TNA life after Kurt Angle's retirement

[Savion83]

Last week in a interview, current TNA star Kurt Angle said that he may be retiring in the near future. Since Kurt Angle debuted in TNA wrestling he's been the backbone of the company. Even before Hulk Hogan came into TNA Kurt Angle was there man, and still is broken neck and all!

There has been rumored that Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin would be signing with TNA wrestling, and reuniting Team Angle in TNA. Which could setback Shelton Benjamin a bit from where he was in the WWE...

But now that Kurt Angle's career is coming to an end, where will the state of TNA be without him?

 

[Sting's Bat]

It really depends on who he passes the torch to if he just leaves totally dominate it will put TNA in a bad state since they really dont have anyone at this time to fill that void.

Im kinda stumped on who could fill in maybe Desmond but his current status doesnt scream Backbone of TNA although he is a very talented overall.

The Pope? Hes definately gonna be a future main guy but im not sure he could fill Kurts spot as far a being scary dominate and id rather he made his own legend anyhow.

Perhaps Joe he definately can be a Dominate guy even if his mic work isnt as strong as Kurt's.

Maybe much like the Undertaker Kurt has become too strong to ever fully replace.

As for Shelton and Haas if Angle is retiring whats the point of signing them if they are only gonna be used for short term nostalgia cash in?

 

[rya33]

Kurt angle dont need to put anyone over tna has its big stars besides kurt and any one like joe, aj, the pope, morgan, henandez etc can carry the company kurts already done his part in tna and he will probably stick around as a manager or announcer type deal in tna.

 

[klunderbunker]

TNA losing Angle would be bad for them. He's their version of what Benoit and Eddie etc were in WCW. You can throw him out there and give him 12 minutes and you know you're going to get something decent at a minimum. That's what Angle brings to the table: security. When is the last time you remember a bad Angle match? I can't think of one. WIthout that, there are only maybe 3 at most guys that TNA can look to for a solid match every time. Angle provides a sense of legitimacy to TNA and without that they have a problem.

 

[rya33]

Yes Kurt angle puts on great spectacular matches and I think he is a better wrestler then benoit or Eddie but they were both great and I didn't miss any of their matches but it doesn't take one person to make a company what u need is a good story mixed with great wrestling and u have ur self a formula to create something people will watch.

 

[mister_b1LL]

TNA losing Angle would be bad for them. He's their version of what Benoit and Eddie etc were in WCW. You can throw him out there and give him 12 minutes and you know you're going to get something decent at a minimum. That's what Angle brings to the table: security. When is the last time you remember a bad Angle match? I can't think of one. WIthout that, there are only maybe 3 at most guys that TNA can look to for a solid match every time. Angle provides a sense of legitimacy to TNA and without that they have a problem.

I agree with everything, except I looked at Kurt Angle more as TNA's Shawn Michaels, a major superstar in wrestling, someone who will provide a superb match everytime while putting both himself and his opponent over, and at this current time, a walking talking active legend in the business.

If Angle left today, I do think it would be bad for TNA. However, Angle has been really good at staying out of the spotlight the past few months. It's never Angle's match that I'm most looking forward to, it's matches that Jay Lethal, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Mr. Anderson, and other guys that I'm interested in. Give it time, TNA will have their replacement soon enough.

As for who would replace him, I would love to see Desmond Wolfe get the nod. He's a technique based wrestler as well, plus he had one of his first PPV matches against Angle. They could do a great match and I could see Wolfe as a suitable replacement for Angle as the best technical wrestler in TNA.

 

[The Main Event]

first of all ... kurt said himslef he will wrestle for 2 or 3 years and hen retired ( TNA TODAY 29 JUNE i think ) ..
second of all ... i think Desmond could be The Next Kurt angle for TNA .

 

[Money Inc.]

This is exactly why TNA needs to develop (or continue to develop depending on your opinion) new stars.

WWE was some what coasting between 04-08 and IMO they regret it 100% now. Yes in the past year they have begun to develop a new core (Sheamus, McIntyre, Barrett, Kofi, Bourne, Etc)

WWE finally realized that they can't depend on Shawn Michaels, HHH, The Undertaker, Batista, Etc to wrestle until there 50.

Both companies need to consistently develop young talent just in case of worst case scenarios (injuries, retirement, etc) It's common sense in my mind and sometimes both companies tend to fail at this.

 

[The Prod1gy]

Losing Angle at anytime between now and Bound For Glory 2011 would be a tragedy for TNA. Mainly because they are at the point where they are creating stars for the future and Angle is a big part of that.

Angle main role right now though is to be just like Shawn Michaels in his final years. That being getting over the young talent, like what he has done with Kaz and D'Angelo Dinero the last two PPV's.

But I honestly think he will have another 2 to 3 world title runs in TNA before he retires. Maybe more.

 

[sam_k7]

He is a living legend and one of the two greatest wrestlers around today.

