9/26/2006 3:47:00 PM
Dan Wahlers looks at TNA's signing Kurt Angle
It’s On Your Head Now, Dixie
njguy316@yahoo.com
TNA made their big, shocking announcement Sunday night at the “No Surrender” PPV, in front of the usual studio audience crowd in Orlando. This was the news that was going to “change the fabric of TNA, and re-write the history of the wrestling business, and something we would be talking about for years, not just days,” as TNA President Dixie Carter said in a very McMahon-like press release early last week.
Immediately, the names and rumors began to swirl. Would it be The Rock? Bill Goldberg? Chris Jericho? Chris Benoit? Eric Bischoff? Jim Ross? No, the signing of Kurt Angle, in a move that has reverberated throughout the entire wrestling industry. We are talking about it now, and will be for a long time I’m sure. They’ve accomplished their initial goals, in that this is something everyone is talking about. As far as re-writing the history of wrestling, well that remains to be seen. The reaction so far has definitely been mixed to say the least.
Kurt Angle is the most high profile wrestler to jump from WWE to TNA yet, following in the footsteps of people like Christian, The Dudley Boys, Rhino, and others. It’s something that even a few days ago nobody thought was going to happen. After all, Kurt’s agent Dave Hawk announced on his website earlier last week that Angle had retired from wrestling, and was going to be joining MMA. Well we know now that were all victims of an elaborate work, and it was a very well kept secret by TNA, I have to hand them that. You have to work hard to keep anything secret in this age of internet and wrestling newsletters.
But in the grand scheme of things, is this really the huge deal it was made out to be? Is this going to bring about the dawn of a new wrestling war between WWE and TNA as some are predicting? And does any of it really matter with Vince “Worked Shoot” Russo back in the fold as the new head of TNA creative? I’m here to sift through all of that today, and examine what all of this truly means.
First of all, let’s start with the obvious here. Kurt Angle was not fired from WWE because Vince McMahon was tired of him, and they didn’t have anything left for him to do. They fired him because his physical and mental condition had gotten so bad that he was becoming a danger to himself, and to his fellow wrestlers. They fired him for a very good reason, and TNA apparently didn’t care about any of that. At least it wouldn’t appear so.
All they saw was a former big name, main event WWE star was available, and we all know how much TNA loves to go through the garbage that Vince McMahon puts out at the curb. But this time he put out a gold watch. One man’s garbage is another man’s gold, as they say. But Kurt Angle isn’t garbage. He was a main event star in WWE for six years, and is recognized by many as one of best in-ring performers of the last 20 years, some would say of all-time. They were going to do whatever it took to sign him, regardless of the truckload of baggage that Angle brings with him. Business-wise, it’s a smart move for TNA. Morally and ethically, that’s another story entirely.
By signing him and putting him out on TV, TNA is doing nothing to help Kurt’s situation. He will be relying on painkillers more than ever, because guess what? The neck injury that has bothered him for the past ten years is not going to magically go away because he signed with TNA. It’s only going to keep getting progressively worse. Sure, Angle will have a much easier schedule in TNA, with two TV tapings per month and one PPV a month. So the demand on him physically won’t be as high as it was in WWE. But that still is doing nothing to correct the problem at the root of all of this. And that is Kurt Angle’s addiction to prescription pain medication, which is the reason WWE let him go. They had no choice.
WWE has a drug and wellness policy for its wrestlers, which Angle was suspended for violating earlier this year. It’s not a perfect policy by any means, but at least it’s something. TNA has nothing. They have Dixie Carter with her head ignorantly buried in the sand to a problem that is not just WWE’s problem, it’s everyone’s problem. And in TNA there will be no checks and balances to monitor Kurt’s physical and mental health, and that is what ultimately makes this a bad move for him.
Vince McMahon didn’t fire him for any reason. There was a perfectly valid reason, and it was to protect Kurt’s health and well being, and hopefully motivate him to get the help he needed. And of course it was also to cover their own asses if something happened to Kurt, or someone he was in the ring with. Let’s not forget that part of it. But Vince made a decision that hurt his company. Losing Kurt Angle certainly didn’t benefit WWE in any way, and even less now than Angle joined with their closest competition in the wrestling business. I’m sure they knew it was a possibility Angle would sign with TNA. And they still fired him. That tells you how bad things really were and are. The problems are not going to go away because Kurt works for a different company now.
TNA has a new primetime TV slot on Spike TV, starting in November they will be airing from 9-10PM on Thursdays. It’s definitely a better timeslot for them than the one they currently have. They will also face stiffer competition on that night, at that time from top rated shows like Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, that air in the 9PM timeslot on ABC and CBS respectively. They obviously saw Kurt Angle has someone that could help boost their ratings, and give them some more notoriety among the wrestling audience going into the new timeslot. He’s a name that people know, and I think his presence will definitely attract some new viewers to TNA. But at the end of the day, it’s still Vince Russo running the show.
