Kurt Angle wanted a more "formidable opponent" for his final match at Wrestlemania but says Vince McMahon was eager for him to see out his storyline with Baron Corbin.
The Olympic Gold medalist was beaten inside six minutes by the two-time Golden Gloves champion at the MetLife Stadium in what many felt was an underwhelming ending to a Hall of Fame career.
Angle had wanted more of a marquee match against someone of Daniel Bryan or John Cena's ilk but his decision to retire didn't prompt a change to his planned.
"They didn't understand what we were doing," Angle told SPORTbible when asked about fans having a negative reaction to the way he bowed out.
Advert
"Baron and I were having a program and we were going to wrestle at Wrestlemania anyway whether I retired or not.
"I went to Vince and told him I was retiring, I wanted a more formidable opponent to face than Baron was at the time. Baron's in a better position now, probably because he also beat me.
"I wanted someone like Roman, Seth, Daniel Bryan or John Cena but Vince was going to give me that this year. I retired last year.
"It wasn't that he was being a jerk, that was the program I was in.
Advert
"The story was okay. There was a lot of back and forth, there was a point where I wasn't at TV at all and he was. We started out hot but it kind of fizzled out near the end."
Corbin has been elevated hugely by his win over Angle, while the 51-year old also played his part in the progression of Scottish powerhouse Drew McIntyre, who is being tipped to win the upcoming Royal Rumble and face WWE champion Brock Lesnar.
"I put him over strong," Angle recalls, talking about his match with McIntyre from an episode of Raw in Manchester in November 2018.
Advert
"Vince and I had a discussion, he wanted to utilise Drew and make him look like an animal so we did.
"I think he can [be a main event star]. He tried the first time and it didn't really work out but I think this time he's matured a little bit and he's definitely more ready.
"I think [the problem] was his attitude. He needed to grow up a little bit, he was able to do that when he left and went to TNA and various other companies. He came back and was a little bit older and a little bit wiser.
Advert
"I think I would see him up against maybe Roman [Reigns]. It's kind of hard to put two guys that are supposed to be very dominant, together - an example being Goldberg and Brock.
"It's a much more intriguing match - you have someone like Roman who is not always so dominant but finds a way to win and I think it would be a much better match."
Helping talent is now what Angle is paid to do by WWE on a regular basis. He works as a backstage producer, where he assists superstars with putting their matches together inside the squared circle.
Advert
He added: "I'm getting better and I'm getting used to it. At first it was hard because I had just finished wrestling and probably should have stepped away for a little bit but I'm good now and happy doing it.
"I don't really tell them what to do, it's not like I'm saying, 'You do this and you do that, don't do anything else'. I just say, 'Put your stuff together, any questions? No? Okay good. Yes? okay I'll help you with this or that."
Featured Image Credit:Topics: kurt angle, Wrestling News, WWE News, Wrestling, WWE