Luckily for TNA the other greatest wrestler around today is AJ Styles.

So how will TNA cope without angle? Well its all down to how AJ is used and if he can step up.
Im talking flawless promos, flawless matches, putting over the young guys aswell as himself and being the ultimate fan favourate.

and IMO i think this will happen.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

It will be a loss, but everyone has to retire one day(apart from Hogan and Flair)...TNA has a lot of good talent and will keep them afloat...they have Styles, Pope, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and RVD if they are still there...still a lot of good main eventers and some upper midcarders like Morgan etc. to take the company forward...

I'm sure at first TNA will miss him, but they'll get used to it and besides, they have good talent!

 

[Oppurtunist]

For me, when Kurt will retire, TNA will be in a big problem. He is the best wrestler in TNA, and there are maybe 2 or 3 good wrestlers in TNA now. TNA willl be in need of pushing tons of new guys, or they will be in ass.

 

[JM Punk]

I will say this......I recently saw Kurt Angle in person a couple weeks ago and he was having a hard time just moving around. His neck is all sorts of messed up. I have no idea how he goes out there and has amazing matches when he is in this sort of physical condition.

That said, TNA has done a poor job of developing new stars. I was saying a few months ago that they should have been featuring some of the impressive young talent they have (MCMG, Matt Morgan, Pope, Wolfe, etc) instead of focusing on retreads from the '90s that nobody cares about anymore (The Nasty Boys, The Band, and now the ECW group). Why? Because TNA needed to do something to differentiate themselves from WWE in a positive way. Instead, WWE has gone through the youth movement between Sheamus, McIntyre, Swagger, Nexus, whoever makes it from NXT season 2, etc. and to their credit, found some good young talent. The only way TNA differentiated themselves is that they have all the old guys there to collect another paycheck. And I like TNA, but thats just how I feel.

Anyways, I suspect this is the beginning of the end for Kurt Angle. I would hope he is smart enough to get out while hes still relatively young (early 40s) and can live a normal post-wrestling life rather than be confined to a wheelchair.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

It will be a loss, but everyone has to retire one day(apart from Hogan and Flair)...TNA has a lot of good talent and will keep them afloat...they have Styles, Pope, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and RVD if they are still there...still a lot of good main eventers and some upper midcarders like Morgan etc. to take the company forward...

I agree that they have talent capable in putting on matches as good as Angle's such as AJ and (occasionally Joe) but i think its Kurt's role in TNA which is gonna be hard to replace. Kurt is like your Jericho kinda guy; he's a certified top superstar who can be the one to bridge the gap between a guy being a young guy and a main eventer. Look at his whole 'TNA top ten rankings' storyline where he is going through everyone. This gives Angle the chance to go up against the Kaz's and Pope's of the world and allow them the oppourtunity to show they can mix it with the big boys. When Angle goes, who can take this spot? Nash? Jarrett? Sting? I would say no to Nash and Jarrett for the same reason; they aren't over enough for anyone to care and their respective careers and in-ring styles can't hold a candle to Angle's quick-paced, high intensity, technical style. And as for Sting, he's older and closer to retirement than Angle is.

That said, TNA has done a poor job of developing new stars. I was saying a few months ago that they should have been featuring some of the impressive young talent they have (MCMG, Matt Morgan, Pope, Wolfe, etc) instead of focusing on retreads from the '90s that nobody cares about anymore (The Nasty Boys, The Band, and now the ECW group). Why? Because TNA needed to do something to differentiate themselves from WWE in a positive way. Instead, WWE has gone through the youth movement between Sheamus, McIntyre, Swagger, Nexus, whoever makes it from NXT season 2, etc. and to their credit, found some good young talent.

I agree, man. TNA has the talent there such as MCMG, Beer Money and Wolfe, but don't allow them the chance to show it. I'll make a comparision between McIntyre and Wolfe. Both guys are essentially upper-midcard heels. But the difference is, whereas Wolfe has struggled with a poor feud with Abyss and exclusion from Victory Road, McIntyre has been involved in an interesting storyline involving Teddy Long and Kofi Kingston over the IC title and has been featured regularly on PPV. WWE knows they have to find new talent because guys like Taker, HHH and Jericho won't be around forever. The big the big difference is, WWE introduce The Nexus; a young, hungry young stable whose members have the potential to be around for years. TNA bring in the ECW guys who probably won't be around at Christmas. It suggests that WWE have planned for the inevitable depature of these top guys, whereas i don't get the same feeling with TNA, regretably.

