"I saw him at WrestleMania" - Kurt Angle says WWE legend could have replaced Baron Corbin in his final matchÂ
Kurt Angle feels WWE had the opportunity to book a last-minute match between him and John Cena at WrestleMania 35.
The 35th edition of the Show of Shows hosted Kurt Angle's retirement match. The Hall of Famer's feud with Baron Corbin culminated in him losing a singles match, and he has since not stepped foot inside the ring.
That year's WrestleMania also featured a special appearance from the Cenation Leader as the Doctor of Thuganomics. John Cena got his former gimmick back for one night only for a memorable segment with Elias.
Kurt believes Cena would have been an ideal replacement for Corbin as he always wished to end his career against the 16-time world champion. Here's what Angle revealed on the latest episode of his podcast, which revolved around John Cena:
"You know what? I saw him at WrestleMania; it was fu**ing crazy, man. Here I am, I got my red, white and blue patriotic gimmick going on, and John Cena is the Doctor of Thuganomics. I'm like, 'Holy sh**; we should have our match tonight!' This was at WrestleMania," recalled Kurt Angle.
"I saw him there, and I was like, 'Holy sh**, he's going to go in the ring as the Doctor of Thuganomics, and I'm not going to wrestle him. All Vince McMahon had to do this [snaps his fingers] and make the match occur. He [John Cena] was already there!" [59:00 - 5:35]
Vince McMahon didn't let Kurt Angle face John Cena at WrestleMania 35
The Olympic gold medalist has been vocal about pitching the idea for his swan song to be with John Cena. Vince McMahon, however, rejected the proposal as Angle was in an ongoing storyline with Corbin.
WWE gave the former TNA world champion the option to wait a year and have his retirement match against the Franchise Player at WrestleMania 36.
Angle eventually went ahead with Vince McMahon's creative direction, and he recently revealed whether John Cena was involved during the backstage talks before the mega show. You can read more on that right here.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Kurt Angle Show and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.