled with prescription drug abuse during that era. After years of being referred to as "Perc Angle," the WWE legend spoke out on the nickname and how he feels about it years later.
Angle, who could end up appearing at the upcoming WWE events planned for WrestleMania 41, spoke to Chris Van Vliet about his now-infamous nickname that was a pun for the narcotic Percocet. The superstar spoke about seeing fans refer to him by that nickname and clarified any misconceptions there might be about his past history with painkillers:
It's almost like they want me to feel good about it. The fans are having fun with it, because I was the best wrestler in the business. They want to say, 'Kurt Angle was Perc Angle, that's why he was doing it.' The thing is, I didn't use painkillers when I was wrestling. I did them in the morning, and then at night, I would wrestle, and then I did painkillers after I got done wrestling. So, I never wrestled high.
It's also worth noting that while Kurt Angle was released by WWE later in his career, his exit and transition to TNA had nothing to do with his history with painkillers. It's interesting to hear as a fan that Angle did some of his riskiest wrestling spots without the use of drugs, with the assumption from wrestling fans that he did so because it would be less painful to endure.
Kurt Angle, whose documentary ANGLE is available to stream with a Peacock Premium subscription, continued in explaining why he never wrestled high and how that might be evident to wrestling fans watching his work. The former Olympian explained why wrestlers can't use drugs during a performance, or at least a good performance:
You can't wrestle messed up. It's going to be sloppy. You've seen people in the past that have wrestled high...you can't do that. It's almost impossible, especially to have a good match. You have to be sober, or you're not going to have a good match.
Kurt Angle didn't offer any specific examples, though given the performance aspect of all WWE matches (as well as certain videos that have surfaced over the years) one could see how his logic tracks. Professional wrestlers have to do both planned and improvised spots that look convincing to the audience in attendance, and being mentally compromised in any capacity is going to make a difficult task that much harder.
The superstar entered rehab in 2013 and told ESPN at one point he was taking sixty-five extra-strength Vicodin a day. He continues to be a name constantly associated with pro wrestling, and his accolades in the business speak for itself. Who knows if John Cena would've blown up the way he did without that first feud with Angle, which set into motion the rise of one of the WWE's biggest superstars of all time.
With John Cena's retirement run underway, I wouldn't mind seeing Kurt Angle be one of The Champ's final competitors in the ring. I know that I'd love to see Angle have a more proper retirement match after that disappointing exit after a loss to Baron Corbin in WrestleMania 35, and having him return to take on Cena would be a great throwback for wrestling fans to enjoy.
We don't know if Kurt Angle will be one of the surprise entrants in the 2025 Royal Rumble in Indianapolis, but CinemaBlend is tracking all rumors and excited to see who shows up and wins the match of their choice at WrestleMania 41. This is gearing up to be one of the most unpredictable Rumbles we've seen in some time, so I wouldn't rule anyone out!
