NEWS -- Kurt Angle is Going to TNA
At the No Surrender pay-per-view, in addition to announcing TNA's move to primetime (9pm) on Thursdays starting November 16, the promotion made the shocking revelation that Olympic gold medalist and former multi-time WWE champion Kurt Angle will be part of the TNA roster.
Angle was recently released by WWE after major fears that Angle would cause himself permanent physical harm by competing despite injuries. Angle had expressed interest in competing in mixed martial arts over the last few days.
--DJ Fully's Instant Reaction
--Krazy Kory's Next Day Reaction--DJ Fully's Next Day ReactionLEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW ON THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ALL THE RAMIFICATIONS!
The following is a press release from just moments after the announcement:
TNA WRESTLING MAKES TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
Signs Kurt Angle
iMPACT! Moves To 9 PM on Spike TV Starting Thursday, November 16
Signs Kurt Angle
iMPACT! Moves To 9 PM on Spike TV Starting Thursday, November 16
Nashville, TN, September 24, 2006 – Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling announced today that Olympic gold medalist and pro wrestling megastar Kurt Angle has signed exclusively with the company. It was also announced that TNA iMPACT! will move to 9:00 PM ET/PT Thursdays on Spike TV starting November 16.
“This has been a huge week in our company’s history,” said Dixie Carter, president of TNA Entertainment, LLC. “The signing of Kurt Angle and the move of iMPACT! to 9 PM are both significant benchmarks in the growth of TNA. The history of pro wrestling is marked with events that change the landscape of the industry and I believe that this week will be viewed in that context.”
Angle, a 2-time NCAA Division I champion and a 3-time NCAA Division I All-American, capped off his illustrious amateur career by winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, competing with two cracked vertebrae, two herniated disks and four pulled muscles.On November 14, 1999, Angle made his on-screen debut with the World Wrestling Federation. Since then, this 5-time WWE World Champion has held every major championship belt in WWF/E. He is also in the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“Kurt is considered the greatest wrestler in professional wrestling,” added Carter. “His in-ring ability is matched only by his leadership and attitude. We are thrilled Kurt is joining the TNA family and we look forward to a long, successful relationship.”
“Being with TNA feels like I found my home,” Kurt Angle commented. “TNA will be the most watched show on cable TV – it’s just a matter of time. Thank you TNA for saving my career, my life and my desire to do what I love.”TNA also announced it will premiere in primetime on Spike TV starting Thursday, November 16, kicking-off with a two-hour extravaganza from 9:00 – 11:00 PM, ET/PT to celebrate the move. The following Thursday, TNA can be seen in its regularly scheduled timeslot (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), with encores continuing to telecast on Saturdays (11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT).
“We’ve been impressed by TNA’s growth and the acquisition of Kurt Angle today continues to show us that wrestling fans, as well as professional wrestlers, know that TNA is the place to be and now primetime on Spike TV is the place for them to be,” says Kevin Kay, General Manager of Spike TV.
Photos from (1) TNAWrestling.com and (2-3) ECW.com
11 comments:
Holy sh#(! That's the best surprise since...well I can't remember! Hats off to TNA management for keeping it so secret!
As for Angle, I hope he knows what he's doing...But hey, no doubt TNA (Spike) paid him big bucks and he'll probably do MMA as well. Plus, the schedule will be lighter than WWE.
Good point Marc. I hadn't thought about that, but he will pretty much be off the road. And he'll be working what, three times a month? At least until they start running house shows. From a career standpoint, however, Angle wants to be known as the greatest ever. It will be hard, if not impossible, to be known as the best ever while working outside of the WWE.
-Cody
this is the biggest jump to the opposition since jericho
BTW...congrats on taking one step closer to being a top wrestling news site. The prof. heard about Angle from you guys first (via the myspace bulletin). Bill Apter would be proud.
I give them credit for not only getting Angle, but keeping it quiet. I want to be really excited about Angle in TNA, as something good for TNA can only be good for the industry. The thought of Joe/Angle, especially for the NWA Title if they do the right thing in the long run, is incredible.
However I once was excited to see them use Christian to his potential.
I would have been excited about Low Ki vs Chris Sabin -- until they decided to use a blow-up doll.
I would have been excited to see Petey Williams (I've never been impressed with Jay Lethal any time I've seen him) -- until they decided the match should be about Petey Williams shitting his pants.
I want to be excited, I really do -- but TNA makes it really hard sometimes.
P.S. MMA was all a work, he's not doing it. It was a smokescreen to hide him signing with TNA.
Does Vince own, "It's True! It's DAMN true!" ????
- Kory
Oh yeah, to Rob's comment. I know we're all Jericho marks, and it was a big jump, but The Radicals jump was just as big. Lest we forget that last time Benoit had been seen he was holding the WCW World Title. It didn't have the build-up that Jerciho's did, but it was just as big. In the end, if they use him correctly and TNA becomes real competition, then I would say it's the biggest since Nash and Hall.
Kory, I'm sure Vince has "It's True" under wraps. It was on all Vince's t-shirts, Vince's website. It's gotta be his.
My last post got cut off at the end, but I was saying that a tragic ending of Kurt's career or life could be 10 times worse for the business than Eddie Guerrero's death. The damage could be permanent, or at the very least, be felt for years to come in the industry.
Here's hoping that doesn't even come close to happening.
-DJ F.
I enjoyed listening to DJ Fully and Krazy Kory's comments, especially when dealing with what this means physically for Angle...So, here's my take:
Unless Angle is special, he should have been released with the typical 90-day no-compete clause. This gives Angle an additional 3 months before he wrestles, right? That's 3 months of taking it easy, rehabbing, etc. Now, as that goes in relation with the promo TNA aired, I don't know. But we can take that into account.
No one wants to see angle get worse than he already is, but at the same time, the lighter schedule might be just the thing he needs. There are so many unknown variables at this point that we can guess about, but in the end, it's just that, a guess. And my guess is, Angle got a lot of money to wrestle just a little time, and if the 90 day clause is in effect, he will have time to rehab. The limited wrestling I'd imagine will keep him (hopefully) from having to use painkillers daily like he did in WWE. But we'll just have to wait and see.
Kudos to this site for posting the press release so early.
MC
I may be wrong but I think we just broke a comment record here. Am I right?
The following is for Cody who commented earlier in my Gettin Krazy With Kory column. I reply here since Kurt Angle stole my fuckin thunder!
---------------------------------
Cody my main man... be ready for all that is the "2 Cold Scorpio". Be prepared for the most awesome loser ever! Vince is gonna have this jobbah jobbing to Tatanka in a matter of seconds in the arena, but the good news is NO ONE JOBS LIKE TOO COLD! NO ONE!!!!
Post a Comment