Kurt Angle: "I'm not going anywhere. I will retire in TNA."

[Jack-Hammer]

I can't say that I'm surprised at all. It doesn't disappoint me that Angle says he plans to retire in TNA. The truth is I'd be surprised if he'd said he wouldn't retire in TNA.

Kurt Angle has been extremely happy in TNA for one simple reason: Dixie Carter gives him whatever he wants and however he ultimately wants it. When it comes to whatever money Angle has asked for, he always gets it. Whenever he wants time off for however long he wants it, he gets it. If he wants another title run, he'll no doubt get it. If he wants Jeff Jarrett gone from TNA television again, he'd get that too. Kurt Angle probably has as close to Hulk Hogan's deal with WCW than anyone probably ever will have in a major wrestling promotion again.

In TNA right now, Kurt Angle is still a headliner whether he's in the title picture or not. In the WWE, that probably wouldn't be the case. I might be wrong as all the info really comes from what we've read on the net for several years, but Angle strikes me as someone that likes getting what he wants to a fault. As long as Dixie keeps making him happy, Angle will stay where he's at.

 

[jholcomb22]

I absolutely believe Kurt Angle when he says he wants to retire in TNA. The reason I believe him is this: hasn't he already retired 4 times this year? It seems like Angle is taking the Ric Flair approach, when Flair was ending his run with WWE, where McMahon said, if you lose a match, you have to retire. It lasted a few months til Mania. Now it seems like every match Angle has is a retirement match and I know he has lost a few.

Ultimately, let him retire in TNA. He had a good run in both companies. I think TNA is a great company for people breaking in and for aging stars who need a lighter workload. Kurt needs the lighter workload. It makes sense.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I think Kurt Angle is among the greatest if not the greatest wrestler ever. I was stunned when he left WWE. I'm glad he's somewhere he's happy and he can get a decent schedule. I'd love to see him in WWE, but the people on the roster right now aren't people who any audience would believe could keep up with him in the ring.

 

[rjoconnell]

i keep reading posts where people are saying that when kurt angle leaves he's gonna give the rub to someone in tna.. meaning: help put someone over.

heres the problem here:

it's TNA!
i'm not a "WWE Fanboy." i'm a realist.

TNA has been around for how many years? The company is stagnant. People, outside the couple 100 people who attend tapings at the impact zone (for free) just don't care. AJ Styles has been with that company pretty much forever, and outside the Impact Zone, he's not that over! It's crazy! Del Rio is more over as a heel in WWE after a year then AJ Styles is as the face of the company (and when he was a heel, by the way, these guys in TNA change face/heel status way too much) after 8.

The only reason Kurt Angle stays in TNA.. the schedule. It's accommodating, he's older, he has a family, and after watching his story lines unfold over the past few months, my man's heart just can't be in it like it used to be.

 

[meeks32]

Kurt Angle belongs on the big stage. If TNA can give it to him then he should stay. If they cannot, then I think over time he should go. Sting belongs in TNA and I can never see him in a WWE ring. On the other hand, I can see Angle being a champ in WWE.
If he wants to stay in TNA he will as well as if he wants to leave. I feel he is to good to be on the second card. That is just my thoughts on him.

 

[Jason Scene]

So... wait. Kurt Angle, an all-time great and sure fire Hall Of Famer anywhere, decides to step down from the pinnacle of WWE's main event scene and spend the last of his glory days helping TNA become a major promotion, and people whine about it?! As a major Kurt Angle fan, I personally find what he's doing as the ultimate thank you to pro wrestling. This man stepped down from his post to elevate another company. NOBODY ever did such a thing. NOBODY. If you ask me, wrestling fans should thank him and shut the hell up about him returning to WWE. If he wants to stay in TNA, then good on him. Thanks a million, Kurt. Because of you, I discovered TNA and realized that there was more to pro wrestling than WWE and that there's more to wrestling than selling merch. I don't care where you are. You are an all-time great and I'm glad you gave me an alternative in pro wrestling.

Was Kurt at his "pinnicale" when he left WWE though? He was on ECW, was appearing sporadically, he has said many times that he was hurt at the time, would take a couple weeks off from all wrestling and would go back still in pain. He was having problems with painkillers at the time as well, Kurt at that time was fallling in the WWE ranks if anything. Only thing he had at the time, is that he was the highest paid person.

Kurt going to TNA was huge at the time, but he wasn't the first to make the jump, I have the shoot documentary from him called "Champion", and he even says it wasn't he who put TNA on the map it was when Christian jumped TNA got noticed, and then Kurt came in and elevated it.

