IGN interviews Kurt Angle - May 2000
Posted by admin admin on Saturday, May 25, 2013
Under: WWF/WWE Interviews
Interview: Kurt Angle
The 1996 Olympic gold winner talks about the transition from amateur wrestling to WWF rings
May 1, 2000
The following interview is from IGN Scoops Wrestling
Ronny Sarnecky: What kind of changes did you have to make from your amateur background to accommodate the sports entertainment aspect of wrestling?
Kurt Angle: The one thing that I had to do was to break free of the non-emotion that you have in real sports. Like I'm so used to zoning in on just my opponent instead of the crowd. You know you have to be real enthusiastic, have some kind of personality in sports entertainment. So, that was a big adjustment, not to be so focused on my opponent, but just for everybody. Once you get that, things start to fall into place for the better.
Ronny Sarnecky: What made you decide to make the jump from the amateurs to the pro circuit?
Kurt Angle: To be honest with you, I retired from amateur wrestling. I was a sports caster for a year in Pittsburgh for FOX Sports. I still wanted to do something athletic, and sports entertainment was booming. Its popularity was soaring. And I just couldn't believe how many people were interested in wrestling, so I started watching it. I've never watched it before, until the summer of 98. I watched it for a couple of months, and decided to give them a call. They (the WWF) offered me a contract two years prior to that, right after the Olympics. (I said) I 'was interested now, so if you guys want to do something, let's get together.' We get together, have a little tryout, and then we went from there.
Jay Kirrell: A little while ago, I was talking to Tom Ryan, coach of the Hofstra wrestling team. Hofstra's one of the best wrestling teams in the country. I asked him about pro wrestling, and he said, basically, a lot of derogatory things about it. When you first told people that you wanted to be a pro wrestler to your friends in the amateur circles, what was their reaction?
Kurt Angle: You know. Cashing in on the real sport of the amateur wrestler. In the amateur wrestling world, what a lot of people don't understand is that they are nothing alike. One's pure sport. One's sports entertainment. Wrestlers are so prone to wanting to win all of the time, that being that you've got to go and to not to. Wrestling is the oldest sport in the world. (Amateur) Wrestlers have a lot of pride in what they do and what they don't understand is that Kurt Angle, the Olympic gold medallist, goes out there and could probably kick anyone's butt in the WWF. He ends up losing one night when he shouldn't. People don't like that. They think it's, you know, it's wrong for me to do something like that. But, what they don't understand is that we're entertaining people and having a good time doing it. Its a form of entertainment, and sometimes very rewarding. But, I think that Tom Ryan needs to get it, him and other people need to understand that it's pure entertainment. Enjoy it for what it is. Don't worry about what I've done. I'll always be an Olympic gold medallist. I bring that to the table. If anything, I'm promoting amateur wrestling, because people know me as Kurt Angle, the gold medallist from amateur wrestling. That's one thing that amateur wrestling doesn't have right now, is enough exposure. I think real amateur wrestling fans should be grateful, and not thinking that I'm cashing in.
Jay Kirrell: Tell me about the first time you met Vince McMahon. What was your reaction?
Kurt Angle: My reaction was, I was a little bit intimidated. The guy's a very successful man, but at the same time, I wasn't taking the pro wrestling thing seriously. At that point, in 1996, right after the Olympics, Vince offered me a very nice contract and I turned it down right in front of him. Vince was a very, I like to say, forgiving man. Because of the way things went that day, he didn't have to offer me another contract two years later. I'd have to say, Vince is very understanding about where I've come from, and why I had to turn him down the first time. I have a lot of respect for him.
Jay Kirrell: Why did you turn him down (the first time)?
Kurt Angle: Because, I didn't understand it. Because, I was one of those amateur wrestling athletes, that thought that cashing in was the wrong thing to do. When really it's worlds apart. Amateur wrestling and pro wrestling aren't even related. You're better off not being an amateur wrestler, and getting into pro wrestling with the techniques you are taught. Because (in) amateur wrestling, you're taught to be over aggressive. You're taught not to go on your back at all. And in pro wrestling, you have to slow down the pace, let the people digest the stuff, and you're always taught to go to your back. It's like doing the opposite of what you have been told all of your life. I'm more proud of myself for adjusting to the pro style because anybody that, especially on my level, that's a world class athlete, that's been taught one way, and just to completely turn it off like that. Very few amateur wrestlers are successful in pro wrestling because of that.
Vincent Pagano: I'm sure everybody would like to know if 'It's true! It's true!' is just a gimmick? When did you develope the three 'I's?'
Kurt Angle: That was something that we all came up with in the creative department. I think, first of all, Vince McMahon thought it would be a good concept. Being a true grit American hero, having the three 'I's' for real life. I think that Vince thought that, 'why not use that concept, and rub it in people's faces?' So, what he did was take the real Kurt Angle and turn it up about 500 notches, and said 'okay, start preaching to the people. Instead of telling them who you are, tell them how they should live.' The gimmick worked excellent. Vince was dead on when he decided to do it. It was all Vince's idea. So, like I said before, Vince, I have a lot of respect for him, and he's a genius.
