Wrestling >> Interviews >>
Interview: Kurt Angle This Summer, Angle's biggest storyline to date began as he fell
for Vince McMahon's daughter, Stephanie. For months he couldn't
admit it, but his blooming "friendship" with Stephanie began to draw
the ire of her husband, four time former WWF champion Triple-H. As
Kurt's intentions became more obvious, the feud has gathered more
and more momentum. Finally, Hunter and Angle came to blows during a
three-way match for the WWF championship at Summerslam, in a match
also featuring the current champion, The Rock. During the match,
Hunter attempted to hit his dreaded Pedigree, a piledriver
variation, on the ringside commentary table; but when the desk
collapsed prematurely, an unprepared Angle ended up falling five
feet, hitting the concrete head-first, suffering a serious
concussion in the process.
IGN Wrestling's Blake Norton and Miss Galatea caught up with King
Kurt in Los Angeles, shortly before he was to go out and wrestle in
the main event of a show for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, a regional
company associated with the WWF. Among other topics, Kurt discussed
his head injury, making the transition from amateur wrestling to
"sports entertainment," his goals in the industry and much more.
Blake Norton: Tell us what happened that night.
Kurt Angle: That night… I was supposed to get knocked out,
but not really knocked out.
Norton: The pedigree happened prematurely.
Angle: Right. I had my hands behind my back, so when the
table gave way underneath us, I couldn't protect my head. I hit the
concrete floor with it. After that, the only thing I remember was
the ride to the hospital. The stuff in between I don't remember.
Norton: What have the doctors told you?
Angle: They told me to take it easy, but that's hard to do
when you're on television. You have to keep it real. I'm in the
biggest angle in wrestling right now, so it's hard. They're trying
to nurse me by taking me off house shows, and I'm taking as few
bumps as possible, but I'm hoping that in another week or so I'll be
okay.
Norton: Unforgiven is coming up; do you feel you'll be
ready for the show?
Angle: Yeah. I think I'll be 100%. Right now I'm pretty
close… I'm still, my head gets groggy sometimes, when I take a bump
I can see stars and not be sure where I am. It's had an effect on
me, but by Unforgiven, I'm hopeful.
Norton: So you feel you're getting better?
Angle: Yeah, I've been getting better. The good news is
that when I take the bumps, they haven't been pretty, I haven't
gotten knocked out. They don't feel good, but I haven't blacked out
like I did that night.
Norton: You're one of the most successful people in
wrestling, but a couple of years ago you didn't know anything about
it. Now you're one of the top stars in the world. How does that
feel?
Angle: It's an honor and a pleasure. They threw me in the
fire to see what I could do, and I was able to produce. I took my
work ethic from amateur and the Olympics and applied it to what I'm
doing now. It's the same attitude, just a totally different game.
It's sports entertainment now. I took more of a casual approach.
Instead of taking the aggressive approach, that people would be
scared of because of the amateur background, I let people push me
around and show me how to do this. You have to have finesse in
Sports entertainment. Without that, you won't get very far.
Norton: What got you into pro-wrestling?
Angle: One night I turned it on, and I was really
impressed with these athletes, what they were doing. People call
them "fake," but watching them perform I saw people who were real
bona fide athletes. Many could have been successful at any sport. I
always wanted to be in entertainment. I took my medals, my
credentials and turned it over to sports entertainment. It's been
nothing but good. I brought my work ethic. Vince McMahon and I have
a great relationship. The more I listen, the more I get better and
learn about the business, the more he utilizes me.
Norton: Do you get any heat from your peers, since you're
a "legitimate" sportsman? Do you get people looking down on you for
your more?
Angle: Yeah, especially the people who don't understand.
Norton: Mostly people who've never watched pro-wrestling.
Angle: Right, right. I'd say 60% of amateur fans watch it
and understand, but those who don't, think I sold out my Gold Medals
to get into what they think is "fake." I've never been so brutalized
and banged around in my life (being in pro-wrestling). I was so good
at amateur that nobody could touch me. Here, I have to let my
opponent take half the match. You get bumped, banged around, and
suffer concussions, like I did.
