Kurt Angle to hang up his wrestling boots

FINAL BOW: Kurt Angle is set to retire from wrestling

Wrestling icon Kurt Angle is all set to make his final bow in the ring, after the grappler announced that he would be hanging up his boots after TNA’s Maximum Impact tour of the United Kingdom in January, according to the Inquisitr.

Angle’s decision was made public on an episode of Impact Wrestling, which showed a video of the wrestler addressing the media about his attention to retire after wrapping up the UK tour. The wrestler was extremely jovial during his address and fondly looked back on his glittering career.

The 46-year-old was quoted as saying: “I’ve had a great career. I’ve enjoyed every second of it from WWE to TNA. I’m just glad I’m going to be able to do it in the UK.”

The news of Angle’s impending retirement comes as a surprise, as the wrestler previously announced, during an interview with 105.9X radio, that he would take a sabbatical from the sport after he sees out his deal with TNA, which expires in January.

In the same interview, Angle stated that he would not sign with another franchise during his sabbatical, but never specifically mentioned retirement. However, Wrestling News thinks that the sudden news of Angle’s retirement is just a ploy by the franchise to boost ticket sales before the tour takes off.

But if the news of his retirement is true, then Angle may not be out of work for long as the wrestler has signed on to be an announcer for Bellator MMA on February 19th. The event will see Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock face off against each other.

Rumor has it that Angle may do an MMA fight with Shamrock for Bellator in the near future, but those rumors aren’t concrete. Angle has always been eager for an MMA stint, but never actually had a chance as he was always committed to TNA.

The legendary wrestler boasts of an enviable career and besides being a six-time World Champion in the WWE and a record six-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, is also a 1996 Olympic gold medalist.

Wrestlers Angle has feuded with include: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and Brock Lesnar.

Whether the news of his retirement turns out to be true or not, one thing is for sure – Angle’s status as one of the greatest wrestlers in history is already cemented.