Kurt Angle On If WWE Is Still An Option, Leaving TNA, If He Would Wrestle Brock Lesnar Again, More
I recently interviewed TNA Superstar Kurt Angle, who recently announced that he would not be re-signing with TNA after his contract expires early next year. Below is part one of the interview. Make sure to check back next for the second and final part of the interview, where Angle talks about Vince McMahon wanting his character to be more serious, talk of him ending the streak and who shut it down, his last dates with TNA, if TNA should become more UK-centric and more.
Angle will also be conducting a series of Q&A events in the U.K. this November as part of Triple M Promotions' "The golden truth tour 2015: An audience with Kurt Angle" in six cities. Rob Maltman will conduct a 60 minute interview with Angle, which will be followed by a special Q and A with the audience. Tickets are available now at triplempromotions.co.uk.
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You mentioned that you weren't going to re-sign with TNA when your contract is up. Is that a pretty firm decision?
"I'm not going to sign. Not at the moment. I'm going to take a break. I did talk to them about the future and the possibility of coming back. No guarantees, I just told them I'd consider it. I just want to take a break and get away from wrestling. I've been doing it for so long. I made up my mind last year when I signed with TNA for one year. I didn't sign for multiple years because I knew I was going to be done for now. It was kind of funny, I got a call from John Gaburick, and he said 'You're done?!' and I told him I said 'Well, John, I signed a one-year deal, what did you think I was doing?' and he said they were interested in doing something with me and laid out the plans. I told him I just needed to take a break and I'd get back to him, because he's always been good to me. I'll consider it, but right now I'm going to take a break."
While you take a break, are you closing the door to all things wrestling? Would you still be open to talking with WWE?
"In the future, I'd love to talk to them, but it won't be anytime soon. I'll talk to TNA in the future, as well. I'm not going to rule out any company. I had a great career in both of them. I just want to step away and spend time with my family. I've been taking acting classes to try to start a career in acting, and it looks like I'll be starting a podcast next year. There's a lot of things I want to do, I just haven't been able to because I've been tied down to pro wrestling."
Brock Lesnar was asked about the Shooting Star Press on his podcast. What were your thoughts when he did that move?
"That was my idea, I will take responsibility for Brock doing that. At the time I had to leave [WWE], it really wasn't in the plans for me to drop the title at WrestleMania. I had suffered a broken neck and was going to have surgery, so I wanted to do something that people would remember. I asked Brock to do the Shooting Star Press, which he had done many times in OVW. I just thought it would be a great way to end the show.
"Unfortunately Brock came up short. I think I was a little too far away, and Brock kind of double guessed before he went. If you ever watched the tape, you'll see that he goes, then he kind stops, then he says 'screw it.' So that hesitation caused him to land on his head. But that was my call, I know that Brock didn't necessarily want to do it, but we did practice it earlier in the week and he was doing it perfectly well, he just got in a situation in the match where he kind of slipped a little bit and that was it. But I can tell you this, fans still remember it!"
Is Brock someone you'd like to wrestle again?
"Yeah, Brock's a great talent. People don't realize, he's a beast. They look at him as a big guy that conquers everybody, Brock's a rare talent. He can do about anything. He's 300 pounds and wrestles like he's 200 pounds. I don't think you'll ever see anyone in your lifetime like Brock. He can do whatever he wants. If he stayed in the NFL, he would have made it and been an all-pro lineman. Obviously he proved himself in the UFC. He's good at whatever he does. Look what he did in college wrestling. The way WWE has utilized him is right, because you don't get a Brock Lesnar except maybe once in a few years,."
You're doing a tour of Q&A's in November for Triple M promotions. What can fans expect from those shows?
"I'm looking forward to it. I talked to Ric Flair and he had a blast doing it. This is the first time I've had fans interview me. You're going to get great questions from the UK fans, it's gonna be good. I believe we're starting a trend. We're doing this in the UK and I think a lot of other countries are going to ask to start doing these as well. Triple M promotions has started something that's going to catch on pretty heavily."
Make sure to check back next for the second and final part of the interview, where Angle talks about Vince McMahon wanting his character to be more serious, talk of him ending the streak and who shut it down, his last dates with TNA, if TNA should become more UK-centric and more. Just a reminder that Angle will be conducting a series of Q&A events in the U.K. this November as part of Triple M Promotions' "The golden truth tour 2015: An audience with Kurt Angle". His schedule is below:
18th ? London ? West Ham UTD
19th ? Cardiff ? Cardiff city FC
20th ? Leicester – LCFC
21st ? Rotherham ? Rotherham UTD
22nd ? Edinburgh ? Tynecastle
The evening will consist of a photo opportunity with Angle as well as a chance to get personal signed memorabilia. Rob Maltman will conduct a 60 minute interview with Angle, which will be followed by a special Q and A with the audience. Tickets are priced from as low as £30.00 per person and are available now at triplempromotions.co.uk. For more information, call Matthew Ward 07851428018 or email info@mdapromotions.co.uk.