Russo was brought back to the company last week to be their head of creative. The same Vince Russo that had a large hand in the demise of WCW, and has had several unsuccessful stints in TNA already. The man that has admitted to having no love for the wrestling part of the wrestling business is going to be responsible for booking Kurt Angle, the wrestler. I don’t see how that is going to work out positively for anyone involved.
Vince Russo ruins everything he touches. He has a track record of disaster after disaster since leaving WWE in 1999, where he had Vince McMahon and others to filter out the one or two good ideas he had in the pile of 20 bad ones. I don’t see where things are going to be any different this time. Maybe Russo will prove me wrong, and prove that he really has changed as he claimed in his book. But based on his past, I have no reason to believe that will be the case.
So TNA is the company everyone is talking about right now. They have a new primetime timeslot, they have a new head of creative, and they have Kurt Angle. Signing Angle was a good business move for them, and I don’t blame them for doing it. Vince McMahon would likely do the same thing if he were in a similar situation. But that certainly doesn’t make it right.
TNA’s product had been dead, and they needed someone to breathe new life into it. Angle will do that. He brings a lot of positives with him, but he also brings a lot of negatives. And those negatives are things that he obviously has not addressed in his life, so I don’t see how his physical and mental condition will be any better, just because he has a new address. You can’t run away from your problems. They follow you wherever you go. Instead of looking in the mirror, and facing his problems head on, Angle has run away from them. Just look at this quote from Angle in the TNA press release if you need proof:
“Being with TNA feels like I found my home. TNA will be the most watched show on cable TV, it's just a matter of time. Thank you TNA for saving my career, my life and my desire to do what I love.”
I don’t even know what to say after reading that. How is TNA saving his life by allowing him to ignore his problems? His desire to do what he loves, well we know all about that. It’s that desire to be the best that has driven Kurt all these years, and that unsatiable desire that is apparently more important to him than anything else. So what if he ends up paralyzed in a wheelchair for the rest of his life? So what if he ends up dead? As long as people remember him as the best, then it will all be worth it for him. And that is the scariest thing about all of this.
I’m scared for Kurt Angle. I was scared for him in WWE, and I was happy when they released him, hoping he would finally deal with the problems and issues in his life. And maybe be able to return to the company that made him some day when he was ready. But it’s obvious now that he hasn’t done that, and I don’t see this turning out very well at all. I hate to say it, and I hate to be morbid. But I’m just being honest, something Kurt hasn’t done with himself in a long time. I don’t see this story ending well. I sincerely hope to God that I’m wrong.
So while Dixie Carter and TNA may bask in whatever success Kurt Angle brings them, and he will bring them some just by his mere presence, something not even Vince Russo can screw up. They will be able to revel in the successes he brings them, but they also have to know that whatever happens to Kurt from here on out is on their head.
That’s a risk they are apparently prepared to take. The Carter’s are no strangers to taking risks. They’ve poured tons of money into TNA over the past few years, and the company still hasn’t turned a profit. They just spent a lot more to get Angle. Maybe the addition of Kurt Angle to their already talented roster will change that, and they will see a return on their investment after all. But at what price? When does the risk outweigh the possible gain? That is the million-dollar question, and one that will assuredly be answered over time.
I do know the answer to one question, and that is when it comes to morals, ethics, and doing what’s right, The Carter’s, Panda Energy, and TNA are no better than Vince McMahon. Vince is not known for his morals and ethics in the wrestling business, and even he knew he couldn’t keep Angle on the roster. Even he knew that Angle’s problems were too big to just sweep under the carpet, and that he would have to part ways with one of his best homegrown creations for the betterment of everyone involved. TNA apparently didn’t see it that way. What does it say about them when Vince McMahon looks like the moral and ethical one of the bunch? Chew on that one for a while.
Thanks for reading this special Tuesday column. This is arguably the story of the year in wrestling thus far. I know a lot of differing opinions are out there already. Todd Martin shared his with you yesterday on the site, and as usual he did an outstanding job. I know Dave Meltzer is working hard on getting all the latest info on how this entire situation went down for the upcoming editions of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. You’ll definitely want to check those out if you’re not a current subscriber. I put my opinions on the table today. Now it’s time to hear from you guys. I want to know what you think about Kurt Angle going to TNA. You can share your thoughts with me at the address below. And I thank you for reading. Until next time, take care and be well.
You can send feedback to:
njguy316@yahoo.com
Dan Wahlers
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Great WON column on Kurt Angle-breaks it down
