Kurt Angle Comments On The Competition Between AEW And WWE
Wrestling Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently sat down with SHAK Wrestling to talk about a variety of topics, including comparing current day Impact Wrestling with AEW.
While he believes Impact Wrestling is capable of making a comeback one day, right now Angle believes AEW have surpassed them and that they've done an incredible job at giving WWE a run for their money.
"TNA had some incredible runs in the past," Angle said. "They're up and running, you know? They're doing good, they're not doing great. AEW is actually doing pretty d-mn good. Their ratings are up and they have done an excellent job at, you know, giving WWE a run for their money. And I think the competition is really good.
"I'm not so sure that AEW is right up there with WWE yet, but someday they could be and I think they've done an incredible job. Comparing them to IMPACT Wrestling, I would say, is just a little bit smaller of a promotion. AEW seems to be more big time at this particular point. But, you know, IMPACT could make a big comeback again and be right in that picture again."
Kurt Angle was also asked about his former rival, Brock Lesnar, continuing to main event WrestleMania's nearly 20 years after Angle and Lesnar headlined WrestleMania 19 in Seattle. For Angle, it's amazing and impressive that Lesnar has continued to headline WrestleManias all these years later.
"It's been pretty amazing," Angle said. "I mean what Brock Lesnar's been able to do, not in just pro wrestling or amateur wrestling, but MMA as well, Brock is a monster. The guy is so talented. Anything he touches turns to gold. The guy has all the ability in the world and to know that he's still main-eventing WrestleManias 19 years later is pretty d-mn impressive."
On the subject of their WrestleMania main event, Kurt Angle talked about why he helped Lesnar continue following Lesnar's infamous Shooting Star Press botch. The reason, as many would guess, is that Angle was working with a neck injury at the time, and needed Lesnar to win the match because Angle was unable to wrestle past WrestleMania.
"The whole reason why I helped Brock up and tried to assist him to make sure that he won the match is because my neck was broken and I couldn't carry the title any longer," Angle said. "I was going to have surgery the next day. So I was in a position where Brock might've broken his neck. He got knocked out. I didn't know what to do because I couldn't hold the title another day.
"So I had to basically wake him up and get him moving and see if he was okay and make sure that he could complete the move. It was very stressful. That 15 seconds was some of the most stressful, one of the most stressful situations I've ever been in. But Brock being the beast he is followed through and he hit the F5 and won the world championship."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit SHAK Wrestling with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.