Despite being prompted by McMahon and Heyman’s vision of a serious Kurt Angle dominating the brand, Angle rejected a report suggesting he had no say in his character.

Laughing off the rumor, Angle denied his supposed lack of creative freedom. Expressing confusion as to how such falsehoods exist, Angle revealed he had suggested the nickname to McMahon and Heyman. But he was aware that he had become perhaps too intense with this new dynamic.

According to Angle, intensity —one of the three Is championed by Angle since the beginning of his pro wrestling career—was the most important quality to portray. 

“Hey, when you’re ‘The Wrestling Machine,’ you can never be too intense,” Angle stated. “You have to raise the bar higher than everybody else and make sure you’re more intense than everybody else on the card … Especially if you’re going to be ‘The Wrestling Machine,’ intensity is the main factor.”