Credit: Mike Johnson and Pwinsider.com
Kurt Angle was interviewed by The UK Sun yesterday to help promote the kickoff of the European tour. Below are the highlights…
Angle noted that his TNA contract was up in September. He said that he’s left things open and there is a desire on his part to return there, but noted Dixie Carter has treated him well. He said that he can’t “lie to” himself any more, but didn’t extrapolate on what he meant there. He did say that he wants to wrestle CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, saying that he came to TNA because of the lure of wrestling AJ Styles and Samoa Joe and he feels that same lure with those talents. He said he feels like he has unfinished business in WWE, but whether he gets there in a year or “three years” won’t matter and it’s not a “bad thing” to choose to remain with TNA.
Angle described Sting as the “cornerstone” of TNA saying that people can say it’s Angle or AJ Styles , but it was actually Sting. He said the loss of Sting would be bigger than the Hulk Hogan departure. He said Sting “is a big blow to the company” and that it’s up to others like himself or Samoa Joe to work even harder to fill that void that is left behind. He said losing Sting is “as bad as it can get.”
On Hulk Hogan ‘s exit, Angle said that the company could have paid to keep him but if Hogan is done in the ring, they had to weigh whether it was worth it to keep a Hogan that wasn’t going to be physically involved in the company. He said that the company could take that money and invest it in younger talents. He did say that Hogan was worth the price he was asking.
Angle noted that his personal problems over the years were a mix of him attempting to get back to the natural high of winning an Olympic gold medal and that he was obsessed with getting back there for a long time . When he couldn’t get there, he found himself in a bad depression and said that pro wrestling titles can’t match that natural high because Angle trained his entire life to be an Olympic athlete. He also said that being isolated from his family and being on the road so much was another thing that factored into his depression.
Angle said he really learned to love pro wrestling in the last year after feeling that TNA creative didn’t do much with him in recent years. He said that he just did what he was asked and didn’t complain but finally realized he has to speak up if he’s going to get to show how passionate he is about the business and what he wants to do in it.
Angle said he could get a great match out of the Ultimate Warrior. I don’t know why but I bet you he could.
Angle said the Brock Lesnar shooting star press at Wrestlemania 19 was his idea and he takes the blame for Lesnar getting hurt that night.
Angle also discussed Chris Benoit in depth, saying that wrestling him was like being pushed in a real competition and he misses that. He said that he’s tried to incorporate the intensity that Benoit brought into his own matches. He said his matches with Benoit were “magic.”
On retirement, Angle said that he feels sore all the time but once he gets in the ring, he feels great and then two hours later, he’s back to being sore. He said he wanted to keep going for as long as he could perform at a top level.
