Kurt Angle On His Lingering Health Issues: “There’s Nothing I Can Do About It”

Kurt Angle might be one of the toughest pro wrestlers in history. He went through everything, from winning the Olympic Gold medal with a broken neck, to fighting through pain every single day during his prime, and even continuing to wrestle after breaking his neck a few more times in the ring.

But everyone knows, this kind of lifestyle catches up with you later on. Kurt Angle was no exception to this reality. He’s retired now, with his final match taking place at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 against Baron Corbin. On a recent podcast appearance on The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, Angle discussed his many health issues stemming from his neck injuries and said he just can’t do anything about them.

Kurt Angle Got Addicted To Painkillers After Breaking His Neck In WWE

It was in 1996 when Kurt Angle won the Olympic Gold Medal with a broken neck. He didn’t want to go the surgery route, because that meant he wouldn’t be able to compete in the Olympics so he just kept taking Novocaine before every match just to not feel any pain.

Angle later developed a painkiller addiction as well. After breaking his neck in WWE against Brock Lesnar, his dependence on painkillers got worse over time and he had to leave the company in 2006. On the Undertaker’s podcast, Angle said: 

“I left because I knew if I stayed, I was gonna kill myself.”

He wasn’t referring to being depressed or suicidal here, but rather his death would’ve been a result of a painkiller overdose.

Eventually, he went into rehab and left the painkiller and alcohol lifestyle behind. But years of substance abuse had already done severe damage to his body. By the time he wrestled his final match, Angle was in terrible shape and couldn’t even move properly.

Kurt Angle Still Feels Pain Because Of His Neck Injuries

He’s had multiple neck surgeries to fix issues in the past few decades, but none of them completely fixed his problem. His hands shake a lot because of his neck issues, and he’s gone to multiple doctors for treatment but they haven’t been able to do anything. He gave a health update on Six Feet Under, and said:

“Yeah, I feel pretty good. The only thing that bothers me now is I have motor skill problems. My hands shake ‘cause my neck is so bad. And there’s nothing I can do about it.” (H/T SEScoops)

Later, he talked about having a potential disc replacement surgery, but when the doctor took his MRI, they found he just didn’t have any discs left in his neck. Everything was fused together as one bone.

“And so I have a hard time, I get pain going down my arms. My pinkies, I can’t feel either one of my pinkies. They’re gone. So, I just have a lot of functional problems. You know, it just sucks. There’s nothing I can do. I tried stem cell; I tried disc replacement. There’s just nothing. I have to deal with it.”

Angle is not the only wrestler who is having motor skill problems post-retirement. A lot of wrestlers from the past went through pain and injuries and relied on painkillers, alcohol, and other drugs to go through their day instead of taking time off to let their body heal.

Angle no longer wrestles, and while there were speculations he could return for another match, he ruled them out in the interview and said he is in “no condition” to return.