Retired legend allegedly pitched ideas for John Cena's retirement tour, according to ex-WWE star

John Cena's retirement tour in the Stamford-based promotion ended at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event when he tapped out to Gunther. However, Vince Russo recently claimed that Kurt Angle pitched ideas for the tour and the company rejected them.

Kurt Angle was an integral part of John Cena's career, as their match put him under the spotlight, which eventually made him the face of the company for years to come. While the two had several matches in the promotion, Angle wanted Cena to be his final opponent, but it never happened.

Moreover, The Olympic Gold Medalist wanted to contribute to The Franchise Player's final run. Speaking on Behind The Turnbuckle Studios' The Coach and Bro Show, Vince Russo claimed that Angle allegedly pitched ideas to the Stamford-based promotion to be a part of the retirement tour, and the company rejected them.

"Coach, Kurt Angle was pitching ideas, and they turned him down. Yes, [John Cena's retirement tour], they turned him down... Kurt Angle wanted to be a part of that last year and was pitching ideas to WWE, and they turned them down," Russo said.

---

Kurt Angle attended WWE Saturday Night's Main Event for John Cena's final match

In 2019, Kurt Angle had his final match in the Stamford-based promotion as an in-ring performer at The Grandest Stage of Them All against Baron Corbin. However, he has expressed multiple times that he wanted John Cena as his last opponent, but couldn't push it another year.

This year, John Cena's retirement tour kicked off under Triple H's creative regime, and fans and veterans have been very vocal about The Franchise Player's booking. In Washington, Angle was one of the WWE legends in the front row who greeted and wished Cena luck ahead of his match with Gunther.

With both stars now retired, the two will never have the opportunity to face each other in another match. Luckily, AJ Styles got to face Kurt Angle in TNA Wrestling and faced The Leader of the Cenation recently in Perth at WWE Crown Jewel 2025 before his upcoming retirement from the industry.

If you use quotes from the article, please credit Behind The Turnbuckle Studios and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

Read all the hottest WWE news from Sportskeeda by choosing us as your preferred source. Click HERE.

Edited by Aakaansh Sukale