Kurt Angle Is Having Shoulder Surgery, Not Feeling Good Enough For Wrestling Return

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has ruled out the possibility of returning to the ring for a match at WrestleMania 40, revealing on a recent episode of "The Kurt Angle Show" that he has to undergo shoulder surgery in the near future.

"[I'm] not feeling good enough to come back and wrestle," Angle said. "I have to have a shoulder replacement surgery." The Olympic gold medalist added that he figured out "about six months ago" that he needed to undergo the surgery to feel like himself again. "My doctor told me before he injected it [the shoulder] with novocaine. My knees are good, my back is okay, my neck's not too bad, but my shoulder is hurting pretty bad."

Angle went on to add that he's delaying the surgery until he finishes shooting a movie, the details of which he did not reveal. "Eventually, I'm gonna have shoulder replacement surgery. I want to do this movie first before I do it," he informed. 

On the topic of movies, a new documentary titled "Angle" will drop on Peacock on September 2, the same day as the upcoming WWE Payback premium live event. As revealed by Angle himself, the documentary will focus on his amateur wrestling career and his exploits at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, where he famously won a gold medal "with a broken freakin' neck." The movie will also touch upon some of Angle's past personal issues including his addiction to painkillers. 

Angle was last seen on WWE programming on the "Raw is XXX" special episode earlier this year, appearing in a segment with D-Generation X and later serving as the special guest referee in a match pitting The Street Profits and Seth Rollins against Imperium. Prior to that appearance, WWE celebrated Angle's 54th birthday when "SmackDown" visited his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last December.