Kurt Angle was interviewed by South Carolina Now Magazine. Highlights included:

Angle's latest version of leaving World Wrestling Entertainment and signing with TNA: "TNA takes better care of me. They don’t want to overwork me. They want to make sure I can stay wrestling for another five to eight years. There’s a lot of politics in wrestling, wanting to be the top guy. There’s no politics here. That was more important than anything. I can’t say the same about WWE. I’ve seen guys who could elevate quicker, but because of politics, didn’t."

MMA: "Well, my first priority is TNA. A lot of companies have asked me. In mixed martial arts, the danger is always there. If he puts me in a submission hold and I’m too proud to tap out and he snaps my arm, I’m out for a year or two. If I were to do it, the money would have to be unbelievable because if I get injured and I’m out, I need to provide for my family. If the money I get in mixed martial arts does not exceed the money I make in TNA, it’s not worth it. "

Hardest part of transitioning from amateur to pro wrestler: "Emotion. In amateur wrestling, you don’t show emotion. You’re a robot. Pro wrestling, you’ve got to show emotion. That’s how you include the fans in the match. You’ve got to get them to cheer or boo you. If you don’t get anything, you’re in trouble because they don’t care about you at all. "

Advice for prospective wrestlers: "Sit down, watch, look, listen. Listen not just to wrestlers but to the fans around them. It’s not about making yourself look great, it’s not a competition — it’s a performance. The true art of wrestling is to make everybody look great. Ric Flair knows how to do it. He’s the greatest. I also think they need to watch Kevin Nash, Christian Cage, Sting. They’re some of the best."

To read the complete interview, which was promoting TNA's live event in Florence, SC, Read Below:


Professional wrestler Kurt Angle spent more than five years in the WWE but has found his niche in the TNA wrestling organization, which he says has more talent and less politics.



Nick Hilbourn, Morning News
Published: July 24, 2008

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) comes to the Florence Civic Center tomorrow. The organization is now 6 years old — barely a scratch in the dirt compared to their monolithic competitor World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). But TNA is gathering momentum with a broadening fan base, a weekly television program, monthly pay-per-view events and a soon-to-be-released video game.

One of their biggest names is a former WWE employee-turned-TNA grappler, Kurt Angle.

When it comes to “traditional” professional wrestling, Angle is a heavyweight scholar.

A former Olympic wrestler, Angle spent more than five years in WWE, before heading south for TNA, and he hasn’t looked back since.
I spoke with Angle via telephone recently to get a better perspective on why he left the WWE, why he likes TNA and why he loves pro wrestling.


8D: What’s TNA like compared to the WWE?

Angle: There’s no comparison, talent-wise, to WWE. We’ve got much more talented wrestlers. Since I’ve been here, it’s probably progressed 200 percent. It’s not me, though. The folks who started TNA have really built it up. WWE still makes over $100 million a year, but eventually we’ll get there. Now they have a real competitor.

8D: So I take it you believe, wrestling-wise, TNA trumps WWE?

Angle: Yes. and I think a lot of it is the athleticism. We recruit the best wrestlers from around the world. TNA doesn’t discriminate. We look for the best athletes. A lot of our guys are under 6-feet (tall).

8D: You don’t think hiring smaller guys may hurt your fan base?

Angle: Not at all. Wrestling’s an illusion itself, and fans realize it. We’re coming into a more real world. We have a good mixture of wrestlers. We have (high fliers) like Rey Mysterio Jr., but we also have guys like me and Samoa Joe who are more of a ground-and-pound style, more mixed martial arts oriented.

8D: In 2006, you left WWE for TNA. Why did you leave WWE?

Angle: TNA takes better care of me. They don’t want to overwork me. They want to make sure I can stay wrestling for another five to eight years. There’s a lot of politics in wrestling, wanting to be the top guy. There’s no politics here. That was more important than anything. I can’t say the same about WWE. I’ve seen guys who could elevate quicker, but because of politics, didn’t.

8D: You have rather unique experience as, prior to entering pro wrestling, you were an amateur wrestler and, in fact, were very successful, a gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics. For you, what are some of the biggest differences between amateur and pro wrestling?

Angle: In amateur wrestling, nobody threw me around. I was too good. In pro wrestling, I had to learn to bump the right way, do moves and learn how to tell a story for a match.

8D: What was the hardest part of making the transition?

Angle: Emotion. In amateur wrestling, you don’t show emotion. You’re a robot. Pro wrestling, you’ve got to show emotion. That’s how you include the fans in the match. You’ve got to get them to cheer or boo you. If you don’t get anything, you’re in trouble because they don’t care about you at all.

8D: Physically, what is the difference between your amateur career and your pro career?

Angle: I have to save myself. I don’t wrestle every three or four months like I used to. At TNA, I wrestle 52 weeks a year. When I wrestle, I don’t wrestle for six or eight minutes. I wrestle for 20 to 30 minutes. In pro wrestling, the bumps you take make it so demanding on your body. I’ve got to be very careful how
I train.

8D: And what’s your training schedule like?

Angle: I lift weights for 45 minutes one day, and the next day I run three miles as fast as I can. I try to keep my body in shape to continue to wrestle and to be the best that I can be.

8D: You’ve spoken a lot about the “art” of pro wrestling. How does a wrestler turn pro wrestling into an art?

Angle: It takes a good storyteller to go out there and perform. It’s about keeping the fans emotionally involved. They pay their hard earned money to see you put on a show. It’s like watching a movie.

8D: What advice would you give to people who would like to be a pro wrestler?

Angle: Sit down, watch, look, listen. Listen not just to wrestlers but to the fans around them. It’s not about making yourself look great, it’s not a competition — it’s a performance. The true art of wrestling is to make everybody look great. Ric Flair knows how to do it. He’s the greatest. I also think they need to watch Kevin Nash, Christian Cage, Sting. They’re some of the best.

8D: When it comes to pro wrestling, who do you look up to?

Angle: When I started, I would study matches from the ’70s, how they got the fans involved, so, of course, Bruno Sammartino (from that era), Hulk Hogan in the ’80s, Bret Hart in the ’90s.

8D: You’ve mentioned in other interviews that you would like to try mixed martial arts. Is that still a possibility?

Angle: Well, my first priority is TNA. A lot of companies have asked me. In mixed martial arts, the danger is always there. If he puts me in a submission hold and I’m too proud to tap out and he snaps my arm, I’m out for a year or two. If I were to do it, the money would have to be unbelieveable because if I get injured and I’m out, I need to provide for my family. If the money I get in mixed martial arts does not exceed the money I make in TNA, it’s not worth it.

8D: So, Kurt, this begs the ultimate question, why do you love pro wrestling so much?

Angle: I love going out there in front of thousands of fans and performing. It’s my playground. Even though it is brutal on the body, it’s fun to go out there and play your character.

If you’re going
WHAT: TNA Wrestling Live
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Florence Civic Center
COST: $22-$52
INFO: (843) 679-9333
florenceciviccenter.com