Kurt Angle Interview

Kurt Angle spoke with The American and The Sun ahead of the TNA UK Tour and here are the highlights...


On his induction into the TNA Hall of Fame:

"We thought the best place for me to be inducted into the Hall of Fame would be where we have our biggest and best crowd: London, England. I was originally going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame during our biggest PPV of the year, Bound For Glory in October.

"Sometimes we dabble from real life into storyline and that's what we did with the Hall of Fame. They wanted the induction to be in England so we kept it hanging. When I heard the plan early on I was kind of skeptical. It is a real honor, it is a real award, I wasn't sure of using it as part of a storyline. They explained to me why and what they wanted to do with Bobby Roode and I, and they would have the big ceremony here in London which I thought was a great idea."

On the future of the company in 2014:

"It's a new era, you're going to see new stars. My job at this point of my career is not just to make myself look better but to create new stars. I've been able to do that this past four months with Bobby Roode and you look at the matches we've had, Bobby Roode is now set in stone as a main eventer in the company and he deserves it, I think he is one of the top three best wrestlers in the world right now. Right now in TNA I love Austin Aries, James Storm who I haven't really been able to mix it up with yet, and Magnus – that is a five star match in the making."

On what to expect from the TNA roster during the UK Tour:

"One thing that I can say about our guys is no matter what the writers come up with, no matter what the office tells us, these guys have a high standard that is unprecedented. Everybody wants to bring their A game, I don't want to pick on former companies or anything like that but there were times when guys would just say, 'I'm not wrestling tonight, just let me cut a promo'. These guys want to wrestle, they want to be out there performing for the fans, they want to have a five star match. Everybody is kind of tripping over everybody else about getting on the card. I haven't seen this kind of positive reinforcement from wrestlers in a long time. We have the right attitude in the locker room and that is what you need."

On Hulk Hogan's departure from TNA:

"Hulk Hogan's a good friend of mine. It was disappointing, but we had to make a company decision. It was, 'Do we keep Hulk Hogan on without the physicality of wrestling?' Because it seemed like he wasn't going to wrestle anymore. And, 'Will he benefit the company?' I believe he was benefiting the company. I think that any amount of money he wanted was worth getting him, but the company at the same time had to make a business decision and decide if they wanted to keep him and pay him the big money or if they wanted to get rid of him and find some younger talent. Even though I hate to see Hogan leave, I think it might have been the right decision."

On Sting's departure from TNA:

"Sting is the cornerstone of the company. Kurt Angle is not. A.J. Styles is not, as much as people want to say is the face of the company or Kurt Angle has helped the company more than anyone. Sting has always been our cornerstone and the man. He's your go-to guy. To lose him is about as bad as it can get. Losing Sting is a big blow to the company."

On being frustrated with his creative direction in TNA:

"I didn't really realize how much I love pro wrestling until this past year. It's been a really frustrating two years with what TNA has done with me. Well, what they haven't done with me. I didn't speak up; I just kept my mouth shut and did whatever they told me to do. I had a feeling they were dropping the ball, but I didn't want to say anything. But, I realized I have to speak up because if I love this so much, I have to show this passion to other people, not just myself."

On his desire to return to WWE:

"I can't say when. My (TNA) contract is up in September and I've left my options open. I'm very happy in TNA. Dixie Carter has treated me very well and always been there for me. But, I can't lie to myself anymore. I can't lie to TNA or WWE. Yeah, there is that desire to go back. I just don't know when. It could be this year. It could be next year. I don't know when. It's not a bad thing to stay in TNA at all. I just have some unfinished business in WWE. Whether it's this year or three years from now."

Kurt Angle also revealed in an interview with Amplified TV that he was supposed to face Bobby Roode in an Iron Man Match at Genesis.