Kurt Angle Explains Why Luther Reigns Flopped In WWE

Having been aligned with Kurt Angle on WWE TV in 2004, only one year after he signed with the company, the future looked bright for Luther Reigns. Angle's assistant even had high-profile matches against the likes of Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, and The Undertaker, but Reigns ended up being granted his release from WWE in May 2005. He was never seen on WWE TV again.

Reigns was aligned with Angle during the Olympic gold medallist's time as SmackDown General Manager, with Angle competing in his first high-profile singles match for several months when he faced Eddie Guerrero at SummerSlam 2004.

Speaking on his Kurt Angle Show podcast, Angle shot down reports that he tried to convince Eddie Guerrero to lose at SummerSlam before he detailed why Luther Reigns was ultimately a flop in WWE.

"No, Dave Meltzer is full of s**t. Okay. I had nothing to do with it. It was all Vince McMahon's call, and you know what? Who needed the win more? Eddie beat me at WrestleMania. Then he got beat for the title against JBL. So we kind of both need the win. And I never in a million years would say, 'Hey, make sure Luther Reigns and Eddie Guerrero team or go head to head,' and, in the next program, Luther Reigns wasn't even ready," Angle stated.

"Okay. As talented as he was, this guy didn't work very hard in the ring. He didn't spend that extra time before the show to get in the ring and train. That's why Luther Reigns didn't work out. He didn't pan out because of his lack of work ethic. But no, I would never say, Hey, have Luther Reigns against Eddie. That'd be stupid. If Luther were ready, I would've pushed it, but he wasn't ready. He was full of s**t on those two things. I never even spoke to Eddie about it. Vince McMahon made the call. I didn't even speak to Vince about it. The one time I called Vince McMahon and said I should win the title because of 9/11. Oh, that's right, Vince, you're gonna have to call Stone Cold; if he says yes, you can do it. I had to call Stone Cold. He said Yes. That's the only time I got political. And it wasn't even political. I was asking for Steve's approval."

Following a few matches on the indies following his WWE release, Luther Reigns transitioned to a career in real estate.

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