Kurt Angle On TNA Over WWE, MMA Interest & More
By Andy Steven
on Thursday, July 24 2008
Kurt Angle recently did an interview with South Carolina Now Magazine. The following are a few of his quotes regarding TNA being compared to the WWE, the politics in each company, his interest in working MMA, and more:
What’s TNA like compared to the WWE? "There’s no comparison, talent-wise, to WWE. We’ve got much more talented wrestlers. Since I’ve been here, it’s probably progressed 200 percent. It’s not me, though. The folks who started TNA have really built it up. WWE still makes over $100 million a year, but eventually we’ll get there. Now they have a real competitor.
So I take it you believe, wrestling-wise, TNA trumps WWE? Yes. and I think a lot of it is the athleticism. We recruit the best wrestlers from around the world. TNA doesn’t discriminate. We look for the best athletes. A lot of our guys are under 6-feet (tall).
You don’t think hiring smaller guys may hurt your fan base? Not at all. Wrestling’s an illusion itself, and fans realize it. We’re coming into a more real world. We have a good mixture of wrestlers. We have (high fliers) like Rey Mysterio Jr., but we also have guys like me and Samoa Joe who are more of a ground-and-pound style, more mixed martial arts oriented.
In 2006, you left WWE for TNA. Why did you leave WWE? TNA takes better care of me. They don’t want to overwork me. They want to make sure I can stay wrestling for another five to eight years. There’s a lot of politics in wrestling, wanting to be the top guy. There’s no politics here. That was more important than anything. I can’t say the same about WWE. I’ve seen guys who could elevate quicker, but because of politics, didn’t.
You’ve mentioned in other interviews that you would like to try mixed martial arts. Is that still a possibility? Well, my first priority is TNA. A lot of companies have asked me. In mixed martial arts, the danger is always there. If he puts me in a submission hold and I’m too proud to tap out and he snaps my arm, I’m out for a year or two. If I were to do it, the money would have to be unbelievable because if I get injured and I’m out, I need to provide for my family. If the money I get in mixed martial arts does not exceed the money I make in TNA, it’s not worth it.
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