"What an a**hole thing to say" - Kurt Angle reflects on his first interaction with released WWE star 

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has reflected on his first interaction with Gable Steveson. The wrestling veteran stated that he was taken aback by what the latter had said to him after they met.

The company signed Steveson after he won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He moved to the RAW brand during the 2021 WWE Draft but never had a match on the show. He was released from his contract in May 2024, alongside other NXT and Performance Center names.

Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, the WWE veteran stated that when he met Gable Steveson for the first time, the latter told him that he wanted to be better than him. They are the only two WWE stars in history to have won Olympic gold medals.

"I met him. He’s like, ‘Hey, Kurt Angle, I just want to tell you, I respect your career, and I want to be just like you.’ I was like, ‘Oh, thank you, Gable.’ He goes, ‘You know what? No, I want to be better than you.’ I was like, holy s**t. [Laughs] What an a**hole thing to say [laughs]. I said, ‘Well, good luck, man,'" Angle said. (H/T Fightful)

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Kurt Angle on working with John Cena during his early days in WWE

When the 16-time world champion made his WWE debut in 2002, his first match was against The Olympic Gold Medalist. Many fans wanted John Cena to retire Angle at WrestleMania 35 instead of Baron Corbin.

Kurt Angle said on his show that he loved working with Cena and believes the latter is the greatest WWE star ever.

"I love working with John. I got to wrestle him when he was a little green and I don't want to take responsibility for him getting better and better but the company kind of glued him to me when he first started. Him and I would wrestle each other at the house shows for like for about six months. It was ridiculous. It was like we were stuck to each other's hips and he was getting better and better. And I knew he was gonna be a big star. I consider him the greatest WWE Superstar of all time because he's won 16 WWE titles, world titles," Angle said.

John Cena is set to retire from in-ring competition in 2025. WWE officially regards him as the greatest of all time. It remains to be seen who he faces off against in his retirement tour next year.