John
05-28-2009, 08:09 AM
Frank Trigg Compares Kurt Angle To Michael Jordan
MMA fighter Frank Trigg, who briefly worked with TNA, was recently interviewed by PeoplesDefender.com and asked about professional wrestling and Kurt Angle. Here are the highlights:
On how he hooked up with TNA: Kurt Angle is a world class wrestler and Olympic Champion. He was in the WWE then TNA. I would give him a hard time, telling him, "you are a real wrestler, what are you doing?" Kurt called me and asked me to come and commentate on his (TNA) event. So I went up there and did my job. Then I got to work out with Kurt and Jeff Jarrett saw us and asked if I wanted to do more.
On changing his views about pro wrestling: At this point I was still making fun of everyone a little bit when I was still there. Then Sting, Kevin Nash and Booker T showed up, guys I grew up watching, and I was still making fun of them! Then I was clowning around in the ring with AJ Styles and I was like, "Wow, this stuff hurts." Then I started doing the wrestling and taking the bumps and understanding how this works. Man it's just so much more than you realize. Yes, the results are predetermined, but from when the bell rings up until the end, it is nothing but chaos. Can I drop you correctly, landing correctly, etc. I equate it to being in a live stunt show.
Is it MMA? No. Is it as tough as MMA? I think it is. The ability to land drops from ten feet in the air, the ability to do a forward somersault while in the air, all the while making sure you don't hurt your opponent so tomorrow night you can do it all over again.
On Kurt Angle possibly doing MMA: I think he realized that coming in with the way the organizations are right now, he isn't going to get the pay day he would need right now as a fighter. Michael Jordan is the most recognizable basketball player in our time. He went and played baseball and couldn't pull it off. Just because you are a great athlete doesn't mean you can excel at another sport. Jordan went from making 30 million plus a year to making 25 thousand or whatever a Single A player makes; that is pretty tough to swallow. That is why he went back to basketball because that's who he is. The same goes with Kurt Angle. He is making some serious money right now with TNA. He would have to fight 4-5 times a year in MMA to make that kind of money. It's not really worth it to him.
MMA fighter Frank Trigg, who briefly worked with TNA, was recently interviewed by PeoplesDefender.com and asked about professional wrestling and Kurt Angle. Here are the highlights:
On how he hooked up with TNA: Kurt Angle is a world class wrestler and Olympic Champion. He was in the WWE then TNA. I would give him a hard time, telling him, "you are a real wrestler, what are you doing?" Kurt called me and asked me to come and commentate on his (TNA) event. So I went up there and did my job. Then I got to work out with Kurt and Jeff Jarrett saw us and asked if I wanted to do more.
On changing his views about pro wrestling: At this point I was still making fun of everyone a little bit when I was still there. Then Sting, Kevin Nash and Booker T showed up, guys I grew up watching, and I was still making fun of them! Then I was clowning around in the ring with AJ Styles and I was like, "Wow, this stuff hurts." Then I started doing the wrestling and taking the bumps and understanding how this works. Man it's just so much more than you realize. Yes, the results are predetermined, but from when the bell rings up until the end, it is nothing but chaos. Can I drop you correctly, landing correctly, etc. I equate it to being in a live stunt show.
Is it MMA? No. Is it as tough as MMA? I think it is. The ability to land drops from ten feet in the air, the ability to do a forward somersault while in the air, all the while making sure you don't hurt your opponent so tomorrow night you can do it all over again.
On Kurt Angle possibly doing MMA: I think he realized that coming in with the way the organizations are right now, he isn't going to get the pay day he would need right now as a fighter. Michael Jordan is the most recognizable basketball player in our time. He went and played baseball and couldn't pull it off. Just because you are a great athlete doesn't mean you can excel at another sport. Jordan went from making 30 million plus a year to making 25 thousand or whatever a Single A player makes; that is pretty tough to swallow. That is why he went back to basketball because that's who he is. The same goes with Kurt Angle. He is making some serious money right now with TNA. He would have to fight 4-5 times a year in MMA to make that kind of money. It's not really worth it to him.