Kurt Angle On Greatest Opponent To Never Compete In WWE Ring, His Time In NJPW, His Anglestrong App
Kurt Angle recently took some time out to talk with Marc Madison of The Wrestling News Hub Magazine. Kurt candidly opened up about a host of topics ranging from receiving the call from Triple H which led to him being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, to his past opioid abuse and the growing Opiud epidemic in the United States. He talked about fatherhood, which wrestler he would have loved to face again for an hour and how he found his time in Japan as part of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He reveals who he believed to be the greatest wrestler to never be in a WWE ring, how the WWE has taken steps to best protect its athletes, and his new labor of love, his Anglestrong application.
Check out excerpts of the interview below and the complete interview here.
His aspirations for the Anglestrong app:
"My personal hope is to put an end to the drug overdoses and deaths. It's that simple and that's the most important concept. Last year it was reported by the media that there were approximately 53,000 opioid overdoses. It's now more than motor vehicle deaths annually. It's more deaths than from firearms and gun violence. This is a raging epidemic. And a lot of people have turned their backs on the opioid crisis for so long. Many doctors don't want to be held accountable because a lot of them are subscribing their patients the painkillers."
If Nigel McGuiness takes the title of being the greatest wrestler to never to be in the WWE:
"I believe so. I think he was really gifted. I really thought that he was better than I had expected him to be. Nigel was a very special talent. He had some great technique, he was one of the best technical wrestlers that I've wrestled. He was so good that he forgot how to be a heel. I remember when we would work he was literally out wrestling me as a heel. (laughs) I had to tone him down and make him understand 'Listen, I'm the good guy, you're the bad guy, I'm supposed to out wrestle you.' There were certain holds and locks that he put me in that I couldn't escape them. Now, in a shoot I could have, but in a pro wrestling sense I couldn't. I had to teach Desmond how to give and take. Desmond could eat you alive if he wanted to, that's how much technique he had. He knows a lot of stuff and is very good at what he does. However, once he got that concept of being a heel, he became good at the give and take. He became a better heel because of it, and he became a better wrestler. However, when I first met him he wrestled like a babyface all the time. The reason being he was so damn good at it that he dominated every opponent he wrestled. Once I got him to tone down, he became even better of a wrestler. I think that he is the best wrestler that never went to WWE, and I think he could have gone if he didn't have the medical issues, and he would have had an incredible career."
His time in New Japan Pro Wrestling:
"...They have a lot of great wrestlers and a lot of great wrestlers from the west are going over there. There is a good mix of them. It is just amazing how far that company has come because it was big for a long time, but then it calmed down and now it is making its comeback. I am very happy. I think that pro wrestling right now, or sports entertainment, there is a lot to choose from. WWE is a monster, there is no question, and it always will be, but it's nice to see other promotions doing fairly well."