He might be one of the best of all-time, and yeah even as being an anti-TNA person I can see why he'd retire there but I'm not fully convinced he'll do it when the time comes to make a choice.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

If I could wrestle better than almost anyone else in the entire world I'd want to do it in front of as many people as possible so they don't forget that fact. TNA's been fun and all but as I look to retirement I'm going to want to go back to that big stage one last time, just to know I still have it in me.

That's me, but Kurt Angle is also a human being so I'm going to guess he'd feel at least a little similarly.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

Kurt Angle is not a real wrestler and has not been for a LONG time. Sorry to get your panties in a bunch Dixie Dolts.

I dont like to come on here and bash people for their opinions, but that could be the stupidest thing anybody has ever written on these forums.

Angle's an olympic gold medalist, a multi time world champion in both federations, and probably the greatest technical wrestler there ever has been.

To say he's not a real wrestler just cause he is in TNA and not in your precious WWE is moronic, and you proove that by not giving any reason as to why you feel that way.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

He might be one of the best of all-time, and yeah even as being an anti-TNA person I can see why he'd retire there but I'm not fully convinced he'll do it when the time comes to make a choice.

Did I seriously just read that? This is the most ironic thing about a wrestling fan. You’re going to be “anti” something that is aimed at you, while most likely praising a company that couldn’t care less whether you watched it or not (I’m assuming your over 12?)

Sorry if this is cosidered spam, but it had to be said. It's such a moronic thing to say.

 

[JaylisJayP]

Kurt Angle will, like TNA, continue to be entirely irrelevent.

 

[PagingMr.ass]

Who Knows, i feel the sooner he starts his first retirement run, the more likely he is to returning to the WWE, maybe just for one match but if he gets off the road in the near future I'd guess he'd still have something left when the WWE comes calling in a few years. He'd be off the road for a couple of years at that time and his TNA loyalty won't mean as much since removing himself from the company. WWE has more money and a bigger stage to show case an Angle return. We might have is issues with Vince/WWE right now but Bret Hart just finished a six month run with the company last year so any former superstar has a chance of returning. I bet the same happens with Folley, after a year or two away from TNA when ever that does happen, i would be shocked if Folley is never seen on WWE Tv again, not in a match but definatley an on screen character/personality.

 

[Jason Scene]

Did I seriously just read that? This is the most ironic thing about a wrestling fan. You’re going to be “anti” something that is aimed at you, while most likely praising a company that couldn’t care less whether you watched it or not (I’m assuming your over 12?)

Sorry if this is cosidered spam, but it had to be said. It's such a moronic thing to say.

Actually, most people know I don't like TNA. I'm a wrestling fan, big one actually, I watch WWE, ROH, PWG, EVOLVE and a lot of Japanese wrestling too, but I'm against TNA due to Hogan, Bischoff, Hardy and Russo, but I used to be a TNA fan.

I praise WWE because it's better, but I'm not interested in making this a "TNA Vs WWE" thread like most others, because WWE always wins. Thread is about Kurt Angle, a favourite of mine, and although I respect his decision to end his career in TNA, I'm disappointed by it due to the fact that WWE gave him his stage where he could become a mainstream professional wrestler for the better part of six years and he has instead decided to retire with the second rate wrestling company. And me referring to them as second rate isn't an insult it's based off the fact that they have less ratings, PPV buys, merchandies sales, over-all talent, marketbility and half of their roster are ex-WWE employees.

But if TNA give something which deserves praise I'll give it to them, sadly they do it like once a year.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

...and so the lies begin. Okay, so I can't actually say Angle is "lying" more than pulling a Lebron James or (insert any other soon to be "free agent" in sports) whomever, by saying the politically correct things at the moment. My first reaction was to wonder this: What has Dixie Carter done to these guys? Is this Mafia style business? And no, I don't mean MEM, I mean, real, Russian Mob type stuff. The reason I ask is because, given the way most fans view TNA, and those seemingly within the industry itself, are we missing something here with the happy-go-lucky reaction that most TNA stars render when asked about their future. It almost seems sheepish to a point. Who is Dixie Carter now? Jim Jones? Okay, let me stop bashing Carter, for I have no idea if she's behind ex WWE stars constantly saying "oh I LOVE TNA. I'm so happy in TNA. Hurray for TNA!" Hey, that rhymes lol.

