Kurt Angle Weighs In On Barbed Wire, Ladders, Chairs, Tables, And Thumbtacks

There will always be a place for hardcore-style in professional wrestling, but it's certainly not for everyone. A six-time world champion in both WWE and TNA, Kurt Angle made the most of his 20-plus-year career by modeling it around his freestyle wrestling background. Though his mindset changed slightly as he made the jump from WWE to TNA in 2006, Angle was never a big proponent of using certain weapons throughout his career — including barbed wire, which he wrapped Mick Foley in en route to their championship match at Victory Road 2009.

"Nope, don't want to do anything with barbed wire," he said on "The Kurt Angle Show." "No ladders, no chairs, no tables, no gimmicks. I want to straight-up wrestle." Co-host Paul Bromwell cheekily followed up with "No thumbtacks?," and while Angle did recall a match of his having them, he wasn't the one to take them. "I didn't take it, Christian did," he clarified. "I would never take that. No, no. I'm not stupid." Later on, Bromwell showed the video package of Angle's match with Foley, highlighting the fact that he was putting his body on the line an awful lot, and even suggesting he was pretty reckless with himself. The Olympic gold medalist didn't disagree, saying "Yeah I was, man. I put everything on the line."

Angle even claimed, "You know, I had a better career in TNA than I did in WWE, which is hard for me to say." Though both promotions ended up inducting him into their respective Hall of Fames, he chalked that up to one factor, adding "But I took a lot more chances in TNA."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Kurt Angle Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.