On the latest episode of his ‘The Kurt Angle Show‘, esteemed WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle delved into his experience as the SmackDown General Manager in 2004, where he replaced Paul Heyman in the position, as well as his health struggles following a neck injury that kept him sidelined.
When asked about Heyman providing advice on being a General Manager, Angle shared,
“Surprisingly, no because Paul is a guy that would definitely give advice to you, but I didn’t ask him for it. What he did is he led by example you know watching him be at GM and the way he does it and how much knowledge he has for wrestling he’s so smooth and he’s so articulate you see him, and you want to be just like him as a GM of SmackDown.”
Reflecting on his health during that period, Angle expressed,
“I felt like I didn’t let my neck heal long enough. The last two times I started doubting myself, I started getting anxious. That’s when I started dabbling into freaking Xanax because my doctor prescribed me. Here I’m already taking painkillers and now I’m taking Xanax with it. And so I was worried about breaking my neck all the time. It was just one of those things where I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So, you know, having to do the general manager spot was a lot better for me and it was able to lower my anxiety and understand that as long as I’m doing this, I can let my neck rest and heal and hopefully I’ll do it long enough that it will heal entirely before I start backrest.”
