Interview: Kurt Angle

Our Olympic Hero reveals to IGN the shocking details of his Summerslam concussion in a candid chat

September 15, 2000

The 1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner in amateur wrestling, Kurt Angle, has only been in the pro-wrestling ring for less than a year now. However, since his debut at last year's "Survivor Series" pay per view, his impact on the WWF has been phenomenal. He quickly won the European Championship, then defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Champion. He held both belts for over a month, then went on to win the WWF's annual "King Of The Ring" tournament, surviving a field of 32 top wrestlers to be crowned King.

This Summer, Angle's biggest storyline to date began as he fell for Vince McMahon's daughter, Stephanie. For months he couldn't admit it, but his blooming "friendship" with Stephanie began to draw the ire of her husband, four time former WWF champion Triple-H. As Kurt's intentions became more obvious, the feud has gathered more and more momentum. Finally, Hunter and Angle came to blows during a three-way match for the WWF championship at Summerslam, in a match also featuring the current champion, The Rock. During the match, Hunter attempted to hit his dreaded Pedigree, a piledriver variation, on the ringside commentary table; but when the desk collapsed prematurely, an unprepared Angle ended up falling five feet, hitting the concrete head-first, suffering a serious concussion in the process.

IGN Wrestling's Blake Norton and Miss Galatea caught up with King Kurt in Los Angeles, shortly before he was to go out and wrestle in the main event of a show for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, a regional company associated with the WWF. Among other topics, Kurt discussed his head injury, making the transition from amateur wrestling to "sports entertainment," his goals in the industry and much more.

Blake Norton: Tell us what happened that night.

Kurt Angle: That night… I was supposed to get knocked out, but not really knocked out.

Norton: The pedigree happened prematurely.

Angle: Right. I had my hands behind my back, so when the table gave way underneath us, I couldn't protect my head. I hit the concrete floor with it. After that, the only thing I remember was the ride to the hospital. The stuff in between I don't remember.

Norton: What have the doctors told you?

Angle: They told me to take it easy, but that's hard to do when you're on television. You have to keep it real. I'm in the biggest angle in wrestling right now, so it's hard. They're trying to nurse me by taking me off house shows, and I'm taking as few bumps as possible, but I'm hoping that in another week or so I'll be okay.

Norton: Unforgiven is coming up; do you feel you'll be ready for the show?

Angle: Yeah. I think I'll be 100%. Right now I'm pretty close… I'm still, my head gets groggy sometimes, when I take a bump I can see stars and not be sure where I am. It's had an effect on me, but by Unforgiven, I'm hopeful.

Norton: So you feel you're getting better?

Angle: Yeah, I've been getting better. The good news is that when I take the bumps, they haven't been pretty, I haven't gotten knocked out. They don't feel good, but I haven't blacked out like I did that night.

Norton: You're one of the most successful people in wrestling, but a couple of years ago you didn't know anything about it. Now you're one of the top stars in the world. How does that feel?

Angle: It's an honor and a pleasure. They threw me in the fire to see what I could do, and I was able to produce. I took my work ethic from amateur and the Olympics and applied it to what I'm doing now. It's the same attitude, just a totally different game. It's sports entertainment now. I took more of a casual approach. Instead of taking the aggressive approach, that people would be scared of because of the amateur background, I let people push me around and show me how to do this. You have to have finesse in Sports entertainment. Without that, you won't get very far.

Norton: What got you into pro-wrestling?

Angle: One night I turned it on, and I was really impressed with these athletes, what they were doing. People call them "fake," but watching them perform I saw people who were real bona fide athletes. Many could have been successful at any sport. I always wanted to be in entertainment. I took my medals, my credentials and turned it over to sports entertainment. It's been nothing but good. I brought my work ethic. Vince McMahon and I have a great relationship. The more I listen, the more I get better and learn about the business, the more he utilizes me.

Norton: Do you get any heat from your peers, since you're a "legitimate" sportsman? Do you get people looking down on you for your more?

Angle: Yeah, especially the people who don't understand.

Norton: Mostly people who've never watched pro-wrestling.

Angle: Right, right. I'd say 60% of amateur fans watch it and understand, but those who don't, think I sold out my Gold Medals to get into what they think is "fake." I've never been so brutalized and banged around in my life (being in pro-wrestling). I was so good at amateur that nobody could touch me. Here, I have to let my opponent take half the match. You get bumped, banged around, and suffer concussions, like I did.

Norton: When you first signed with the WWF, it was a long time before we saw you on television - but when you finally made your debut, you looked like a natural. What happened during those months and months of training, and how hard was it for you to make the transition?

Angle: It was really hard. I felt stupid at first. I was the "real deal," and I had no idea how everybody was going to accept me. At independent shows I didn't know how people were going to accept me being a character in sports entertainment. But when I got to the WWF, things were so hyped up and pumped, you start to believe the character you're playing. When you go out there and get some confidence in yourself, the company has confidence in you. It just keeps building. They brought me up really rapidly; It blows my mind that I've come this far in nine months.

Norton: How did you feel about your "Olympic Whiner" gimmick? At your debut match at Survivor Series, you jumped out of the ring in mid-match, grabbed the microphone and told the fans they HAD to cheer you because you're a "real" athlete?

