Kurt Angle will once again be in the main event in Fresno, but he will be on the diamond instead of the ring.

Angle — a 12-time pro wrestling world champion, Olympic wrestling gold medalist, WWE and National Wrestling hall of famer — will be a special guest of the Fresno Grizzlies on Saturday, Aug. 17. With a special ticket package, fans can meet and greet their “hero.” The package includes an autograph, photo, game ticket, and food voucher.

He will even throw out the first pitch.

Happily enjoying retirement, Angle spoke with “Off the Bottom Rope,” reflecting on his career and a one-time only career moment in Fresno.

“I love my fans in California, especially in Fresno. They’ve always been good to me, and I can’t wait to see them,” Angle said.

The Pressure of Olympic Wrestling

Olympic wrestling is underway in Paris. Angle took home the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. As Angle constantly reminded fans during his WWE interviews, he won with a “broken freakin’ neck.”

“It’s the granddaddy of them all. I mean, if you’re going to win anything, the the most difficult tournament to win is the Olympics, in wrestling or any other sport. And, you just have to be prepared, and it’s very nerve wracking. I’m not going to lie to you. I probably didn’t smile for the whole week when I was building up to my matches, my five matches in the Olympics. You know you have to be laser focused,” Angle said.

He does regret being so focused that he didn’t enjoy the moment.

“I didn’t let the good times soak in — the opening ceremonies, staying in the Olympic Village. I was on assignment. I was going to do my job. And that was win an Olympic gold medal. And nothing was going to stop me from doing it,” Angle said. “So I kind of didn’t have as much fun as I should have. But I look back now and I’m like, man, I wish I would have enjoyed it a little bit more. But, you know, in return, I did win the gold medal, so I’m happy with that.”

Angle said that leading up to the Olympics, he trained up to three times a day, up to 10 hours — Sundays were an “off-day,” only training twice.

“It’s a lot of time and a lot of energy put into the sport,” Angle said. “It’s a busy day. It’s your life. It’s what you do.”

Angle trained with the Foxcatcher team, which subsidized Angle’s training and living expenses.

“I was able to focus just on my training. I didn’t have to get another job. I was able to do this and not have to worry about making money at that particular time. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was enough for me to live on,” Angle said.

John du Pont funded the team, focus of the 2014 “Foxcatcher” movie. Du Pont murdered coach David Schultz — Angle’s trainer. Angle said he’s watched the movie “many times.”

10 Fresno Appearances

Angle appeared in Fresno 10 times, all with the WWE, between 2000 and 2006. He appeared in the main event five times.

He remembers his Aug. 18, 2001, WWF championship main event against Steve Austin for a dubious reason.

“It’s kind of a joke between us because I have a reputation of having incredible conditioning. I never get tired,” Angle said. “The one night in Fresno when I wrestled ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, I got tired. He actually blew me up … he would always, you know, joke with me about that. Hey, I’m the only person to ever blow you up. Stone Cold Steve Austin is the only one that gets you tired. And he was absolutely right. I never blew up before that or after that.”

Easy Transition to WWE

Angle’s enduring legacy is his ease from transitioning from gold medalist to WWE (or WWF as it was known when he debuted in 1999). Within a year of his debut, Angle won the WWE championship and cemented himself as one of the best in the business.

A recent A&E Biography episode featured fellow 1996 Olympian Mark Henry. His path from superstar weightlifter to pro wrestler was not as smooth. Henry documented his hazing and fight for respect among his WWE peers.

Angle said he never had that problem.

“When I came in, people respected me right away. And I think it was because I had this positive attitude. You know, I was very humble. I was friendly, I was kind, I never gave anybody the assumption that I was cocky or arrogant or that I deserved more than they did,” Angle said.

Angle said several wrestlers approached him, thanking him for representing America and winning the gold.

“One of the reasons could be that they feared me. I don’t know, you know, being an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling or if they just respected me because I was a kind, humble guy that won a gold medal in the Olympics,” Angled said with a chuckle.

The Brock Lesnar Rivalry

Brock Lesnar — a former NCAA champion and later an MMA fighter — was one of Angle’s greatest WWE rivals. They main evented WrestleMania XIX in 2003.

Angle challenged a rookie Lesnar, when the latter arrived in the WWE. Word spread in the locker that Lesnar said he could beat Angle.

“I was feeling frisky one day. I went up to Brock and I said, hey, you think you could beat me in wrestling? He said, yeah. I said, well, why? He said, because you’re too small. I said, let’s get in the ring right now,” Angle said.

Lesnar found an excuse not to wrestle that day. Later, Lesnar sparred in private with The Big Show, a massive 500-pound-plus wrestler. Lesnar picked up his opponent with ease. That caused Angle to second think how he would fare, but he made the challenge anyway.

“I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and I said, let’s go. So he didn’t have a choice. So we went and we went about 15 minutes. But, everybody said that I crushed him, and I dominated him and I hurt him,” Angle said.

“That’s not true. I beat him, I took him down a couple times. He didn’t take me down at all. But, it wasn’t a domination. I did beat him, but, you know, I just wanted to show Brock that size doesn’t matter. You know, experience is what matters. And I had that.”

Family Saved Angle From the Throes of Addiction

Angle’s main WWE career ended in 2006. After suffering another broken neck, he became hooked on painkillers. His in-ring performance and reliability deteriorated to the point the WWE and Angle parted.

“The first time I broke my neck in the WWE, I was introduced to painkillers and man, they gave me a really euphoric feeling. I really loved the way they made me feel. And they masked the pain in my neck and everywhere else. So it was being of good use, but I loved them too much,” Angle said.

He body built a tolerance, and soon two pills became four, then eight.

“Before I knew it, I was taking 65 extra-strength Vicodin a day. I was in deep trouble. Not only that, but I was getting injured quite a bit, which didn’t help with the painkiller problem,” Angle said.

Angle also racked up four DUI arrests.

“That’s how far my life spun out of control. I lost my reputation. Everything over I worked for,” Angle said. “I was the lowest point in my life. And I remember calling my wife after my fourth DUI, and she said, listen, I can’t do this anymore. You know, go to rehab or I’m taking the kids and I’m leaving, and I don’t want to lose my wife, my kids. So I went to rehab. It was the best decision I ever made. I’ve been clean and sober for 13 years now, so, I put it all on my family and the incredible recovery program I went to.”

No More Matches

After WWE, Angle wrestled several more years for TNA, a secondary national wrestling company.

He returned to WWE in 2017 for his Hall of Fame induction and a handful of matches from 2017 to 2019.

He lost his farewell match at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 to Baron Corbin.

But that’s it. Angle said he will not wrestle again.

“No, no, I get asked that quite a bit. I had a discussion with Tony Khan of AEW. He wanted me to wrestle one more time.

“Listen, I’m not one of those guys who is going to have a retirement match and then retire and then come back and have another retirement match. I just … I can’t do that. The thing is, when I retired, there was a reason for it. I lost a step. And I didn’t want people to remember me as just washed up old man. I want them to remember me when I was in my prime. So if I can’t wrestle the  way I was in my prime, I won’t wrestle anymore. That’s just how I feel,” Angle said.