Now, onto more serious issues. I understand, to a point, where Angle is coming from. Perhaps ala Carson Palmer, he's financially set. But perhaps, unlike Carson Palmer, he's pretending to be happy when he knows he's not. The point I am trying to make is that, look Kurt, you know the grass is always going to be greener on the other side, right up there in Stamford, CT. Who are you trying to fool? How can you possibly be "happy" working for a company that has aired out a messy divorce for all the world to see, having your children invloved and your "boss" basically tonguing down your ex wife all for the sake of some ratings? THIS is what you got into the business for? Sure, Vince McMahon is a SOB sometimes, BUT I highly doubt he would pull something like that. Especially nowadays. Just not his M.O. But Ms. Carter, it certainly looks to be her's. Along with a few other characters backstage (names shall remain nameless).

So Kurt, are you being told to say these things, or are you speaking directly from the heart? Not to bring Sting into this, but this is almost like Mr. Stinger in that he didn't want to go to WWE-land due to the excessive violence/sexual content, and now that he had a chance to go, when the content was certainly trimmed down, he decided to play the big fish in a small pond role and play it safe. Certainly that was his business, can't tell a man what to do with his money, however for you Kurt, is this the same thing? Are you saying this because management is ordering you to, as one of their top draws? If so, I can completely understand. Of course they don't want one of their biggest attractions to say, "oh I hate TNA", or even saying, "I'm unhappy." That would be horrible. BUT, inside, you have to be true to yourself and I totally believe that Angle would LIKE to retire in WWE. That's like playing pro football and being someone named Kurt Warner. Sure, you won a SuperBowl, but somewhere along the way you lost your fame or whatever, and you went to the CFL (TNA). You were still a star since the CFL is NO NFL. Everyone loved you for what you did in the NFL however, you know within your heart you'd be better off retiring in the NFL.

So...do you play it safe in the CFL, collect a few more pay checks, win a few more CFL titles and ride off into the snow, OR...Do you walk away from the CFL, return to the NFL, play your ass off and try to make it back to the SuperBowl and retire THERE (NOT the Grey Cup Championship)??? Do you go out hoisting the Lombardi Trophy or the Grey Cup? TNA=CFL. WWE=NFL. WrestleMania=SuperBowl. Don't let the owner of your team up there in Canada (or down there in Florida) tell you you don't need to go back to your roots, because that's a selfish move on the owner's part and while I can understand for a business standpoint, it's still selfish.

No one wants to see you go out on a Thursday night edition of Impact. No one wants to see you go out at Victory Road or Bound for Glory or whatever pay-per-view TNA has. If you wanna be the best, do it AT the best. Do it WITH the best. Do at AS the best. TNA is neither of those and unless you stay another 15 years until TNA is light years ahead of where it currently is, product wise, you will more than likely always wonder, "did I actually have what it takes to go out on the biggest playing field, on the biggest day?" Could I have been Joe Montana or Joe Blow playing in Canada. The choice is yours. BUT be true to yourself.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

Actually, most people know I don't like TNA. I'm a wrestling fan, big one actually, I watch WWE, ROH, PWG, EVOLVE and a lot of Japanese wrestling too, but I'm against TNA due to Hogan, Bischoff, Hardy and Russo, but I used to be a TNA fan.

So you're against 4 guys who were heavily involved in the best period of pro wrestling and are trying to bring that period back?

 

[3/4 Facelock]

HAHAHA! Oh my god.

Look at all of you. Listen...how many of you are under 18? How many of you have had a job let alone more than 1 job? You don't leave your job and say "fuck this place" nor do you say "fuck this place" while you are at your job.

That kind of shit comes back to haunt you. Where the fuck is your brain? In your ass? Yes. It is in your ass. Covered with shit.

Angle is still under contract with TNA. Do you honestly think someone like him is going to say that as soon as his contract is up he's leaving for WWE or somewhere else?

Are you kidding me? This is not "Oh, TNA has one up on WWE now" shit. This is a man who is making the best decision for himself at this particular time. If Kurt Angle wants to stay in TNA and do what he can to keep it in contention, so be it. If Kurt Angle likes the schedule that TNA provides him, so be it. If Kurt Angle plans on returning to the WWE at some point in his future, so be it.

At the age of 42, Kurt Angle has done everything there is to do in wrestling. Gold-Medal Olympian, multiple time champ in the WWE, multiple time champ in the TNA. Whatever legacy you fuckfaces think Kurt Angle is destroying or enhancing, is not up to you to decide while sitting there on your couch in your skidmarked tighty whiteys with your Doritos and your inhaler.

