As you know today I would normally do my Smackdown column, however with the news of Kurt Angle being released, I thought it would be more appropriate to discuss the release and give you my thoughts on the situation and honestly with the exception of Terkay vs. Tatanka and Vito vs. Sylvan I liked all the other matches. I’m still big on Vito but Sylvan each week just does nothing for me. Anyway let me give you the latest news on Kurt Angle.
I just happened to go to WWE.com to make sure I spelled Terkay’s name right and I saw a new picture of Angle up there. With it is an interview Kurt just gave to WWE.com. I’m saying this is weird because a lot of what he said I was going to mention. But I will just write the column as I had planned too. But please go to WWE.com and check out what Angle has to say. Now I just finished listening to a hotline report and a lot of what was said is what has been out there before.
Just remember everything that I talk about are rumors, I cannot say anything if factual. So please keep that in mind.
The rumors are that Kurt reportedly is causing so much tension and anger backstage with his attitude and trying to get into matches and take spots away from guys in their matches. In other words Kurt wants to run the show and because of this, the one time good guy that was so liked backstage has become very disliked. I also read that he supposedly feels that if WWE isn’t going to build their company around him that he would find another place to wrestle. But if this is all true and I’m going to say I’m sure much of it is I feel it all has to do with things that Kurt is going through and I’m talking about his struggle with major injuries and major pain and his personal problems including divorce proceedings against his wife. Now all of this has been out there for a while, in fact in the last few weeks more and more has been said about the whole Angle situation. Angle has become a guy in such bad shape mentally and physically that many of my readers and fans on the net which includes me have worried that Kurt Angle God for bid could be the next fatality in wrestling. I know each time that I checked WWE.com I had a bad feeling that just like Eddie Guerrero I would see a picture of Kurt Angle with the same headline that he passed away.
WWE did the right thing releasing this man. Angle wasn’t going to give in and take time off. If you all recall instead of having the same type of neck surgery like Austin, Edge, Lita and Benoit did, Kurt saw a surgeon that had another way of doing things and this type of surgery would keep Kurt out of the ring for a several weeks not several months. But when it comes to this business Angle is so driven, or maybe I should say obsessed that leaving for a lengthy time is just something he mentally he can’t do. We all know that when he’s in the ring he gives 110%. He’s always out there not only to please the fans but I believe to please himself as well. But knowing how badly his health is which includes numbness in his fingers, which by the way has been known for a while, I’ve always worried about his opponent getting seriously hurt because Kurt just can’t complete a move. And for several years Angle’s safety has always concerned me. I remember his Wrestlemania match against Brock Lesnar, Angle was in very bad shape and there was talk that he could become paralyzed if things didn’t go right in the ring. I will never forget how worried and nervous I was about this match. I think Kurt has been playing with fire way too long and I’m glad he’s still alive and not paralyzed.
And that’s why when I saw the headline last night on WWE.com that they released him I felt a sign of relief. They didn’t release him because they were jerks; no they released him because this would be the only way for Angle to get away from the business and hopefully heel mentally and physically. If you read the item about the release WWE says two very important things. One is that they granted Kurt his early release, and second that “WWE looks forward to establishing a new relationship with Kurt in the future.†The first part tells me that Kurt wanted out because Vince wasn’t going to continue using Angle the way he wanted to be used. And the last part more importantly tells me that WWE doesn’t want to lose this man and that they just want him to get back on his feet and heel as much as he can. Now I got a lot of emails last night when WWE.com posted the release and the majority of you felt the same way that WWE just did Kurt Angle a big favor. WWE has released a lot of talent in the past few years in which you know I’ve complained about a lot. But this time I have nothing but praise for what they did and after reading Angle’s WWE interview, I feel optimistic that Kurt now sees the light and that he’ll be back with the company in a few months. Angle might now get that help that he needs and maybe he’ll be able to take the time and spend it with his little girl and realize that wrestling is a big part of his life, but that his life means more than wrestling.
I wish Kurt all the best and I look forward to a WWE return somewhere down the line where we get a near healthy and happy Kurt Angle back. He’s going to be missed but if Kurt can take care of himself a few months without him will be okay. And with that I will be back on Tuesday with my thoughts on Raw. Now with Unforgiven coming up on September 17th, I’m thinking that we will get some matches made for the show. Remember it’s supposed to be Edge vs. John Cena in a TLC match that night, so with Edge being thrown into the harbor last week I could see that match being made Monday night. I am hoping that Vince is still not quite right from last week’s DX pranks and that he’ll give DX some new guys to feud with. Now I read last nights house show results and I don’t know if this means anything but DX had to face Viscera/Haas and then Cade and Murdoch. It then turned out to be Umaga vs. HBK and then Hunter coming in to help Shawn. My point is I don’t know if this is what we are going to get on TV but at least it’s not DX vs. the Spirit Squad. Okay don’t forget to go to WWE.com and read Kurt Angle’s interview.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
