Angle Says He Has Three Years Left; Wants to "Pass the Torch"

[It's Damn Real!]

http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/TNA/article10021341.shtml

On the current direction of Impact Wrestling and "passing the torch":

"God willing, we have more wrestling and less talk. I’ve been pushing for that. Sometimes we have people there on the show that don’t wrestle. They take up a lot of the show with only promos. The young guys need to step up and be the guys cutting the promos. It’s kind of a catch 22. We need to realize who we are and we need to fix the problem. The young talent needs the opportunity to shine.

"I’m one of the top guys in the company and I don’t want to remain there. I don’t know who it will be but I am more than willing to find somebody in the company to hand to torch over to and say ‘hey, you take the lead and I’ll follow you.’ I’m near the end of my career. I’ve got three more years left with TNA Wrestling and then I’m done. I signed that deal with TNA so I can help the company. I want them to compete with WWE. It will take some time, but it will happen."

Bad timing considering the result of the Roode/Angle match at Bound For Glory, but Angle IMO touches on something very important here in that second paragraph/statement where he indicates that he signed on for three years and only three years. Normally that seems like a long time to the average fan, but three years can fly if the right things aren't done to set up for the future of the company.

Roode obviously would have been a great stepping stone toward that future, but TNA will need much more than just one young star to bank future success on. They're going to need a small handful, minimum. To me that means AJ Styles, James Storm, Matt Morgan, Crimson and probably Jeff Hardy, too.

Thoughts on Angle's comments? Suggestions on who some of these "young guys" should be?

 

[MrHashasheen]

The problem with TNA is that several of their "young guys" are damaged goods, either from bad timing, injury or storylines going haywire. AJ Styles and Matt Morgan still have starpower (relatively speaking), but they've had no consistency in terms of storyline or maintaining their upper-card status. James Storm and Robert Roode had the potential to build themselves to the main-event had Roode beat Angle at BFG, but that potential is now uncertain considering how BFG went down. Jeff Hardy has the star power and the fanbase, but he's a drug-addled, injured spot monkey with no promo skills. Samoa Joe has been heel and face not to mention monster and bitch so many times that he's just irrelevant.

Even if Angle does pass the torch, it'll be useless if TNA doesn't get their act together in terms of protecting their upper-card talent.

 

[Krossbreed]

i still remember yrs ago i was at a tna event in orlando james storm came out this was before beer money right after amw split...and when the camera panned to james you could see aj styles, and kurt angle talking to each other saying he's getting there looking excitied about it...then hogan bichoff rvd jeff hardy mr anderson and others moved into tna...jame has been there...he just needs a unique build to get him the belt but tna needs to distinguish themselves from the competition so why not focus on those guys, there tna originals even newly signed ones.

 

[My Couch Pulls Out But I Don't]

In my opinion, Angle has no right to be the "torch bearer" in this scenario. Yes, I understand that he is one of the biggest names TNA or iMPACT or, whatever the hell they call themselves today, has but come on, he hasn't been there busting his ass as long as some of the guys in that locker room. Its a joke.

You want the torch to be passed, you wait until Daniels, Styles, even Samoa Joe, are towards the end of their careers and you build an angle with plenty of promos about how they helped build TNA and been there the whole time and how they are passing the torch along to a new comer so they can continue towards the success of the company.

Using a guy that came from the other promotion, I think, is just stupid.

Before I get bashed by either side for being a WWE or TNA mark, i will let you know, I watch every show from both comapnies and even watch ROH so I am one of those "wrestling fans", not a company boy.

 

[klunderbunker]

As usual with TNA, this is something that is fine on paper. However, that rarely means it's going to happen practically. 3 years is an eternity in wrestling and a lot could change in that amount of time. TNA might be out of business, Angle might want one more run, there may be no need for a rub from him, who knows. As was said, this is coming off the Bobby Roode match where it felt like Angle wasn't passing the torch (not saying it was his idea) so this is a bit hard to believe. I'm not saying it won't happen, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

In my opinion, Angle has no right to be the "torch bearer" in this scenario. Yes, I understand that he is one of the biggest names TNA or iMPACT or, whatever the hell they call themselves today, has but come on, he hasn't been there busting his ass as long as some of the guys in that locker room. Its a joke.

