Angle forced WWE’s hand in humane dismissal
By Mr. Mal Occhio
Wrestlers Ramblings.com wrestling blog
In the follow-up to yesterday’s shocking announcement of World Wrestling Entertainment releasing Gold Medalist Kurt Angle from his contract, Mr. Mal Occhio offers some musings about this talented performer, snippets from Angle’s interview on WWE.com, and what the future may hold for one of the most-gifted performers the sport has ever seen.
I have to say, right up front, that – while still shocking – Mr. Mal will take a thousand such stories like “Kurt Angle released!� as opposed to one more “wrestler found dead� news blurb. God knows we’ve had enough of those to last three lifetimes. Honestly, I still mourn the loss of Eddie Guerrero as if it were yesterday. Eddie’s passion to be the best eventually led to his death. Fact. Further, it was also the path Angle was traveling down as well, with the tell-tale signs all there, really. Anyone with two good eyes could see the transformation of Kurt Angle before their eyes each and every week on WWE TV.
First, the rumors surrounding the man have long been among the most-hushed in internet gossip. When Guerrero passed away last year, reports were rampant that another top-flight WWE performer was perilously close to the edge health-wise as well, with many fingering Angle as the most-likely culprit. In desperate need of neck fusion surgery ala Chris Benoit, Rhino, Lita, Stone Cold Steve Austin and others, Angle has instead opted to have his damaged vertebrae operated on one at-a-time, in a move that – while allowing for a performer to return the ring more quickly – acts more as a band-aid than a true cure. Angle’s new mouthpiece-chomping persona hinted of someone being continually amped-up for in-ring work, and it didn’t appear to be of the natural variety. Obviously, Angle appeared to be on a number of enhancements physically, and in an interview with WWE.com, his manager confirms what many have long suspected – Kurt has a problem with prescription medication – not to mention recently suffering a horrific groin/hamstring tear in what may be his final wrestling match.
“My body is so beat up and run down, I can’t even think straight,� Angle said in the exclusive interview. “I need my body to reheal and rehab, I have done this for too long without a break. I haven’t been able to really enjoy my life. I haven’t seen my family, I’ve had problems with medication - I’m just fried physically and mentally.�
Off-camera, it is also being reported that Angle is in the midst of divorce from his wife, all the while carrying the couple’s second child. Further, he has allegedly had problems with his character’s direction with being moved to the ECW-brand, and has blown-up a few times in recent weeks backstage. But, none of these items hardly seems to be the biggest concern in his life. If you read closely, you can see what the real problem is with Angle – it’s Kurt Angle himself. The man is driven beyond belief, and stops at nothing to get what he wants (even if it means his own life). Mr. Mal applauds Vince McMahon and the WWE for taking this proactive step in forcing Angle to get the help he needs. To clarify something for the record, this is hardly the first time McMahon has tried to help his employees. The WWE has paid to send many wrestlers to rehab in the past - William Regal, Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac among them – but to outright release someone while at the top of their roster in order to better help the individual is, to Mal’s mind, unprecedented. It is also a morally-just decision that surely cannot be good for McMahon’s on-screen character we all love to hate. Say what you will, he has shown a history of trying to help his workers.
“Kurt’s in a tremendous amount of pain, he’s used prescription medication to deal with it. Kurt has come to the conclusion that unless he can get in the ring without the use of pain medication then he doesn’t need to be in there. He realizes he was just endangering himself and his opponents,� said Angle’s business manager David Hawk.
That driving spirit led Angle to push himself to ridiculous levels during the August 13th ECW show in White Plains, New York, as he matched up against Rob Van Dam. “The crowd was wild. Early on in the match, I pulled my groin, but I kept going, feeding off the crowd. Then I pulled my abdominal muscle off the pelvic bone, but I kept going as the crowd grew more wild,� said Angle. “Finally, I blew out my hamstring, but we finished the match. The crowd stood and applauded - a standing ovation and that meant so much to me.�
The man, by any definition, is an adrenaline junkie. Don’t forget this little fact either: the man won a gold medal while wrestling with a broken neck. It’s true. He would have probably taken a few weeks off for this latest injury, did the minimal amount of r&r necessary to rehab it, signed up for regular pre-match cortisone shots along with still more pain medication (and who knows what else – more steroids? HGH?) all to get back in the ring as soon as possible. That’s the man’s style. It also would have killed him. Even now, while admitting his future is cloudy, he has not ruled out a return – never more apparent that his revealing a new training strategy for his comeback. It means he’s already thinking about it. It also means he needs a break – even if it took dismissing him to make sure he does so. He is is no shape to work anywhere, WWE and TNA included, and seems to understand that judging by his comments.
“I need to heal up mentally and physically,� he said. “Vince says when I’m ready, if I’m ever ready, to come back just sign on the dotted line. I’ll tell you if I do return I’m going back to my roots, training on the mat like my amateur days. Longevity is the key. Don’t be concerned, this move was for the best. It was a privilege to be able to compete for all of you. I’d like to say thank you.�
Thank-you, Kurt Angle. Glad to hear you’re still alive to hear us fans say that. Time to change the three I’s to the three R’s: rest, rehab and relaxation. Get well soon. The wrestling world can survive without you – can Angle survive without wrestling however? Let’s pray he can. Mr. Mal sure is. Time will inevitably write that final chapter . . .
Come back to Wrestlers Ramblings.com tomorrow for The Troublemaker’s latest takes on the world of professional wrestling. Feel free to leave any and all comments by clicking the comments link below, or check out the latest wrestling news by hitting the link at the top right of this page. Take care all.
Top photo copyright Wrestlers Ramblings.com and Mr. Mal Occhio. Bottom photo copyright Nuclearjackalope.com. All Rights Reserved. No rights granted for reproduction in any form or format without prior permission.
-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-