Now THIS is more like it.
THIS is what I live and breath for, when it comes to pro wrestling. It's like 1997 all over again, and all because of one action. One simple sentence, that masks a huge controversy, and has massive implications. Something we can all talk about, all have different opinions about, and something that has me emailing my friends to talk about.
Kurt Angle has been signed by TNA.
All of a sudden, it reminds me of a time before 2001, when concepts like 'dream matches' existed, and there was a real feeling that 'anything could happen'. For the first time in a long time, I'm interested in what the hell is going on in the professional wrestling business. For long time readers of my columns, you may have noticed that I've not been writing much recently - this has been down to that self same lack of interest in the current product. Nothing was happening, nothing was changing, and even the backstage side of things seemed boring.
That's all just changed. Wow. So, let's take a look into the background and implications, shall we?
In 1996, suffering from a broken neck, and against doctors orders, Kurt Angle became an olympic gold medallist, and a national hero. For so long, it's been part of his gimmick that it seems strange to write a sentence like that, and have it be a genuine capsule biography of his acheivements. It's a truly staggering thing to be able to say about somebody. Following this, Angle briefly turned up in ECW, just in time to see the infamous 'crucifixion' segment involving Raven and Sandman. Angle was offended (or, at least, took it to be an offensive segment) and wanted no part of it. As a result, the segment was pulled, and Raven was made to apologise to the fans. Angle refused to have any more dealings with ECW at the time, and instead joined WWE, who sent him to train in OVW (with Edge, Christian and Test, along with Steve Corino, I believe). Angle picked up the game quickly, and debuted on WWE television in late 1999. He was main eventing Raw against The Rock in no time, with one of the more entertaining 'winning streak' angles there's been. Around this time, he was a somewhat goofy clean-cut heel. Over the next year, he became one of the biggest names they had, thanks in part to his astonishing aptitude for pro-wrestling, and in part to his hilarious persona (not to mention the best build up to a story in years, with the Stephanie angle). By the time of WrestleMania X-7, Angle was regularly taking part in matches of the night, and along with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, helped change the fundamental nature of the in ring style in WWE at the time. Prior to their pushes, the emphasis in WWE tended to be on brawls - Angle and Benoit's submission based matches were a revelation.
In the build up to WrestleMania X9, for the first time, Angle's neck became an issue. It was an issue to the point that there was serious talk about changing the main event, in order to let Angle heal up. However, as detailed on the behind the scenes documentary, Angle convinced them he could do it, and at WrestleMania X9, Angle main evented the show with a broken neck. Afterwards, he finally took some time off, and had 'unobtrusive' surgery on his neck. He was back within four months.
This became a pattern for the Olympic Hero. Injuries would mount up, forcing him to take time off, and then he'd return sooner than expected. Around the same time, he tweaked his persona - no longer the comedy heel, Angle's character became more serious. According to some, this was in order to establish himself as a more credible wrestler. Angle didn't just want to be one of the best - he wanted to be THE best. As a result, we saw a slow change from 'talkative, goofy' Kurt Angle to 'Monosyllabic Machine' Kurt Angle.
Meanwhile, the matches were still awesome. A good run with Eddy Guerrero. A great run with Shawn Michaels. Even, recently, a superb series with The Undertaker. And in all of them, Angle was put over strongly - the Angle Lock (with grapevine) is one of the most protected moves in the business, up there with the Pedigree and the Tombstone.
As his credibility continued to grow (when Batista was out, Angle was the immediate choice to jump brands and take the title), his persona became incredibly popular. Whether booked as a heel or face, Angle was cheered, which led to him being pushed as one of the figureheads of the new ECW. But while this was happening, rumours started surfacing about him, which suggested that all was not well.
Apparently, he was becoming more and more difficult to work with backstage. He wasn't happy about being in ECW, as he regarded it as a step down. His painkiller addiction was far worse than anybody was letting on. He just wouldn't take the time out to heal properly.
