TNA garners attention, possible infamy with Angle signing
By Mr. Mal Occhio
Wrestlers Ramblings.com wrestling blog
TNA . . . congratulations. You now officially have the attention of Mr. Mal. Oh, sure – I’ve watched your program in the past. Not religiously, but your league has most-certainly come under the gaze of the evil eye on more than one occasion. And for the most part? It made that eye very sleepy. From the second-rate announcing team led by Mike Tenay and the far-too exuberant Don West, to the majority of interchangeable, undersized (but hard-working) talent, I still cannot shake that “WCW-Thunder-in-a-six-sided-ring� feeling – no matter how hard I try - even when a true talent like Samoa Joe is doing his thing. But now that’s changed. Oh, it’s true. It’s damn true.
TNA actually has a bona-fide superstar in their midst now, and no, I’m not talking Sting. He’s a shell of his former self. Christian Cage? Mid-carder. Rhino. Same. Scott Steiner, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash – all washed up. Team 3-D? Been there, seen that. Jeff Jarrett? Overrated. But Kurt Angle, on the other hand? Finally – for the first-time since the formation of the league - now we’re talking. Of course, this goes without saying that we all know Kurt Angle is once-again healthy, right? I mean, it’s not like someone would willingly ignore obvious signs of someone being close to going over the edge with drug abuse and other physical ailments – all for the sake of some ratings and name recognition, right? Nah. Not in wrestling. No league could surely be that callous . . . or could they? For it sure looks like TNA is doing exactly that. Someday soon, as is said, “in that very ring�, Kurt Angle just might kill himself. No kidding. We, as fans, will have a ringside seat to see it. And honestly? That’s probably the only thing Mr. Mal has never witnessed inside a wrestling ring (well, besides a worthwhile Scotty 2 Hotty match, but I digress).
Let’s put all the cards on the table: if Kurt Angle was healthy, he would still be employed by World Wrestling Entertainment. If he isn’t healthy, he shouldn’t be employed. Period. Vince McMahon is hardly in the business of stocking his burgeoning competition with able-bodied, bankable superstars. It just doesn’t happen. Bottom line – Kurt Angle shouldn’t be wrestling. Apparently, TNA doesn’t mind taking that risk. After all, it’s not their life they’re playing with, right? And that is beyond tragic. In their quest to attract viewers to their upcoming move to 9 p.m. on TNN, TNA has signed Angle to a non-exclusive contract. Reportedly, this was done to allow him to take-on some MMA dates, if desired. But don’t look for Angle to be mere window-dressing or a spot-performer. He is already prominently displayed on the company website, with plans no doubt being made behind the scenes to milk every last drop of blood and sweat out of this talented – but hard-headed – performer. Listen to some of his comments, as available at TNAWrestling.com.
“Being with TNA feels like I have finally found my home . . . I know I have a purpose . . . TNA gives me an opportunity to spread my wings . . . The sky is the limit and the main reason is because they brought the “real� back into wrestling and that is a perfect fit for the greatest wrestler in USA Olympic history . . . Working for these caring and very giving employers of TNA makes me feel like I have a purpose and that the sky is the limit . . . Now, our wonderful audience will see the real Kurt Angle doing what I love to do – real wrestling – and that’s what puts a smile on my face each time I come to work. I even smile when I think about it . . . Thank you TNA for saving my career, my life and my desire to do what I love. I will be here in some capacity for the rest of my life. That’s real…that’s damn real.�
Surely there was more that went on behind the scenes with the WWE that isn’t being reported upon. It was well-known that Angle had been unhappy with his place in company for some time, with a suspension and eventual move to ECW no doubt two of the final straws. That being said, for a company Mr. Mal truly believes had the performer’s well-being at heart when they released him, Angle spared no expense at letting the WWE have it in his first comments with TNA.
“I had fun in WWE at certain times, but I was never really happy . . . I don’t feel trapped (now) or held back like I did the first six years in my tenure with the other company. They held me back.�
Held you back, Kurt? From what exactly? World championships? No, you did that six-times, four WWE, one World and one WCW. Not to mention a WCW U.S. title run, WWE Intercontinental, European and Hardcore stints. And a tag-team championship run. And a King of the Ring. He was also routinely booked in top-flight feuds, could work equally well as a face or heel, and was never – ever – buried on any card, at any time, at any point during his WWE career. Where the bitterness comes from is anybody’s guess.