 

[Vintage]

Angle wrestles.. twice maybe 3 times a month. He can go on at this pace for years if he chooses to, his retiring is a gimmick I think. I don't see Angle leaving until he's at least 50. Whenver he does retire, AJ Styles will be ready. He's getting what he doesn't already have hopefully being around the awesomeness that is Ric Flair. If he can't get it together, Desmond Wolfe is technically speaking the closest thing you're going to get to replacing Kurt Angle in terms of ring work and his ability to be an intense credible heel that can put ppl over and look like gold doing it.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I've read a few comments suggesting Wolfe could/should be the one to replace Angle in his particular role, but I think this would be a mistake on TNA's part. Wolfe is a good wrestler and pretty solid on the mic, there's no getting away from that. However many people bemoan the fact that TNA seems to keep copying/recycling WWE things instead of carving out their own identity, isn't this kind of similar to the Angle being replaced by Wolfe scenario? I mean that if TNA just replaced Angle with the most similar wrestler to him, isn't that leaving Wolfe in Angle's shadow?
What has made Angle so essential after all this time is his experience and credibility, and the personal confidence he seems to have from this that has not turned into arrogance. The same can be said for Taker in WWE, in that he is a leader to just about everyone in the company. TNA will not need a new Kurt Angle when he retires, they will need someone with the confidence and ability to lead the rest of the guys in the back. For a long time before the Hogan/Bischoff era began, even before the MEM story, AJ, Joe and Daniels seemed to fit the role; they were all over with the fans and put on great matches not only with each other but with then up and coming talent too. It's arguable that LAX were already established at the time, but when they were fighting with AJ and Daniels for the tag titles, it seemed to legitimise them all the more. The way things are looking just now, if Flair can continue to guide AJ on the path he's on at the moment then maybe Angle's inevitable retirement wont be as worrying as it is right now.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

They're not centered around Angle as it is right now, so while losing him would absolutely suck, because a fantastic talent who's always capable of putting on a perfect performance, losing him wouldn't really shift the companies focus very much at all, to be quite honest. Their focus is already on pushing a lot of young new talent in AJ, Pope, Wolfe (yeah, yeah, I know), Morgan, Hernandez, etc.

 

[goodlay]

Like mister bill said, I see Angle as TNA's HBK. He isn't critical to the company's success, but it would suck balls not to have him because all of his matches are always at least really solid. Angle has kind of taken a backseat lately, starting back in 09 with his feud with Wolfe. Im really loving these brief programs he's doing with all the guys in the top 10 because not only are we guaranteed all of these great matches, but he makes all of these guys look like pure gold in the process.

Like I said before, it's going to really suck when Angle leaves, ala HBK this year at WM for WWE, but the company will move forward. You can't deny that it will hurt TNA, but I don't see it as being detrimental to the company by any means. As for the next Angle? Well that's pretty hard to say but if there's one guy in the company that's in the same realm as Angle, I would have to go with AJ. So with emerging stars like Wolfe, Lethal, Pope, and with established stars like AJ, Joe, Hardy, and RVD, I think TNA will be fine.

 

[waylon p]

As for Shelton and Haas if Angle is retiring whats the point of signing them if they are only gonna be used for short term nostalgia cash in?

because both benjamin and haas are awesome. i have never worked with shelton benjamin, but we've all seen his work. the man can go.
i have worked with charlie haas. he's not only a fantastic wrestler, but also a true professional and a pleasure to work with.

When Angle goes, who can take this spot? Nash? Jarrett? Sting? I would say no to Nash and Jarrett for the same reason; they aren't over enough for anyone to care and their respective careers and in-ring styles can't hold a candle to Angle's quick-paced, high intensity, technical style. And as for Sting, he's older and closer to retirement than Angle is.

all that means is they have a short time to get guys ready to take that role. RVD, anderson, rood, aj, lethal, pope, joe, wolfe. i think all of these men could rise to the challenge, but they need to concentrate on a couple at a time, staggerring them for the best effect. two years is long enough to create a couple of true main eventers who can elevate the others in turn.

 

[Sting's Bat]

because both benjamin and haas are awesome. i have never worked with shelton benjamin, but we've all seen his work. the man can go.
i have worked with charlie haas. he's not only a fantastic wrestler, but also a true professional and a pleasure to work with.

I'm not against them coming in as a tag team what i am against is a rehash of team Angle.
That storyline ran its course to reunite them for a cheap nostalgia pop from the crucial crew seems shortsighted.

Kurt already gave these guys the rub he shouldnt have to carry them now in TNA. Kurt is in his twilight of his career from what it seems after he carries out the top ten program currently underway it seems like he may well be out of reasons to say being that hes done it all and beat them all.

Really they should come in as another tag team as they are quite good as a tag team but as another cheap nostalgia stable to satisfy some smarks i think not.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I'm not against them coming in as a tag team what i am against is a rehash of team Angle.
That storyline ran its course to reunite them for a cheap nostalgia pop from the crucial crew seems shortsighted.

Haas and Benjamin arent that old themselves are they? I would like them be reunited as Team Angle. Kurt could then talk about them as the two guys he has hand picked to carry the torch after he retires, and could focus on getting Shelton up to his level both backstage where he can work on his mic skills, and in the ring. That way Kurt could handpick one of his successors and help make Shelton Benjamin into the star we all think he could be