It appeared that enough was enough for WWE, and one day they released a statement that nobody expected to see. Kurt Angle had been fired, due to a refusal to seek help for his problems.
Angle being Angle, even being fired didn't seem to be enough for him to take the hint. Almost immediately, Angle was releasing statements via his agent that he was training to go into Mixed Martial Arts.
TNA has been building up a 'huge surprise announcement'for the last week. At first, everyone was expecting this to be a damp squib, and indeed, it was announced in due course that the 'big surprise' was Vince Russo signing with TNA. Anticlimactic or what? Except, something strange happened...all of a sudden there were rumours flying around that this wasn't the surprise. It was something bigger. Much bigger. Rumours began to fly. Goldberg? Lesnar? Benoit? Jericho? A monday night slot opposite Raw?
Of course, as we all know now, the announcement was actually a dual announcement. Firstly, TNA had a new timeslots on thursday nights - and secondly, they'd just signed Kurt Angle.
The Internet Wrestling Community went insane. TNA added a new front page to their website, with the slogan 'Our ring has six sides...but only one ANGLE'.
Easily the biggest story in years, the 'Kurt to TNA' story is a breath of fresh air. TNA has had big signings before (Christian, Sting, Billy Gunn...stop sniggering), but even Christian being the first to jump companies didn't have the level of impact that Kurt Angle jumping will have. After all, we're talking about one of the most protected wrestlers of recent time in WWE. We're talking about the man who beat The Undertaker cleanly, which nobody does nowadays. We're talking about the man who beat Shawn Michaels clean (by tapout, no less), which NEVER happens. We're talking about the man who beat Randy Orton in humiliating fashion at ECW One Night Stand. We're not talking about an underrated midcarder - we're talking about one of the biggest stars WWE had.
It changes a lot in the wrestling landscape. All of a sudden, TNA has a legitimate draw (at least, compared to who they currently have). Their new contractee fought for a world title at three of the last four WrestleManias - and he spent the third having the easy match of the night, and an arguable match of the year. The ONLY people who TNA could have signed that would have been bigger would have been HHH, The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels. Nobody else would have been quite as big a story - not Lesnar, who hasn't been seen in the States in two and a half years, not Goldberg, who hasn't been seen in similar time...realistically, TNA could not have made a bigger signing. Combine this with the fact that TNA has now been around long enough to start looking credible, and the fact that they now have a primetime TV slot, and you can see why the landscape suddenly looks different. TNA will shortly be entering mainstream awareness in a way that it just hasn't yet. And that means that WWE has real competition for the first time in five years. And for all the reasons everyone has been saying, that's a good thing. It forces WWE to look at raising their game, and it gives everyone an alternative. This can only be a good thing for the wrestling business. It can also only be a good thing for the wrestlers - WWE wrestlers now have leverage when it's contract re-signing time. And TNA guys have the chance of being poached by wwe.
So, on one hand, it's the best thing to happen in the wrestling business in a long time. On the other hand, it has the potential to be the worst.
After the death of Eddy Guerrero, one of the stories that was causing waves in the internet wrestling community was Wade Keller's story that there was somebody on the WWE payroll who was on 'deathwatch'. This person was having people check on them each day, just to make sure they were alive. And it was a BIG name - one that would dwarf Guerrero's news in the mainstream. Kellar was careful not to name this person - hell, I thought it was Ric Flair.
Kurt Angle put out an open email in response to Keller's story - which essentially confirmed that it was Angle that Keller was talking about. In his statement, Angle went out of his way to reassure his fans that he would never - and had never - done anything that would seriously risk his health. And in doing so, he lied. One way or the other, Kurt Angle betrayed one of his famous three 'I's'. Integrity. A couple of years beforehand, Angle had main evented WrestleMania with a broken neck. Ten years ago, he won a gold medal with a broken neck. I don't know about anyone else, but if I broke my neck, I doubt I'd be doing anything more strenuous than lying in bed, wondering when I'd get better. You don't get more risky than doing something as dangerous as professional wrestling with a broken neck. So if Angle lied about that, what else might he have lied about?
