WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has spoken about why he initially turned down Hulk Hogan‘s offer for him to join the Real American Freestyle Wrestling team.
Speaking on an episode of The Ariel Helwani Show that premiered yesterday, Kurt Angle spoke about Hulk Hogan’s Real American Freestyle Wrestling promotion and how the Hulkster had asked him to be a part of the company in the early days of its inception, but Angle turned him down due to a disagreement over money. Angle said:
“(Hogan) said, ‘Listen, we can make this thing really big, but I need you to be a part of the team.’ Well, I turned him down because the first time he offered me a certain amount of money, and I said, ‘Well, to be a part of this promotion, I probably need a little bit more than that.’ And he said, ‘Well, we can’t give it to you right now.'”
Angle then spoke about how he was in talks with another freestyle wrestling league, the Champions League of American Wrestling, but turned them down also and then went to re-negotiate with Hogan, but Hulk Hogan passed away on July 24, 2025, before they could finalise a deal. Angle said of the re-negotiation:
“We talked again, and we made it work. And then he passed away in the process of me signing the contract. So Chad Bronstein, the other owner, continued on with me, and he signed me on. So I’m really excited about this because for the first time, I feel like freestyle wrestling could be mainstream.”
Angle also said in the interview that he owns a percentage of the company, as well as providing commentary for the shows.
What Did Kurt Angle Say About His Personal Relationship With Hulk Hogan?
Kurt Angle continued in the interview to speak about his relationship with Hulk Hogan, and said that they were close and had a mutual respect for each other. Angle told a story of how he got the opportunity to wrestle Hogan one-on-one for the first time at the 2002 King of the Ring on June 23, and that despite Hogan being close to 50 at the time, he surprised Angle with how well he was able to perform. Angle said that Hogan offered for him to be the first person to make The Immoral One tap out due to the mutual respect they shared.
