Let’s face it Kurt Angle going to TNA is way bigger than really anything else going on in wrestling. Also I thought Raw was bad yes bad, with the exception of a few segments I really didn’t like the show, in fact I think I checked the clock more than I have in a long time to see how much time was left. I can tell you what I liked about Raw and believe me it’s not going to take up too much space and then I really would like to touch on the Angle/TNA situation. I’m pretty sure most of you already have an idea what my thoughts are on the subject but I figure why not just share my opinion with you one more time. So let me mention the highlights on Raw and then on to Kurt Angle.
The match of the night was Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin. Now I know I didn’t mention this in any of my columns but honestly I was really hoping that the next feud Hardy would have would be with Shelton Benjamin. So this was something that I was very happy to see, now whether this goes on for a while or if it is a one time thing I don’t know but I think the fans would benefit from watching two guys with similar styles feud with each other. I liked the backstage skit with DX and Maria. When Maria thought DX’s two words for Vince was NO WAY I got a kick out of that. This was a funny segment that brought back some nice DX humor. I thought Carlito/Super Crazy vs. Randy Orton and Chris Masters was okay, but it took a while for it to really come alive. And finally I really loved Eric Bischoff’s promo last night. I will admit I got very tired of Bischoff and was glad when he left in December. And when I read that he was going to be on Raw last night I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him. BUT I thoroughly enjoyed what he had to say. He had a lot of fire in him and because of that I was interested in his every word. Also I think Bischoff just got things started by informing the fans that there would be no DX had it not been for the NWO. As soon as he said that it just hit me that DX and the NWO are going to face each other. I’m almost as sure about that as I was about Cena not leaving Raw to go to Smackdown. But I liked this segment a lot and I also loved watching Coach light up when Eric came out only to show signs of panic in his face the more Eric blasted Vince and the WWE. So there you have my only highlights from Raw.
Okay I did something that I really never do. I checked results Sunday night to find out what the HUGE TNA surprise was going to be. Now last week when TNA announced that they would have this major announcement during their pay per view, I told a few friends I bet Kurt Angle is going there. However almost immediately after TNA put this out we started getting rumors that Angle was preparing for an MMA début. In fact there was a statement released where it said that Kurt was retiring from wrestling and going into MMA fighting. After all of this I figured that Kurt wasn’t the big surprise. So there I was on Sunday just waiting to see who was going there or was it even about a person? Could it be just a new time slot? Which by the way TNA got as well. As you all know by now Kurt Angle was signed by TNA, and boy did the emails start pouring in as soon as the TNA announcement was made. So many of you wanted to hear my thoughts on this, so many of you were just elated that he was going to TNA and others were anything but happy with this big announcement. Let me tell you so many emotions hit me.
At first I was like, WOW what a major coup by Dixie Carter. She got one of WWE’s biggest superstars ever. Signing Angle is bigger than getting Christian, Rhino and Jeff Hardy. Hey it’s Kurt Angle. So needless to say I was really shocked. But then things really started to bother me. Listen we all know there are a lot of rumors that are posted daily on the sites. It’s hard to know what’s factual and what’s BS. But when WWE released Kurt Angle a few weeks ago, I think the majority of us knew that most if not all the things that have been on the sites about Angle’s mental and physical heath was more than likely to be true. So when Angle and TNA united I started to get angry at Angle and I think more at Dixie Carter. As I told many of you since this all hit, WWE did not release Angle because they didn’t like his bald head, or the mouth protector that he wore. They released him because this man needs help. While it was never proven that it was Kurt Angle on a death watch right after Eddie Guerrero died, it was rather odd that after this rumor came out, Kurt Angle on his website came out to assure the fans that he was in good shape. Why would he bother to do that when Kurt’s name was never mentioned as the wrestler who was on this death watch? I think so many of us just figured it was Kurt by looking at his appearance and by all the injuries he started getting.
And then in the last several months more has come out that he has been addicted to pain pills, he suffers severe pain on a regular basis, he has numbness in his hands and as I said just looking at him this guy wasn’t the Angle that we all came to look forward to watching each week. WWE felt the need to suspend Angle more than once and then move him from Smackdown to ECW to ease up on his matches. I think WWE gave him every chance to get himself the help that he needed. Do any of you really think that Vince McMahon wanted to lose one of his top guys? Not at all.
So they release him and more comes out about how he refused to get help. And while all of this is going on it’s reported that he’s in such bad pain that at airports he needs to have a wheelchair to get around and mentally he’s lost it. Again the rumors had him upsetting so many in the ECW locker room by pushing himself into feuds and butting in on other matches. In other words he wanted to take command of what was going on. I wish I could remember where I read this but over a month ago he felt that if WWE wasn’t going to build their show around him then he wanted out and would go somewhere else to wrestle. And I think most of us remember how he lost control of a suplex he did on RVD at a house show, and Van Dam ended up hitting his head. Later on Kurt would blame RVD for what happened. That’s the problem Angle doesn’t take any responsibility for what’s been happening. And because of that he’s not going to get the help he needs.
Sure there is no way that I can say that all of this is true but Kurt Angle has changed and I said it a few months ago that he is just so obsessed with wrestling that he is willing to risk his life and risk major injury to stay in the sport. Now today I read that he and his wife have reconciled. But up until recently his marriage has been on the rocks for a while.
My point is that he was given his release to get help. And now you have the owner of TNA grabbing a guy that is a danger not only to himself but he’s a danger to any one he faces in the ring. I’m very angry that any company would sign someone in Kurt Angle’s condition. Oh I expect Angle to continue to say he’s fine and healed but I don’t believe that for a minute. And if you go to the TNA site and watch the video with Kurt, you will see Angle with a head that looks like a giant honey dew melon. I would say he’s jacked up again and it’s not a pretty site.
Listen I’m a fan, a fan of his, maybe not as big of a fan as I once was even though I have always enjoyed watching him wrestle. Sure TNA’s ratings will go up and buy rates for their shows will increase, but things will even out or fall in no time. I don’t think Kurt ever brought major ratings to WWE as champion and because he’s new to TNA for a short time yeah he’ll bring those ratings in. But it is really sad that Dixie Carter is putting ratings over someone’s health. Vince McMahon pisses me off a lot as a lot of you know, but when he released Kurt Angle Vince did the right thing. He did Kurt a favor. Now many of you have asked me if I will watch Kurt on Impact or order a PPV. My answer is no, I have no intention of watching Kurt Angle right now. I don’t feel like I want to add to his disintegration. I think it would have been great if all companies would have just said NO to Kurt until he got the help he needed.
This whole situation with Kurt Angle is so tragic and he’s one guy that I never expected to go through all of this. I will leave you with the main event for ECW. It will be The Sandman vs. The Big Show for the ECW title. I would say The Sandman doesn’t stand a chance, but here’s hoping it’s a decent match. I will be back either at the end of the week or over the weekend with my thoughts on Smackdown.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
