Kurt Angle has officially joined Real American Freestyle Wrestling as a commentator and partner—but things didn’t start out smooth between him and the late Hulk Hogan. In fact, Angle admitted he initially turned Hogan down when first approached about the project.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Angle revealed that Hogan reached out to him before his death to pitch a new wrestling promotion—not your typical sports entertainment company, but one centered around real freestyle wrestling.
“Hulk Hogan came to me, actually, before he passed away. He said, ‘Brother, I’d love to have you on my team. I’m starting a wrestling promotion.’ And I thought, okay, pro wrestling — it’s another WWE. But he said, ‘No, I want the real wrestling, freestyle wrestling.’ He told me, ‘Listen, we can make this thing really big, but I need you to be part of the team.’”
At first, Angle wasn’t convinced. He said Hogan’s financial offer just didn’t match what he felt his name brought to the table.
“Well, I turned him down the first time because he offered me a certain amount of money, and I said, to be part of this promotion, I need more than that. He said, ‘We can’t give that to you right now.’ I said, ‘That’s okay, man, I’ll pass on it.’”
Angle also shared that another company—CLAW—approached him with a similar freestyle wrestling concept, but he passed on that one too.
“Then someone called me about another wrestling promotion called CLAW. They were trying to do a freestyle wrestling promotion. I talked to them but turned them down too.”
Eventually, Angle circled back to Hogan with a change of heart. They started working on a new agreement, but before the deal was finalized, Hogan tragically passed away. Angle said he still went forward with the project—now under Hogan’s business partner Chad Bronstein, who officially signed him on.
“So I contacted Hogan again and said, ‘Listen, let’s talk again and see if we can make it work.’ We eventually made it work, but he passed away while I was in the process of signing the contract. Chad Bronstein, the other owner, continued on with me and signed me instead.”
While Hogan didn’t live to see the full launch of Real American Freestyle Wrestling, Angle believes in the mission—and says this isn’t just another gig. It’s about honoring Hogan’s vision and helping real amateur-style wrestling thrive again.
Kurt Angle’s return to the world of competition—even in a non-wrestling role—adds real credibility to the promotion and gives fans another reason to tune in.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
Do you think Kurt Angle’s involvement gives this freestyle wrestling league more legitimacy? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
