Kurt Angle is a wrestling legend for more reasons than one; he's an Olympic gold medalist, a WWE Hall of Famer, and a nine-time champion in TNA/Impact Wrestling with more than 1,500 matches to his name. But could Angle have added the phrase “AEW star” to that list of accolades? Once upon a time, that was very much a possibility, as by his own admission, he did have conversations with Tony Khan about joining the company in 2019 and even threw out a number for how much it would take to swing a deal, but for one reason or another – read: the $3 million asking price – that never happened.

Still, with wrestlers who are much older than Angle working matches to enormous fan acclaim, would the Olympic gold medalist ever pull a Ric Flair or Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and work one final match, maybe as a member of AEW? No, probably not, as he explained on his post-Christmas podcast.

“Honestly, you know, I talked to Tony a couple of times,” Angle said (h/t Wrestling Headlines). “I dabbled and, you know, threw some numbers at him that were astronomical, just to see if he would bite. But Tony’s a good guy. He was a big fan of mine. I was the one he told me that he wanted in his company because he thought I was one of his favorite wrestlers. I guess he was a huge wrestling fan growing up. I was considering it, but now I have such a solid relationship with the WWE. I have a nostalgia contract with them. I do a lot of programming on TV with WWE. So I don’t think it’s going to happen, unfortunately, but I’m happy where I am. I look back and I know I left the WWE in 2006 and came back in 2017. I don’t regret that because I had a great career in TNA, but a small part of me says I wish I would have stayed. I can’t imagine what my career would have been like if I would have continued on for another 11 years in the WWE. So you know, I’m just happy to be where I am right now.”

Unfortunate? Potentially so, Kenny Omega has long wanted to work with Angle, and that will now probably never happen, but hey, WWE fans can still keep the dream alive, as the “Olympic Hero” would be willing to get back into the ring for The Fed in a match against Shane McMahon… for the right price.

“Oh man, that’s tough. It would have to be a lot of money man,” Angle said (h/t The Sports Rush). “I’m talking like $10 million. WWE could afford it so…”

On one hand, WWE can afford $10 million for a match, so Angle is technically correct, but the prospects of wrestling Shane McMahon? Yeah, that doesn't make much sense at all. Fortunately, Angle has discussed two performers he believes could help him work through a match, even after having knee replacement surgery earlier this year.

Kurt Angle names his dream WWE partners for a comeback match.

Though Angle likely won't be back in a wrestling ring any time soon, as, again, he just had knee surgery, if WWE were to bring him back, say at WrestleMania 40 when the biggest show of the year will be run in his home state of Pennsylvania, who would he want to face? Fortunately, on another episode of his podcast, Angle decided to touch on just that, with three different opponents presented for either a singles match or as part of a multi-man upper-card showdown.

“Oh, man. Well, I'm not that stupid,” Angle said (h/t Fightful). “So I'm going to make sure it's a young guy because I'm a little bit older. I lost a little bit of a step. I would have to say someone like AJ Styles or Ricochet, I really liked that kid. I think I would have an incredible match with him. One of the bigger guys, Braun Strowman. I would love to wrestle Braun. He is so athletic for his size. He reminds me a lot of Brock Lesnar with his athleticism. He's not as athletic as Brock, he's pretty close. But those guys I think would carry me pretty well through that match.”

Are any of those matches worth $10 million? Eh, probably not, but hey, if the two sides can come to a mutually beneficial financial arrangement, getting Angle back in the ring, especially as part of a multi-man match with the likes of Ricochet, Strowman, and Styles – plus Gable Steveson for good measures too – could draw money, as the “The Olympic Hero” is a rating draw for TV and could probably bring in a few extra eyes to WrestleMania too.