It is up to him what he wants to do. Please realize that actions speak louder than words and in the wrestling business one should never say never. If he does come back to the WWE, that's fucking fantastic. If he decides to stay in TNA and help the talent and company there, that's fucking fantastic. If he decides to flip-flop and go to WWE then back to TNA then to the WWE then back to TNA, that's fucking fantastic. If he decides to go to DGUSA or New Japan, or AAA, that's fucking fantastic.

This is Kurt Angle. You will get awesome matches out of him everytime he is in the ring with anyone in any promotion.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

So you're against 4 guys who were heavily involved in the best period of pro wrestling and are trying to bring that period back?

I think personally, that's the problem. They're trying to bring something back instead of moving forward. They're living off a last meal that was eaten 15 years ago. It's not gonna work for the company as a whole if they keep trying to look backwards instead of ahead. Do something creative but NOT repetitive. Do something orginial. Sure, it may take a few tries, but the whole thing that drives some people crazy about TNA is that while those men you referred to did a lot for the business, they can't get out of their own way long enough to realize the business STILL has to evlove. If they keep playing yesterday, they will never get to tomorrow. It's a wonder Vince McMahon hasn't went full barrell on them and completely destroyed TNA. Perhaps he knows eventually, they will commit suicide on their own...

 

[Jason Scene]

So you're against 4 guys who were heavily involved in the best period of pro wrestling and are trying to bring that period back?

Midnite Express 2009 conveyed my thoughts. I don't want to live in wrestlings past, it evolves, transforms, new things happen and we all get a kick out of watching new faces come to light and the old ones fade away. I don't enjoy watching Hulk Hogan. I don't enjoy watching Sting destroy their "face" after he hasn't done fuck all in over a year, even though I dislike Jeff Hardy due to his out of the ring attitude and his drug abusing ways.

WWE continue to bully TNA because WWE gives people TNA never do. Good young stars. It takes much more creative talent as well as imagination to get a good solid rating from writing things for a PG rated program then writing a script for a show which seems to have no boundaries and shoves shit down your throat, trying to be some sort of an Attitude Era.

TNA needs to get rid of its problems, because WWE are going to keep on hitting them where it hurts.

Now, once again, this is about Kurt Angle supposedly staying in TNA and not TNA in general.

 

[thatcrazybiatch]

hmmm bit of a tough one, as far as what kurt SHOULD do for the fans or for himself for me there is no right or wrong
WWE IS the big time, tna fans will argue but whatever tna isnt growing get over it, but yes its the big time, but kurt realy has done it all, he'll come back for the HOF one day or maybe to wrestle someone he see's as a talent but it'll be for big money

TNA, easyer on the body, better fan interaction

it all comes down to MONEY and his health but if its for one big hooray I dont see why he wouldnt come back to wwe for a one off

as for people saying he doesnt fit in the pg era kurt once had a phrase 'got milk' how pg and child friendly can you get!!! he'd be just fine

 

[RegalShouldBeworldchamp]

I dont care if angle was in tna or wwe hes still a great wrestler and i would watch him on both shows As for him retiring in tna? his decision nothing we can say or do that can change that its up to him at the end of the day

 

[Kaneanite]

The TNA schedule is much easier than a WWE schedule no matter how easy Vince tries to make it. If Kurt says he can't do it that much anymore, than it's no surprise he's staying with TNA. Although what you said is true and worth bringing out... Kurt has had such a storied and great career. To go out and retire with the minor leagues in front of a handful of people as oppose to going out at say WrestleMania is kind of sad. Oh well, I enjoyed Kurt while he was in WWE and I wish him the best.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

COngratulations SCB the huge amounts of stupidity you spouted in this post has made me do 2 things I haven't done in a very long time 1) Post wrestling more than once every few months & 2) Post in the TNA section

Did you just act like TNA is a wrestling company??

Are you kidding me?!?! of course TNA is a wrestling company. Not the best out there but they are #2 in the United States. To say they aren't is a giant slap in the face to all the greats people who work there.

Do you want me to run down the list of stupid things that TNA have done just like the WWE? Do you really want to go there?

This haswhat to do with the topic exactly? That's right not a damn thing just another TNA hater shitting on what they don't like.

Kurt Angle is not a real wrestler and has not been for a LONG time.

Of course Kurt is a real wrestler and his countless titles and OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL back me up on this one. So he wants to spend his last years in a buisness he loves getting the next generation of stars ready. I for one applaud him for doing it.

Sorry to get your panties in a bunch Dixie Dolts.

and this is what makes your post in this thread 100% invalid. When you resort to name calling it obvious you can't back up what you're saying

Time and time again pro wrestlers have proven that it's not what you say but what you do. Kurt is a major politician. He knows the game and wouldn't hesitate to leave TNA for WWE when the time is right.