When WWE broadcast the video of the Wellness Policy on their website, it was notable that the first person to ask for clarification on the video was Kurt Angle. It seems to be an open secret that Kurt Angle has a serious problem with painkiller addiction, and that it is this addiction that most concerned his WWE colleagues. It also appears that the painkiller addiction was caused by the breakdown of his body.
Look at Kurt Angle. Just look at him right now. His arms have shrunk, and in the last year or so, he's been clasping and unclasping his hands after every major bump, in order to get the feeling back. Let's not forget that he confirmed the problem with numbness in his hands in the past, either. Also, his head has grown - it's blatant, just compare pictures. His head has grown substantially, swelling around the forehead. Now, obviously, it would be a legal quagmire for me to suggest any specific conclusions to do with this. So, instead, to go onto a small tangent, I thought I'd list a couple of the side effects of 'Human Growth Hormone' AKA HGH, which is something some athletes use to build up muscle mass, after...say...people pointing out that your arms are getting all stringy.
A list of reported side effects of HGH.
* developing irreversible acromegaly (abnormal growth of bones of the hands and feet and face)
* high blood pressure
* heart damage
* premature aging and death
* soft tissue swelling
* thickening of the skin, abnormal hair growth
* colonic polyps
* liver damage and glucose intolerance
* muscle weakness
* enlargement of the internal organs
* arthritis
* impotence
That first one about abnormal growth of bones in the hands, feet and face is really fascinating, isn't it?
Vince McMahon FIRED Kurt Angle. They didn't walk away from that meeting with a hug, and a 'see you later'. Reports are that the meeting was heated, and that Angle left an emotional wreck. But also, it must be pointed out that, unless TNA get in a REALLY interesting court case soon, Kurt Angle was released WITHOUT a no-compete clause. Something that is usually standard in this kind of situation. Why on earth would he do that? Why on earth would Vince McMahon allow one of his biggest stars to just walk out?
The only explanation I can come to is terrifying. It's because Vince McMahon didn't want Kurt Angle to die on his watch.
Now, I'm not making out that TNA are the bad guys here. It's entirely possible that - contrary to reports of Angle's addiction and behaviour being worse than Pillman's and Shawn Michael's at the height of their addictions - everybody is wrong, and Kurt Angle is right. Also, I have no doubt he can be astonishingly convincing. And let's face it - it's the biggest gambit that TNA could have played. But lets bear one thing in mind here. When it comes to Kurt Angle, as 'Turning the Tables' author John Lister pointed out, Vince McMahon can now claim to have the moral upper hand. That's a terrifying thought.
And it could be a good thing for Angle. He's gone from a busy schedule to a light one - chances are that he'll be wrestling a couple of times a month miximum, and obviously that's better than wrestling on a regular basis. So this could genuinely work out to be the best thing for everyone.
But IF the reports are true...and just about every person on the 'inside' appears to be saying that they are...
And IF Kurt's problems are as serious as they appear to be...and his physical appearance, and the reports coming from WWE suggest that they are...
And IF Kurt's health is such a concern that WWE fired him, because he wouldn't get help, and the only other option appeared to be Angle dying in the ring, and bringing all the bad press on them that such an event would warrant...
IF, IF, IF......then Kurt Angle could be making a very big mistake.
I don't mean to be a prophet of doom, so I'll end this on a positive note.
This is the most fascinating, and unexpected story in professional wrestling in a long time. No matter what happens, I'm hooked again. I'm hooked in the same way that Bret Hart's heel turn hooked me in 1997 when I nearly quit watching. I'm hooked in the same way that Foley's retirement kept me watching. And I seriously doubt that I'm the only one. So for that, I say 'thank you' to Kurt Angle. I also say 'take care'.
Please.
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