Kurt Angle Speaks Openly On Benoit/WWE, HHH, & More

Kurt Angle recently spoke very openly with Orlando Quinones of After Hours Spot Radio on several subjects including WWE erasing Chris Benoit's name from the books, his DUI, his family life and much more. You can listen to the interview here. The following is a recap:

- Kurt says that TNA's goal is to match SmackDown's ratings, and wants to get it done within the next year.

- Angle says that Booker T is one of the best in the business, and isn't only a great wrestler but a great coach to the younger guys. He says that when Booker T came in, Booker got him more focused on helping the younger guys which Angle admits he wasn't doing as much as he could have been.

- On the subject of Chris Benoit, he says that Chris was a very quiet guy who kept to himself, and he never thought Chris would do something like that. Angle said that the first version of the story he heard had Chris's wife and son dieing from food poisoning which lead to Chris killing himself, but as time went on the real truth revealed itself. Angle says that the Benoit incident was not because of pro wrestling, but because of Chris' personal decisions, including not taking time off when he needed it as opposed to Angle and Booker who both left when they were unhappy.

- Kurt says that WWE erasing Chris Benoit's name from the history books is B.S., and you can't re-write history no matter how bad it was.

- Kurt spoke on his DUI, saying that he had three beers at a restaurant and the only person who said he was driving erratically was some crazy lady that he accidentally cut off. The police questioned people working at two construction sites that Angle passed in his Cadillac Escalade and they didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The lady who called the police on him had a DUI herself just three weeks earlier, and actually wrote down his license number to give to the police on the back of a receipt from a liquor store which had enough alcoholic purchases on it to kill three people. Angle says he passed the field tests, but was arrested for not taking the blood test at the advice of his agent. Kurt says his agent is an NFL agent and knows that if they find the pain-blockers Angle takes in his blood test they will blow it out of proportion.

- Kurt says for the first two years of his daughter's life, he was gone so much working for WWE that she was calling him Kurt instead of Dad because she thought he was a friend of the family. Kurt says that Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett give him a schedule that has let him clean up his life and he feels much better about his health and his family now.

- Angle speaks on TNA's drug testing. He says that Dixie and Jeff are both concerned about keeping their talent clean, and Jeff had Angle tested a few weeks ago.

- In regards to power struggle rumors, Kurt admits that the first month in TNA was very rocky between him and Jeff Jarrett. After the first month though things smoothed out and after a sit-down talk him and Jeff have gotten along great.

- Kurt says that he is very good friends with Bobby Lashley was he was actually the one who got him his WWE try-out. Kurt talks with Lashley every week, and says there's a possibility he might come to TNA.

- Kurt says that WWE would probably be more innovative and unpredictable if Triple H would just fall back a little bit. Kurt says that The Undertaker is doing things the right way, he is a veteran but he goes in cycles between the main event and mid-card and helps to make new guys in the business. Kurt says that he once told Stephanie that Triple H would be a bigger asset to the company backstage as an agent or creative team member, and out of the ring.

- Kurt says that Brock may have lost his first fight with UFC but he did a great job and just made a rookie mistake. He says that when the referee stopped the fight, he should have put them back in the position they were in rather than standing them up again. Kurt admits that there was a little bit of heat between him and Brock, but has nothing bad to say about him.