Thanks to Mark Madison for sending us the following:
Kurt Angle recently took some time out to talk with JP Zarka of ProWrestlingStories.com. 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. He talked about fatherhood, who his best friends were in WWE and how he lost contact with everyone after making the decision to leave in 2006. He reveals who he would like to share a ring with if he were to step into a WWE ring again, the possibilities for after Wrestlemania, the difference in backstage environments between now and when he was coming up in the business while also giving us a sneak peek of his WWE Hall of Fame speech! Check out excerpts of the interview below and the complete interview here.
WWE Hall of Fame Induction:
“I was pretty surprised that I got the call this early. You know, at forty-eight years of age. I’m not even done with my wrestling career! I got a call from Triple H and he said how they wanted to induct me into the WWE Hall of Fame. That just puts an exclamation point to my pro wrestling career. I’ve been inducted into every hall of fame but the WWE in both amateur and pro, so this is definitely a huge honor.”
His History of Recovery:
“I’ve been in recovery for four years. I decided to enter rehab back in 2013 when I got my fourth DUI in five years. I got pretty reckless. It started with painkillers because I was having a lot of anxiety when I broke my neck four times in two-and-a-half years. I went to Xanax, so I was taking both of those. WWE didn’t even know I was taking it. Back in 2003, they didn’t have the drug testing they do now. They have a great drug testing policy now, but back then it wasn’t implemented yet so I was getting away with a lot of stuff. Because of health issues and also feeling like I was a liability to Vince McMahon, I asked for a release in 2006 and Vince granted me it and I moved on with my life and they moved on with theirs. When I went to TNA, everybody drank and I never really drank alcohol. All of a sudden I was drinking alcohol and now I was mixing the three – it was a pretty deadly combination.”
Who He Wants to Wrestle if Given the Opportunity in WWE:
“I’m going to have to put AJ Styles up there, too. He is frickin’, he is the best in the business without a doubt right now. I just watched him and Dean Ambrose on Tuesday. Gosh, does that kid ever have less than a five-star match? He’s phenomenal. I completely understand why AJ is so much fun to work with – you don’t have to do anything! He does all of it for you. Any other wrestler who would tell you different is lying. AJ does all the work. That’s what’s so cool about it. You know it’s going to be a five-star match if he matches your ability. I’m talking the Ambrose’s and the Rollins’, the John Cena’s and Kurt Angle’s. As long as you’re up there with him, you’re going to have that type of match with AJ because he is so easy to work with. I know this is going to be a little bit of a surprise but I really like Roman Reigns. I think he’s going to win the fans over eventually. It’s only a matter of time. I think he was pushed fairly quickly and the fans like to see that process. You know, the US title, the Intercontinental title, the King of the Ring and then the WWE title. He just went straight up. I think that’s the reason why a lot of fans, some fans I should say, are rejecting him.”
Angle also discussed his AngleStrong app, family and advice for new wrestlers.