You want the torch to be passed, you wait until Daniels, Styles, even Samoa Joe, are towards the end of their careers and you build an angle with plenty of promos about how they helped build TNA and been there the whole time and how they are passing the torch along to a new comer so they can continue towards the success of the company.

Angle has every right to be the one to be the "torch bearer" in this situation as he's been largely responsible for TNA's success more so than any other star in the company over the last 6 years.

Waiting for the likes of Styles & co. to retire as a means to pass the torch to new talent would take a decade+ as none of those guys are nearing retirement anytime soon. Daniels is closest, but even he simply doesn't garner the same value as a veteran like Angle.

I'd love for you to tell Kurt Angle he hasn't busted his ass in TNA.

Using a guy that came from the other promotion, I think, is just stupid.

Before I get bashed by either side for being a WWE or TNA mark, i will let you know, I watch every show from both comapnies and even watch ROH so I am one of those "wrestling fans", not a company boy.

What a stupid thing to say. How many times do I have to combat this ridiculous notion? It does not matter where talent comes from, only what they do where they are.

If you don't want to get bashed for being a mark of a company, don't say stupid things that the marks of specific companies say.

 

[Trill Co$by]

In my opinion, Angle has no right to be the "torch bearer" in this scenario. Yes, I understand that he is one of the biggest names TNA or iMPACT or, whatever the hell they call themselves today, has but come on, he hasn't been there busting his ass as long as some of the guys in that locker room. Its a joke.

You want the torch to be passed, you wait until Daniels, Styles, even Samoa Joe, are towards the end of their careers and you build an angle with plenty of promos about how they helped build TNA and been there the whole time and how they are passing the torch along to a new comer so they can continue towards the success of the company.

So let me get this straight... you want TNA to use an unestablished rookie to pass the torch to another unestablished rookie instead of TNA taking literally the best in ring performer in the company and having HIM pass the torch to the guy?

Sure, Angle might have been with TNA from the beginning, but the guy has been in TNA for a while and every time he's given the title it's always been to help TNA and the younger guys. Kurt Angle is the guy to get behind when you need someone to groom the younger guys and give them some nice air time. Putting Daniels or AJ in the limelight just so that they can pass the torch to Roode or Storm would be like putting a 2 year old toddler with a 1 year old toddler and telling the 2 year old to babysit.

---

As for what Angle has said, I can take him seriously... after all, at the end of the day, he's not the one who makes the final decision on who TNA has him drop the title to. The people with that power are Russo, Bischoff, Jarrett, and that new guy that they hired. All Angle does is pass on his advice and tell them "Hey let me drop the title to this guy." and if they like his idea, they go with it.

Face it people, in terms of being for the young stars, Angle is to the new generation what Ric Flair was to the 80s and 90s. He's a big name star who doesn't mind putting people over, just as long as it's the right person.

 

[hatehabsforever]

This would be an awesome idea if we could somehow know that it was legitimate and not just meaningless rhetoric, which of course there's no way to know for sure. I think Angle would be an excellent guy to pass the torch, providing his ego would allow his fingertips to actually let go of the torch. The only problem I see in this is that I am 100% convinced that Angle will eventually call it quits in the confines of a WWE ring as opposed to a TNA one. Obviously that's pure speculation on my part, but I have always felt that way.

There are plenty of guys to pass the torch to, most obviously AJ Styles, but also Robert Roode, James Storm, Crimson, as well as some guys who may develop over the next few years who we aren't even aware of yet.

No reason to worry, though. Any void left by the departure of Kurt Angle can always be filled by Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

In my opinion, Angle has no right to be the "torch bearer" in this scenario. Yes, I understand that he is one of the biggest names TNA or iMPACT or, whatever the hell they call themselves today

The company is TNA, the television show is named Impact Wrestling. They did this to emphasize the "wrestling" portion of their name as soon as WWE took the "wrestling" portion out of it. They also felt it made them more unique. When in doubt, Wiki that shit.

...but come on, he hasn't been there busting his ass as long as some of the guys in that locker room. Its a joke.