The only thing the WWE ever held back from Angle was competing in-ring when his desire overruled his body that should have told him to quit. When the addiction to pain medication became too-blatant to ignore. When the desire to put aside his very life in the quest to perform as a sports entertainer became too-stiff of a price to allow him to pay. You would think he would be thanking them. Instead, he simply doles out sour grapes by the bunchfuls, with TNA apparently now in the produce business – which actually could work out quite well for both parties. If Angle’s neck and drug addicition is a bad as everyone reports and believes it to be, he could be a bona fide vegetable in no-time flat. That, too, is true. Get your popcorn ready, gang: the show will begin shortly enough. Not for the squeamish, this one will undoubtedly be worth watching, nonetheless.
September 28th, 2006 at 6:36 am
Apparently Jimmy crack corn and he don’t care, so why should we? Let him ruin the reputation and goodwill he had built up. Maybe when he is totally broken — assuming he lives through it — he can go back to being a talking head on a mid-sized market TV station. Only this time he might have to do it as Max Headroom since that may be the only part of his body still working.
September 28th, 2006 at 8:52 am
Agreed. Kurt Angle’s destiny is one of pushing his body to the limit. The unfortunate part is that - one day - he will eventually reach it.
September 28th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
So Vince lets him go due to drug addiction and other personal problems and then these low-lifes from TNA swoop in to take advantage of a guy who is down and out…. Real classy organization! Let TNA remain the home of Washed up Bums that can’t make it in the big leagues. Angle is gonna end up eating pizza through a straw. Okay, bye!
September 28th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
One can only hope TNA’s much lighter schedule will allow Angle to get his body/’personal demons’ together. I don’t want to believe TNA management or it’s corporate overlords at Panda Energy would be so callous as to give Kurt all the proverbial rope he needs to hang himself.
September 28th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Angle is a tragedy waiting to fully unfold. I hope I’m wrong (after all, I sometimes get a speck of dust in the ol’evil eye of all-knowingness) but Mr. Mal just can’t see this one ended well.
October 4th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Hahaha I love how TNA is getting all the crap from you people and yet Vince’s show is the one that has all the miserable deaths. Eddie Guerrero finally collapsing under the pressure is one big example. Some might say “They’re finally realizing that they have to let up on the wrestlers and can’t let them push themselves so hard” and that’s why they let go of Kurt Angle. Others might say that they should have learned that lesson after Crash Holly killed himself due to the misery that is Vince’s Show. Vince’s show does one of two things to wrestlers. ONE: They take what ever name the superstar has/had and crap all over it so that they won’t be of any use to any other company. (I respect that because it’s a good way to get rid of the competition). TWO: They exhaust the person to the point where they become injured or too tired to compete and THEN they fire them (Test, Kurt Angle, um Boogie Man I guess). They don’t even think to fire them immediately when the addiction begins but instead let them run their course and bring that back as a nice convenient excuse. And the worst part is that people who post on websites like this actually think that people care what they have to say. There’s a fine line between a blog and getting interviewed. If you get interviewed people actually care what you have to say. If you blog then you’re just another one of the losers who posts for no reason. I’m in between classes right now and looking for a few minutes to fill up my time. Please don’t bother responding to this because I will never come back to check this site let alone seek out responses to this rant.
October 5th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
No problem, Tristan. I wouldn’t want you to be late for your etiquette class. You also may wish to seek out some remedial journalism course to better understand the purpose of a column as opposed to a story. Thanks for visiting, nonetheless. Have fun watching TNA. And have fun dealing with all that angst you obviously have pent-up inside of you. It’s a shame you didn’t wish to debate this further. You should never be afraid to defend your beliefs, let alone duck and cover. Let this be a lesson to you, kids.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I think kurt Angle is a no good washed up piece of crap just like the rest of TNA boring ass wrestling. Angle screwed Vince, but just like the crowd says, Angle sucks!!!!