Dangerous Incorporated
10-07-2006, 08:08 AM
THE SPIRIT OF WRESTLING: PRIDE AND PASSION - Kurt Angle
Christmas came early for TNA fans this year. September 24th to be exact.
But just a few nights earlier in an abandoned warehouse on the west side of Nashville, Kurt Angle was the one acting like an excited young boy on Christmas morning.
He was enthusiastic. He was ecstatic. A genuine smile was indelibly etched on his face.
“This just feels right,” he gushed.
Both Kevin Sullivan and I have worked with Kurt Angle many times in the past. We always found him to be passionate and professional and generally fun on sets. But this night something was different. This night his energy and enthusiasm were revved higher than ever.
“Coming to TNA was the best move I ever made!” Kurt confided. “I feel like I finally found my home.”
Make no mistake. This is more than an epic moment in the business. This is an epoch. It is pro wrestling’s equivalent of Babe Ruth being traded to the Yankees, or Joe Willie Namath shocking the football establishment and signing with the fledgling New York Jets, giving the AFL instant credibility.
It is a signing that stunned the wrestling world. Weeks later, many are still stunned. But the true impact of Kurt’s signing will not be measured by ratings or numbers in the upcoming weeks. No, it will truly manifest years from now, when others have come and new stars have emerged and the landscape has become vastly different and changed.
“I want to be the man here,” Angle admitted. “I want to be the franchise. I want to take this company to a whole new level.”
Few doubt that he won’t. Still, Angle has tremendous reverence for his new company and the less heralded but incredibly talented wrestlers who have toiled for so long and sacrificed their bodies numerous times in their attempts to challenge, thrill and entertain.
“I feel like I’m a rookie now,” said the veteran, deferentially. “I’m walking into a whole new locker room with a whole new bunch of guys that are tremendous athletes. And I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. The guys here put their bodies on the line all the time. It doesn’t get any more real than TNA.
“Make no mistake about one thing, though: I’m a rookie, but I start here,” Angle said, raising his hand above his head. “It’s a whole new level. And I want to bring TNA to a whole new level. That will be more gratifying to me than winning a world title. And I expect everyone to step it up. I want TNA to be the best organization in the world and we have that opportunity.”
He has broken his neck five times in the last 10 years, but don’t expect Kurt Angle to slow down once he laces his boots again.
“I never had a match where I didn’t go less than 120%, injured or not. I don’t know any other way. When I go out there, I give everything I have every time I do it.”
And he has a few words of advice for anyone who doesn’t share that same pride for the product. “I’m not going to go half-ass. And if any guys here do that, I’m gonna kick their asses.”
He has yet to compete in a TNA ring, yet already Kurt Angle embodies all that is wonderful about TNA. He is intense. He is tenacious. He has tremendous pride and passion. He is bold and daring. And he won’t be intimidated by anyone.
“This is surreal,” said Sting, who was also present at the late-night shoot.
“I still can’t believe it’s real!” exclaimed producer Simon Edwards.
“It feels like a dream,” remarked referee Andrew Thomas.
To me it just feels right.
Christmas came early for TNA fans this year. September 24th to be exact.
But just a few nights earlier in an abandoned warehouse on the west side of Nashville, Kurt Angle was the one acting like an excited young boy on Christmas morning.
He was enthusiastic. He was ecstatic. A genuine smile was indelibly etched on his face.
“This just feels right,” he gushed.
Both Kevin Sullivan and I have worked with Kurt Angle many times in the past. We always found him to be passionate and professional and generally fun on sets. But this night something was different. This night his energy and enthusiasm were revved higher than ever.
“Coming to TNA was the best move I ever made!” Kurt confided. “I feel like I finally found my home.”
Make no mistake. This is more than an epic moment in the business. This is an epoch. It is pro wrestling’s equivalent of Babe Ruth being traded to the Yankees, or Joe Willie Namath shocking the football establishment and signing with the fledgling New York Jets, giving the AFL instant credibility.
It is a signing that stunned the wrestling world. Weeks later, many are still stunned. But the true impact of Kurt’s signing will not be measured by ratings or numbers in the upcoming weeks. No, it will truly manifest years from now, when others have come and new stars have emerged and the landscape has become vastly different and changed.
“I want to be the man here,” Angle admitted. “I want to be the franchise. I want to take this company to a whole new level.”
Few doubt that he won’t. Still, Angle has tremendous reverence for his new company and the less heralded but incredibly talented wrestlers who have toiled for so long and sacrificed their bodies numerous times in their attempts to challenge, thrill and entertain.
“I feel like I’m a rookie now,” said the veteran, deferentially. “I’m walking into a whole new locker room with a whole new bunch of guys that are tremendous athletes. And I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. The guys here put their bodies on the line all the time. It doesn’t get any more real than TNA.
“Make no mistake about one thing, though: I’m a rookie, but I start here,” Angle said, raising his hand above his head. “It’s a whole new level. And I want to bring TNA to a whole new level. That will be more gratifying to me than winning a world title. And I expect everyone to step it up. I want TNA to be the best organization in the world and we have that opportunity.”
He has broken his neck five times in the last 10 years, but don’t expect Kurt Angle to slow down once he laces his boots again.
“I never had a match where I didn’t go less than 120%, injured or not. I don’t know any other way. When I go out there, I give everything I have every time I do it.”
And he has a few words of advice for anyone who doesn’t share that same pride for the product. “I’m not going to go half-ass. And if any guys here do that, I’m gonna kick their asses.”
He has yet to compete in a TNA ring, yet already Kurt Angle embodies all that is wonderful about TNA. He is intense. He is tenacious. He has tremendous pride and passion. He is bold and daring. And he won’t be intimidated by anyone.
“This is surreal,” said Sting, who was also present at the late-night shoot.
“I still can’t believe it’s real!” exclaimed producer Simon Edwards.
“It feels like a dream,” remarked referee Andrew Thomas.
To me it just feels right.