Kurt Angle will have been with TNA for five years THIS WEDNESDAY. In that "short" amount of time he has ended Samoa Joe's undefeated streak of dominance, made Christian into a main event talent within TNA, became a quadruple champion at one point, has been involved in four World title matches at Bound for Glory, led the Main Event Maffia, and had amazing feuds/matches with Sting, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, and virtually the entire roster as both a heel and a face. Outside of Sting and Flair there is no active talent in TNA with more accolades than Kurt Angle. He's one of the first guys to "cross the line" and stick around. He didn't come to TNA for a paycheck, only to ditch out after a year and head back over for more lucrative pastures... Unlike a lot of other guys (Hogan, Flair, Foley...) he puts over TNA as a great product and actually wants them to succeed against the WWE for the sake of the wrestling industry. Yes, he got his start in the WWE long before most of the TNA roster were lacing up their boots. That doesn't make him any less credible to be passing a torch on Impact Wrestling. Beating AJ Styles is an achievement. Beating Kurt Angle is an accolade within itself.

You want the torch to be passed, you wait until Daniels, Styles, even Samoa Joe, are towards the end of their careers and you build an angle with plenty of promos about how they helped build TNA and been there the whole time and how they are passing the torch along to a new comer so they can continue towards the success of the company.

You want to wait five years (minimum) to start passing torches to younger talents? The guys you listed ARE the younger talents! They're all very talented on their own, but Angle has taken both Joe and Styles to another level completely. You are only as good as your greatest opponent, and that's true for a lot of guys on the TNA roster. Why would you wait and hope that these guys become legendary enough to pass the torch, when somebody like Angle is available NOW to start helping some of these younger guys progress. Hell, he's been doing it for five years already!

James Storm and Bobby Roode are both ready. Jeff Hardy was ready five years ago, the question now is if he'll stick around and stay clean long enough to really make much of an impact. AJ Styles is the Original veteran of TNA. Kazarian. Austin Aries. Crimson. There are so many people that could be the "future" of TNA. But don't be so quick to throw out the present or the past. There's still a lot Angle has to offer. He is a TNA guy, no question about it.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

This would be an awesome idea if we could somehow know that it was legitimate and not just meaningless rhetoric, which of course there's no way to know for sure. I think Angle would be an excellent guy to pass the torch, providing his ego would allow his fingertips to actually let go of the torch. The only problem I see in this is that I am 100% convinced that Angle will eventually call it quits in the confines of a WWE ring as opposed to a TNA one. Obviously that's pure speculation on my part, but I have always felt that way.

There are plenty of guys to pass the torch to, most obviously AJ Styles, but also Robert Roode, James Storm, Crimson, as well as some guys who may develop over the next few years who we aren't even aware of yet.

No reason to worry, though. Any void left by the departure of Kurt Angle can always be filled by Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting.

What part of Angle's run in TNA has ever given you the indication to think otherwise? Or better yet, at what point did you think he'd never put over young guys?

You don't have to lose to young guys to put them over. He did a very good job of maintaining the integrity of his character while putting guys like AJ Styles, Pope, Crimson and Roode over, IMO.

I have my doubts about this, but it's not at all based on what Angle is or isn't willing to do. My doubts go higher up with creative.

 

[shattered dreams]

Contrary to popular belief, I think that after the finish last night is the perfect time to talk about this. For starters, Angle put Roode over about as much as he possibly could given that Roode was going to lose. So let us throw the bs related to that out the window. Second, now a win over Angle really means something. Angle still wasn't firmly established as a top heel going into this match. If Roode beat Angle there is was only about the title and the Kurt Angle aspect was an after thought. Now the question is who, if anyone, can take Angle down and get that title? Much more epic IMO. How does Roode respond to the hardship after being on a seemingly path of destiny? Whatever the choice it should give him some more character which is something he definitely needs if he ever plans on being a top guy.

I hope they choose to pass the torch to someone that has the potential to be a star to people beyond the IWC. I don't really see that in Roode yet but I'd love to see him prove me wrong. They key isn't so much Angle building the guys up but what they do with the opportunity after he gives it to them. Angle has tried to lose the torch to people in TNA before and they seem to keep dropping it soon after they have to carry it on their own.

 

[Sarsip]

'Thoughts on Angle's comments? Suggestions on who some of these "young guys" should be?'