Norton: When you first signed with the WWF, it was a long
time before we saw you on television - but when you finally made
your debut, you looked like a natural. What happened during those
months and months of training, and how hard was it for you to make
the transition?
Angle: It was really hard. I felt stupid at first. I was
the "real deal," and I had no idea how everybody was going to accept
me. At independent shows I didn't know how people were going to
accept me being a character in sports entertainment. But when I got
to the WWF, things were so hyped up and pumped, you start to believe
the character you're playing. When you go out there and get some
confidence in yourself, the company has confidence in you. It just
keeps building. They brought me up really rapidly; It blows my mind
that I've come this far in nine months.
Norton: How did you feel about your "Olympic Whiner"
gimmick? At your debut match at Survivor Series, you jumped out of
the ring in mid-match, grabbed the microphone and told the fans they
HAD to cheer you because you're a "real" athlete?
Angle: Actually, that wasn't supposed to be done. It was
called at that moment. I wasn't supposed to walk out of the match
and grab the microphone. Vince McMahon saw how the crowd was
reacting. Fans weren't just booing, they were saying that I flat-out
sucked in sports entertainment.
Norton: You went in doing mat wrestling, a lot more than
you do now.
Angle: Exactly. That was Vince's whole plan. When he heard
the reaction, he radioed the referee, who told me to jump on the
microphone. The whole idea was to have people chant "boring" because
I'm an Olympic wrestler.
Norton: And then you get your heat by telling the fans
what is and what isn't good wrestling.
Angle: Exactly. It was a good angle, a good idea. Vince
McMahon, I think, always knew he was going to do that. You take a
guy like me with the gold medals, the worldwide recognition, some
guys would throw me in at the main event. But Vince built me up
slowly.
Norton: So the fans would accept you.
Angle: Yes, yes. It wasn't like a Mike Tyson gimmick where
you throw the guy in at the main event. Vince made people believe in
me first, see that I could work first.
Norton: You had a naturally charismatic ability to use the
microphone and get a reaction right from your debut with the WWF. Is
that something you worked on? Where did you get it from?
Angle: I don't know! (Kurt gives a confused look). I
didn't have much practice. It's a God Given gift, I guess. It was
comfortable and easy for me, because that's how I've felt my whole
life. I've felt that I didn't get enough credit for what I did.
Amateur wrestling doesn't get any exposure, for some odd reason, it
takes a back seat to pro-wrestling. People would ask "oh, one of
those wrestlers on TV?" and I'd say "Hell no, I'm an Olympic
wrestler!" I used to get upset about it. So I used that attitude
when I came here.
Norton: After Bob Holly broke his arm absorbing a
moonsault, how did that affect you personally, being the first time
you seriously hurt someone in the ring?
Angle: That really… that tore me up inside. Bob is a great
guy, we have a great relationship. We called the move before the
match. I've never landed a moonsault, I'd always missed. So I wasn't
sure how to place him… I know how to place him now… he was too far
away. He was towards the center of the ring, and to hit a moonsault
from the corner, you have to go… more of a line-drive…. I did more
of a Japanese moonsault. That hurt. He's a great worker, and he was
right at that point where he was mid-main event. He has a great work
ethic, and I wish him the best as he returns.
Norton: Has the incident made you apprehensive about using
high-risk moves?
Angle: Yes, definitely…
Norton: Will we be seeing the moonsault again?
Angle: Yeah, you'll see it some day, but I'll practice it.
I haven't even tried it since. I'll bring it in at some point. Right
now I'm comfortable with what I'm doing. You don't have to do the
crazy stuff to be a top wrestler. You just have to make it
believable and make it work. I'll eventually do it again; a lot of
guys joke around before a match with me and say "just don't hit me
with a moonsault!" It doesn’t hurt me, but it does because of what
happened to Bob. He didn't deserve that.
Norton: You've only been here a year, but you've already
had several top feuds. Who do you feel you've worked best with?
