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Angle on McDonnell
Former WWE and current TNA star Kurt Angle was interviewed by Joe McDonnell on his radio show. The interview was conducted Thursday but aired Tuesday November 14. The interview was pretty revealing as Angle gave his side of the circumstances surrounding his "release" from WWE and how he wound up in TNA.
In the first part of the interview, he talked about how happy he feels to be working in TNA. He said that he loves the fact that he is working a less strenuous schedule and that he is allowed to take time off if he isn't feeling 100%. He said he appreciates working with Dixie Carter and the TNA organization. He also put over the fact that he and Vince Russo worked very closely together on the finish of his match with Abyss on TNA's prime-time debut this coming Thursday.
In the second part of the interview, Angle pretty much said that his so-called erratic behavior was intentional were his ways of letting Vince McMahon know that he was unhappy about his situation in WWE. He said that he wanted to wrestle more on a part time basis rather than go out on the road full time. He said that when he explained this to Vince that he was hurting with a multitude of injuries, McMahon told him he couldn't let Angle do it because he was one of his biggest draws. However, Angle felt that if he was that important to the company that McMahon should have given him the time off to allow his body to heal. He also brought up the fact that other wrestlers who are considered draws (Triple H, Shawn Michaels and the
Undertaker) are allowed a part time schedule.
Angle also said that he was offered a $30 million deal to go wrestle in Japan, but Vince threw it in his face. After that, Angle pretty much knew his days in WWE were over and he decided to ask Vince for his release. He also said that when he was in the middle of his addiction to pain killers that he wanted to go to rehab but Vince told him in no uncertain terms "no". He also said that when he finally kicked his addiction that he went cold turkey and really went through withdrawals. He also put over the fact that even though he thought Vince was a friend, it really was a one way friendship and that Vince only thought of him as a commodity. Angle also said that even though Vince makes a ton of money, his workers basically make nothing. That even goes for WWE's film division.
Angle also spoke on the fact that he felt like a pinball the way he was shuffled back and forth between Smackdown and Raw. He felt that he wasn't able to really establish any kind of momentum due to his constant movement between the brands. It was also at this point that he said something very revealing. He said that when Batista suffered his injury that Vince originally wanted Shawn Michaels to go to Smackdown to become the top star there. However, Michaels didn't want to do it, so Vince made Angle make the move instead. Of course, this pretty much confirmed that in the eyes of many in the company that Smackdown is the "B-show" in WWE. He also said that there was a time when Smackdown was more like the "A-show" due to the fact that guys like himself, Brock Leasner, the Undertaker and Eddie Guerrero were on the brand and there were times when they were either doing ratings equal to or better than Raw.
The conversation then turned to his work with Eddie Guerrero. Without hesitation Angle said that Eddie was the best wrestler he ever worked with and that he loved working with him. He also said that respected Eddie so much that he allowed Eddie to take the lead in many of their matches. He also said that when Eddie died it wasn't because of drugs, but because of exhaustion. He said that Eddie may have been just 38 at the time of his passing, but he pretty much had the body of an 80 year old man. Angle also put over the fact that Eddie probably was the best at allowing the crowds to become emotionally involved in matches. He also said that Eddie definitely taught him a lot when it came to that aspect of wrestling.
The conversation eventually went back to TNA. He said that the company has a very strict drug policy and that he had to go through three physicals (a drug test, CAT scan and actual physical exam) before he would be hired. He also said that he and Dixie Carter are working very closely together on marketing him to the general public. This campaign included television and maybe even movies. He even said that Vince is now beginning to feel the heat from TNA and that some other WWE wrestlers, who he wouldn't name, are thinking about jumping to TNA. He also feels that in two years TNA will pass WWE.
The conversation then turned to a more light hearted direction as Joe congratulated Angle on the birth of his son and the fact that he and his wife are back together. They also talked about the Pittsburg Steelers and Angle pretty much wrote off this season and blamed the Steelers poor performance on the multitude of injuries the team suffered.
This definitely was a very interesting interview and Joe pretty much allowed Angle to share his side of the story. Also, the full interview is available for download at http://www.klac570.com/cc-common/podcast.html.
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