Kurt Angle says he almost quit wrestling to pursue NFL career
Before he won the Olympic gold medal in 1996, and before he became the Wrestling Machine of WWE, Kurt Angle considered a career change back in 1994 from amateur wrestling to professional football. Angle was not confident about his future in wrestling and thus decided to try out for his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kurt Angle is a former professional wrestler and Olympic gold medalist who rose to fame during his time with WWE. Angle also worked with a few other promotions, most notably TNA (now IMPACT), AAA, and NJPW.
On the latest episode of his podcast, The Kurt Angle Show, former WWE Superstar recalled how he almost quit wrestling to pursue a career as a professional football player in NFL. Angle had lost confidence in his chances as an amateur wrestler and decided to try out for his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"It was 1994 and I wasn't having really good luck in making the Olympic team and the World team. So they have Olympic teams and World teams try outs, and the first two years in 1993 and 1994 I didn't make the team. I wasn't confident enough to beat the guy that was in front of me and I decided I was gonna quit wrestling and try out for pro football. I had someone contact the Steelers and they were open to having a try out with me."
The Pittsburgh Steelers, however, were not impressed with Kurt Angle's tryout, and the Wrestling Machine ended up making a living in a WWE ring.
Kurt Angle was an All-State football player back in high school
Despite being one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time, Kurt Angle wasn't always in a ring. Back in high school, Angle was both a football player as well as an amateur wrestler. Angle was an All-State linebacker and received multiple offers from different colleges to play college football.
Ultimately, Kurt Angle decided to pursue amateur wrestling, where he went on to become an Olympic gold medalist in 1996 and later on one of the most decorated wrestlers in professional wrestling history.
It is interesting to note how easily things could have changed if Kurt Angle had chosen to take up any of those college offers. Perhaps he would have ended up in the Pro-Football Hall of Fame instead of the WWE Hall of Fame.