I don't doubt the sincerity of Angle. For all of the personal problems that have infected his professional image, I've always seen Angle as a guy who 'gets it' in terms of how to make money for whichever company he's with. He understands that his image (and any wrestler's) is predicated on beating the best in the world, so it makes sense to keep his opponents appearing strong. I always got that from his feuds that seemed to elevate guys like Benoit, Guerrero and even Lesnar, who were all great talents in their own rights. But very rarely do you come out of a program with Kurt Angle with less steam than you did going in, and that's been a standard since well before he left WWE. His problem right now is that he can only be as good as the booking, and nobody has really been positioned as a potential future torch bearer. Roode was up until last night, but they didn't pull the trigger.

I think his comment about the young guys needing to step up and cut the promos is interesting though. What he was mainly saying is that the Hogans, Bischoffs etc who don't wrestle regularly are taking up too much of Impact where the ones wrestling matches regularly should be allowed that time, which I agree with. At the same time though, and maybe this wasn't the intention of his comments, none of the young guys since Joe have made anywhere near the impact that Kurt Angle made in his first few years. None of the young guys really have cleared their throats and drawn attention to themselves in terms of promos or compelling feuds. Partially a booking or writing problem I'll concede, but maybe the talent just isn't there. Nobody besides maybe Aries has really done a lot with their limited opportunities, and Aries doesn't quite have enough steam to work anywhere above where he is (not a knock at Aries by any means).

Which talent should it be? I don't think AJ would benefit anymore at this point, nor Chris Daniels or Beer Money. If you have faith in the star power of Crimson or Gunner, I think you'd agree that matching them against Angle at least in the near future does little more than expose their very real limitations. I still think there's a lot of cache in Samoa Joe because he was so hot for a while and because their history is quite compelling. I wish they'd give him a real shot as a badass heel that's a legitimate threat to any title. My idea would be to match someone capable but outside the main event picture, like a Kazarian or a Matt Morgan, with WGTT if they become available within a couple years to position them in viewers' minds as the way Angle was when he was so hot. Those two are both superb in-ring performers, so it isn't much of a stretch to compare them athletically to Angle. I thought that would have been a perfect way to get Desmond Wolfe over when he was still with the company.

 

[billm75]

I think this is what Kurt said in this interview. Nothing more. Nothing less. He's less than consistent as a human being, let alone a performer or employee. Talented? Sure, no argument whatsoever. But as an employee and as a person, he's very hit or miss in his opinions of things, his decision making abilities are suspect at best.

Just go through WZ and search Angle's name. See how many times he's waffled on any issue, and flat out contradicted his own statements, sometimes within 24 hours of making them.

 

[New Hot Fed]

That's all bull. I don't buy into that crap anymore.

For one thing no TNA wrestlers should need yet another passing of the torch. Let them get over by themselves.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

There's no doubting that Kurt Angle has been trying to "pass the torch" for quite some time now. But it seems whoever has "the torch" lets it go out. Angle and Sting then have to "re-light" it and everyone moans. I do see the lesser known, very talented, wrestlers that TNA have: AJ Styles, Matt Morgan, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Crimson, Pope, Austin Aries etc. But they're just not at the level of an Angle, Sting, RVD, Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy, Anderson etc. Look at Bound For Glory for example. The best matches that night were RVD vs. Jerry Lynn, Bully Ray vs. Mr Anderson and Sting vs. Hulk Hogan. The reason I've come to that conclusion, not only were they awesome to watch, but the crowd reacted the loudest to those matches. Coincediently all the guys in those matches are veterans (bar Anderson) and at the end of the day pro wrestling is about crowd reaction (not age).

I would be more of the opinion that TNA should keep the focus on the established stars, until someone really steps up and forces management to put the focus on them. Rather than Angle "passing the torch" again, someone needs to stand out from the rest and do something to make people care. I've got a feeling James Storm is going to be the man that stands out and forces management's hand in making him a top guy. I've no doubt that if someone really takes the bull by the horns, so to speak, they will be given a shot at doing something big. But it's entirely up to 'that' guy to do just that IMO.

 

[Dagger Dias]

When Angle finds a protege to pass the torch to, it needs to be someone who is NOT one of the WWE/WCW rejects. This should be someone who can be the face of the company by the time Angle leaves. They would need to be great both on the mic and in the ring. The sooner he finds someone the better because he can help support them as a future top guy to build around. Then when he leaves in three years TNA would still be in good shape. Three years from now is actually a lot closer than it sounds like. Angle is doing the right thing by trying to find someone to pass the torch to and wanting to end his career making sure TNA can become legit competition for WWE.