Why would Kurt go back to the WWE? He's done everything possible in the WWE.

KOTR winner
WWE & World Title reigns (not counting all the mid-card and the tag title riegn he had)
Main Evented Wrestlemania (XIX) for the title

The only thing he hasn't done is win a RR match but with all he has accomplished he doesn't really need.



Now on to the topic if Kurt Angle would rather work a lighter schedule for the rest of his career then good for him. At his age with his neck problems he shouldn't wrestle the type of schedule WWE wrestler's do. He's done just about everything there is to do not just in the WWE but the entire pro wrestling business and it was all for the fans. I personally be disappointed if he leaves TNA because he is one of the very few reasons I still watch it on occasion.

 

[Dizzy]

Well I find that a little disappointing although his tone could change in the next year or so. Ive always liked Kurt Angle and his ability in the Ring,he had a great run in the WWE and was sorry to see him leave the way he did.

I think guys like Kurt and Sting are kidding themselves as someone said earlier about Retiring in the Minor Leagues rather than go out on top with WWE. I guess I can respect his decesion,I don't like it but I can respect it a little bit.

Again, why the hell do WWE marks feel it's necessary to retire in WWE? Everyone knows who the fuck Kurt Angle and Sting is. They want to make TNA a better company when they retire. That's their business. Kurt Angle owns a percentage of TNA. Why would he change his mind?

If Flair retiring in WWE and leaving was such a problem wouldn't it be the same if Angle or Sting did the same with WWE? Of course not. Because marks will not have a problem with it which is the problem right there.

TNA is the minor leagues? The second biggest company in all of North America is a minor league company? Ignorance at it's finest.

If AJ Styles wanted to retire a TNA superstar, It would be a terrible move too right?

 

[mrbooker]

If you are a Kurt Angle fan you should be happy he is staying in TNA, people tend to forget that Vince and the WWE treated Kurt Angle like a PIECE OF SHIT. Thats why he went to TNA in the first place the fact that he asked for less time and was not given it is ridiculous for a top caliber performer like Kurt Angle who had problems with his general health and well being.

And the old saying goes you reap what you sow, its funny how back then WWE didn't care what its talent wanted but at this point would love to have them on their roster.

and its a perfect example of why its great TNA exist, I am a huge wrestling fan if wrestling is on the TV im watching it so their is no bias..... I mean this and as a Kurt Angle fan I thank god the day he went to TNA because if he had stayed in WWE I trully believe Kurt Angle would be dead, walking with a cane, or in drug rehab

So whenever I see people talking shit about going back to WWE and how TNA is second rate, but they claim to love Angle so much they really should thank TNA if they are an Angle fan, and I believe Angle when he says he will stay in TNA for the simple fact that he joined TNA because of what WWE did to him. Why would you want to retire for a company that did not care about your well being??? because they can give you more fans to perform infront of, sorry thats not the price of your well being im happy Kurt has choose this path.

And I know alot of people are going to say ooo its just onemore match a sendoff the right way with WWE.

Its Kurt Angles send off/last match not WWE fans and doing it for a company that didnt treat Kurt how he desreved to be treated isnt the right way, if you are a real Angle fan then it shouldnt matter where his last match is

a wrestling match is a wrestling match is a wrestling match, people always want to bring up crowd size, promos, storyline, those things matter when it all comes down to it every match is the same, 4 corners a ref and a bell thats all and thats all Kurt Angle needs in his last match, thats all Kurt Angle has ever needed to captivate a audience

 

[Strife3]

This could be a good thing for Kurt but also a bad thing. It's not that Vince wouldn't welcome Kurt back but now that he is saying he's gonna retire in TNA this might be a slap to the face in Vince's eyes and it could cost Kurt his rightful place in the HoF. I know that there is more then just the WWE HoF but it's the most well known. For Kurt to finish in TNA he must feel that he is good enough to still go in without going back to WWE but at the same time that could be what keeps him from being remembered like the rest.

Before he said never he should have looked that Christan, Kevin Nash and Booker T, all left WWE and returned.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Angle seems to be hell bent on staying with TNA. More power to him. I applaud Angle for taking a lighter schedule and working with the young talent to help grow a rising company. Yes some of us would like to see him in WWE again, but what is left for him to do there? WWE is pushing the young guys to the moon and kicking the older vets to the curb.

Angle wouldn't fit in today's WWE. He is happy with TNA so that is all that matters. Even though it is strange and probably uncomfortable for him to work with his ex wife and Jeff Jarrett every week.