Angle: There's so many top guys in the WWF, I really can't
single out one. I feel the best guys are here. I'd say the very best
guy in the business right now is Hunter. The guy has the full
package. He can carry you through a whole match and make it look
like a million bucks. You don't even have to be that good. He can
make any situation work at any time. Exactly what happened when I
got a concussion. Hunter's the one that settled me down, continued
the match, kept me in the match by pulling the gurney back to keep
my involved. He knew I was hurt, but he knew I could come back. He
has that knowledge. I think him and Undertaker are the best for
knowledge. Then if you're looking at the best workers, you have The
Rock, Edge and Christian, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho…
Norton: You worked with both those last two guys in the
triple-threat match at Wrestlemania.
Angle: Man, we had the best match, just at the wrong time.
It was after the tables match, after the girls, it was right in the
time when people were just…
Norton: Coming down from the rest. The placing on the card
wasn't great, because the fans would have been able to get into the
wrestling, but it was right after the big bumps. That's got to do
with the placing on the card, not the quality of the match.
Angle: You're right, that's exactly what it was. We had a
tremendous match, and I want to work with those guys in the future,
they're phenomenal. Even guys like Bob Holly, Val Venis, Rikishi,
who haven't been promoted quite as much… Rikishi is phenomenal. A
four hundred pound guy? He's just amazing.
Miss Galatea: You spent a little bit of time in ECW before
going to the WWF; tell us what happened when they ran the
crucifiction angle with Raven and The Sandman.
Angle: I was a motivational speaker at the time.
Corporations, universitys, elementary schools. I didn't want to be
portrayed as a person like this… it's not that I was against what
they did. I understand, It's sports entertainment. They do what they
do and try to make it effective, whether it's good, bad or evil.
They have a plan I wasn't offended as a part of the show, I was
offended as an individual, because of the position I was in at the
time. I just wanted to make sure that it didn't go on the air when I
was on there. I wasn't interested in sports entertainment at the
time. I was told that ECW was more legitimate wrestling. What they
really do is more hardcore, nobody told me that, I thought it was
straight wrestling. Those guys, I'll tell you, I like Sandman, I'm
crazy about Raven, I have a great relationship with Stevie Richards…
I respect and admire them. It's just that at that particular time, I
shouldn't have done it. Now I understand. I'm a Christian, I'm a
believer in God, I don't agree with it, but there's a lot of stuff I
don't agree with. You can always change that channel. Young, old,
there's always something to watch.
Norton: If you got a huge offer from WCW, would you be
interested in jumping?
Angle: No, not at this time. I have a great relationship
with the WWF. I trust them, they trust me, I'm real happy with what
they're doing with me as far as character. I'm happy with what
they're paying me. My contract may not say they're paying me much,
but the harder you work, the higher up you go, the more you get. I
have total trust in what they're going to do, and I'm sure they'll
re-sign me before my contract is up.
Norton: What do you feel you have left to accomplish as an
individual?
Angle: I just want to be one of the best in sports
entertainment. I've been on television for ten months. I'm not
asking to do that within a year or two years, but I'd ultimately
like to be remembered as one of the best. There's been a lot of
tremendous guys, and I think I have the ability to do it. It's just
a matter of time, learning from all these great workers. Hopefully
some day I can be just as good as the greats.
Miss Galatea: You had success with the Olympics, and in
pro wrestling. What's the contrast in the personal rewards?
Angle: It's different. Now, it's more of a dramatic
performance and a show. I can get more into it. In amateur
wrestling, you go out, you train, you work on instinct. Here, you
have to think all the time. This is more satisfying… more
gratifying. It's more "me." It's more of the athlete, the person,
the character. It's not just my wrestling, it's my look, everything.
You have to have everything in one package. I find it more
satisfying.
Norton: Thanks for talking with us. Best of luck in your
recovery.
Angle: Thank you very much!
Our
Olympic Hero reveals to IGN the shocking details of his Summerslam
concussion in a candid chat
September 15, 2000
The
1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner in amateur wrestling, Kurt Angle, has
only been in the pro-wrestling ring for less than a year now.
However, since his debut at last year's "Survivor Series" pay per
view, his impact on the WWF has been phenomenal. He quickly won the
European Championship, then defeated Chris Jericho for the
Intercontinental Champion. He held both belts for over a month, then
went on to win the WWF's annual "King Of The Ring" tournament,
surviving a field of 32 top wrestlers to be crowned King.