The 1996 Olympic gold winner talks about the transition from amateur wrestling to WWF rings
May 1, 2000
The following interview is from IGN Scoops Wrestling
Ronny Sarnecky: What kind of changes did you have to make from your amateur background to accommodate the sports entertainment aspect of wrestling?
Kurt Angle: The one thing that I had to do was to break free of the non-emotion that you have in real sports. Like I'm so used to zoning in on just my opponent instead of the crowd. You know you have to be real enthusiastic, have some kind of personality in sports entertainment. So, that was a big adjustment, not to be so focused on my opponent, but just for everybody. Once you get that, things start to fall into place for the better.
Ronny Sarnecky: What made you decide to make the jump from the amateurs to the pro circuit?
Kurt Angle: To be honest with you, I retired from amateur wrestling. I was a sports caster for a year in Pittsburgh for FOX Sports. I still wanted to do something athletic, and sports entertainment was booming. Its popularity was soaring. And I just couldn't believe how many people were interested in wrestling, so I started watching it. I've never watched it before, until the summer of 98. I watched it for a couple of months, and decided to give them a call. They (the WWF) offered me a contract two years prior to that, right after the Olympics. (I said) I 'was interested now, so if you guys want to do something, let's get together.' We get together, have a little tryout, and then we went from there.
Jay Kirrell: A little while ago, I was talking to Tom Ryan, coach of the Hofstra wrestling team. Hofstra's one of the best wrestling teams in the country. I asked him about pro wrestling, and he said, basically, a lot of derogatory things about it. When you first told people that you wanted to be a pro wrestler to your friends in the amateur circles, what was their reaction?
Kurt Angle: You know. Cashing in on the real sport of the amateur wrestler. In the amateur wrestling world, what a lot of people don't understand is that they are nothing alike. One's pure sport. One's sports entertainment. Wrestlers are so prone to wanting to win all of the time, that being that you've got to go and to not to. Wrestling is the oldest sport in the world. (Amateur) Wrestlers have a lot of pride in what they do and what they don't understand is that Kurt Angle, the Olympic gold medallist, goes out there and could probably kick anyone's butt in the WWF. He ends up losing one night when he shouldn't. People don't like that. They think it's, you know, it's wrong for me to do something like that. But, what they don't understand is that we're entertaining people and having a good time doing it. Its a form of entertainment, and sometimes very rewarding. But, I think that Tom Ryan needs to get it, him and other people need to understand that it's pure entertainment. Enjoy it for what it is. Don't worry about what I've done. I'll always be an Olympic gold medallist. I bring that to the table. If anything, I'm promoting amateur wrestling, because people know me as Kurt Angle, the gold medallist from amateur wrestling. That's one thing that amateur wrestling doesn't have right now, is enough exposure. I think real amateur wrestling fans should be grateful, and not thinking that I'm cashing in.
Jay Kirrell: Tell me about the first time you met Vince McMahon. What was your reaction?
Kurt Angle: My reaction was, I was a little bit intimidated. The guy's a very successful man, but at the same time, I wasn't taking the pro wrestling thing seriously. At that point, in 1996, right after the Olympics, Vince offered me a very nice contract and I turned it down right in front of him. Vince was a very, I like to say, forgiving man. Because of the way things went that day, he didn't have to offer me another contract two years later. I'd have to say, Vince is very understanding about where I've come from, and why I had to turn him down the first time. I have a lot of respect for him.
Jay Kirrell: Why did you turn him down (the first time)?
Kurt Angle: Because, I didn't understand it. Because, I was one of those amateur wrestling athletes, that thought that cashing in was the wrong thing to do. When really it's worlds apart. Amateur wrestling and pro wrestling aren't even related. You're better off not being an amateur wrestler, and getting into pro wrestling with the techniques you are taught. Because (in) amateur wrestling, you're taught to be over aggressive. You're taught not to go on your back at all. And in pro wrestling, you have to slow down the pace, let the people digest the stuff, and you're always taught to go to your back. It's like doing the opposite of what you have been told all of your life. I'm more proud of myself for adjusting to the pro style because anybody that, especially on my level, that's a world class athlete, that's been taught one way, and just to completely turn it off like that. Very few amateur wrestlers are successful in pro wrestling because of that.
Vincent Pagano: I'm sure everybody would like to know if 'It's true! It's true!' is just a gimmick? When did you develope the three 'I's?'
Kurt Angle: That was something that we all came up with in the creative department. I think, first of all, Vince McMahon thought it would be a good concept. Being a true grit American hero, having the three 'I's' for real life. I think that Vince thought that, 'why not use that concept, and rub it in people's faces?' So, what he did was take the real Kurt Angle and turn it up about 500 notches, and said 'okay, start preaching to the people. Instead of telling them who you are, tell them how they should live.' The gimmick worked excellent. Vince was dead on when he decided to do it. It was all Vince's idea. So, like I said before, Vince, I have a lot of respect for him, and he's a genius.
In : WWF/WWE Interviews