I’m WWE legend who almost faced the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but Vince McMahon wouldn’t let either of us win

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WWE missed out on a five-star WrestleMania classic between two legends back in 2006.

The Undertaker was still undefeated at the Showcase of the Immortals with a stunning record of 13-0.

However, very few of those bouts – almost half of which were against Hall of Famers – set the world of professional wrestling alight and he was desperate for the perfect match at the grand stage.

That was why Undertaker chose Kurt Angle as his opponent for WrestleMania 22.

However, Angle was the World Heavyweight Champion at that time following Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista‘s injury which forced him to relinquish the title.

The Olympic Hero, who won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling in Atlanta 1996, was very keen to lock horns with Taker at Mania.

But then WWE chairman Vince McMahon refused to book it as he didn’t want The Phenom to end his undefeated streak or becoming champion.

So the two Hall of Famers ended up facing off a few weeks before WrestleMania at No Way Out where they put together an unforgettable encounter that showed McMahon what he missed out on.

Angle told SunSport when asked if he was ever considered to break Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak: “No, no, that’s the reason why Vince McMahon did not want me to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania.

“Honestly at that point in time when Taker and I went to Vince and said we want to wrestle at WrestleMania, Vince said, ‘Kurt, you’re the champion. Undertaker I don’t want you to become champion. And I’m not going to have you end your undefeated streak. It’s not going to happen yet’.

And so we said, ‘Okay, well give us the pay-per-view before. At least let’s have a match’. Undertaker at that point in time in his career he didn’t have the WrestleMania type match that he wanted to have. He did eventually with Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

“But he had a lot of great WrestleMania matches after I wrestled him but up until then they always booked him with people that were starting to learn. Like Giant Gonzales, wrestlers like that they were a little green and Undertaker was being the experienced wrestler and would lead them to the matches.

“But he wanted to have a five-star match at WrestleMania and the first person that came to his mind was me. So we went to Vince and Vince said, ‘No can’t do it. I don’t want to end the undefeated winning streak and I want you Kurt to continue to be champion’.”

Undertaker went on to have another passable bout with Mark Henry, whom he beat in a Casket Match, and Angle lost the belt to Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat Match that also included Randy Orton.

But the 55-year-old insists he holds no grudge as he loved the storyline he was involved in as it saw Mysterio winning his first ever world title in tribute to the legendary Eddie Guerrero who died earlier that season.

Angle added: “What’s crazy is Eddie Guerrero passed away and the following month at WrestleMania I lost the title to Rey because Rey was wrestling in Eddie’s memory so I ended up losing the title anyway.

“So either way you know if I would have wrestled Taker I would lose the title, or if I would have wrestled Rey and Randy Orton in a triple threat I was gonna lose the title.

“So it’s just bad timing at that particular time and it was a shame that Eddie passed away but I don’t blame the WWE for putting the title on Rey. I thought that was a great idea.”

Angle not returning from retirement

Angle left WWE soon after WrestleMania for TNA and didn’t compete in the Show of Shows again until 2018 when he teamed up with Ronda Rousey and defeated Triple H as well as Stephanie McMahon.

The American grappler then lost his retirement match to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 a year later.

With WrestleMania 40 just around the corner, the six-time world champion insists he doesn’t want to return to the ring even though fellow legends like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin have recently re-emerged into the spotlight.

Angle said when asked if he has an itch for one more match: “No, no unfortunately I can’t.

“You know I’ve had knee replacements. I had my back surgery last year. I have a lot of neck problems still. I’m in need of a shoulder replacement. So I’m done.

“I could come back and probably squeeze a match in. But if I can’t be the Kurt Angle I used to be… That’s why I retired in the first place. I lost a step and I don’t want the fans to remember me as that washed up Kurt Angle.

Angle was almost part of WrestleMania 40

“I want them to remember me as the Kurt Angle, the Wrestling Machine. And so I don’t have that need to have to come back and keep reclaiming myself. I know what I’ve done. I know what I’ve accomplished and I’m proud of it.”

Angle also confirmed he will play no part this year at WrestleMania, which takes place this weekend at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – his home state.

The ex-WWE Champion, though, revealed he was initially considered for an angle in the Showcase of the Immortals but plans were ultimately scrapped.

Angle stated: “No, I will not be on the show. Plus, I don’t know if they have room for me, man. It’s a loaded, loaded roster. You know, The Rock coming back and that whole storyline with Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns. There’s just a lot of stuff going on right now.

“So they were talking about using me for something but obviously they decided not to which I completely understand. They didn’t really let me know. From maybe co-hosting or doing a pre-taped backstage, something like that.”

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