Angle: Actually, that wasn't supposed to be done. It was called at that moment. I wasn't supposed to walk out of the match and grab the microphone. Vince McMahon saw how the crowd was reacting. Fans weren't just booing, they were saying that I flat-out sucked in sports entertainment.

Norton: You went in doing mat wrestling, a lot more than you do now.

Angle: Exactly. That was Vince's whole plan. When he heard the reaction, he radioed the referee, who told me to jump on the microphone. The whole idea was to have people chant "boring" because I'm an Olympic wrestler.

Norton: And then you get your heat by telling the fans what is and what isn't good wrestling.

Angle: Exactly. It was a good angle, a good idea. Vince McMahon, I think, always knew he was going to do that. You take a guy like me with the gold medals, the worldwide recognition, some guys would throw me in at the main event. But Vince built me up slowly.

Norton: So the fans would accept you.

Angle: Yes, yes. It wasn't like a Mike Tyson gimmick where you throw the guy in at the main event. Vince made people believe in me first, see that I could work first.

Norton: You had a naturally charismatic ability to use the microphone and get a reaction right from your debut with the WWF. Is that something you worked on? Where did you get it from?

Angle: I don't know! (Kurt gives a confused look). I didn't have much practice. It's a God Given gift, I guess. It was comfortable and easy for me, because that's how I've felt my whole life. I've felt that I didn't get enough credit for what I did. Amateur wrestling doesn't get any exposure, for some odd reason, it takes a back seat to pro-wrestling. People would ask "oh, one of those wrestlers on TV?" and I'd say "Hell no, I'm an Olympic wrestler!" I used to get upset about it. So I used that attitude when I came here.

Norton: After Bob Holly broke his arm absorbing a moonsault, how did that affect you personally, being the first time you seriously hurt someone in the ring?

Angle: That really… that tore me up inside. Bob is a great guy, we have a great relationship. We called the move before the match. I've never landed a moonsault, I'd always missed. So I wasn't sure how to place him… I know how to place him now… he was too far away. He was towards the center of the ring, and to hit a moonsault from the corner, you have to go… more of a line-drive…. I did more of a Japanese moonsault. That hurt. He's a great worker, and he was right at that point where he was mid-main event. He has a great work ethic, and I wish him the best as he returns.

Norton: Has the incident made you apprehensive about using high-risk moves?

Angle: Yes, definitely…

Norton: Will we be seeing the moonsault again?

Angle: Yeah, you'll see it some day, but I'll practice it. I haven't even tried it since. I'll bring it in at some point. Right now I'm comfortable with what I'm doing. You don't have to do the crazy stuff to be a top wrestler. You just have to make it believable and make it work. I'll eventually do it again; a lot of guys joke around before a match with me and say "just don't hit me with a moonsault!" It doesn’t hurt me, but it does because of what happened to Bob. He didn't deserve that.

Norton: You've only been here a year, but you've already had several top feuds. Who do you feel you've worked best with?

Angle: There's so many top guys in the WWF, I really can't single out one. I feel the best guys are here. I'd say the very best guy in the business right now is Hunter. The guy has the full package. He can carry you through a whole match and make it look like a million bucks. You don't even have to be that good. He can make any situation work at any time. Exactly what happened when I got a concussion. Hunter's the one that settled me down, continued the match, kept me in the match by pulling the gurney back to keep my involved. He knew I was hurt, but he knew I could come back. He has that knowledge. I think him and Undertaker are the best for knowledge. Then if you're looking at the best workers, you have The Rock, Edge and Christian, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho…

Norton: You worked with both those last two guys in the triple-threat match at Wrestlemania.

Angle: Man, we had the best match, just at the wrong time. It was after the tables match, after the girls, it was right in the time when people were just…

Norton: Coming down from the rest. The placing on the card wasn't great, because the fans would have been able to get into the wrestling, but it was right after the big bumps. That's got to do with the placing on the card, not the quality of the match.

Angle: You're right, that's exactly what it was. We had a tremendous match, and I want to work with those guys in the future, they're phenomenal. Even guys like Bob Holly, Val Venis, Rikishi, who haven't been promoted quite as much… Rikishi is phenomenal. A four hundred pound guy? He's just amazing.

Miss Galatea: You spent a little bit of time in ECW before going to the WWF; tell us what happened when they ran the crucifiction angle with Raven and The Sandman.

Angle: I was a motivational speaker at the time. Corporations, universitys, elementary schools. I didn't want to be portrayed as a person like this… it's not that I was against what they did. I understand, It's sports entertainment. They do what they do and try to make it effective, whether it's good, bad or evil. They have a plan I wasn't offended as a part of the show, I was offended as an individual, because of the position I was in at the time. I just wanted to make sure that it didn't go on the air when I was on there. I wasn't interested in sports entertainment at the time. I was told that ECW was more legitimate wrestling. What they really do is more hardcore, nobody told me that, I thought it was straight wrestling. Those guys, I'll tell you, I like Sandman, I'm crazy about Raven, I have a great relationship with Stevie Richards… I respect and admire them. It's just that at that particular time, I shouldn't have done it. Now I understand. I'm a Christian, I'm a believer in God, I don't agree with it, but there's a lot of stuff I don't agree with. You can always change that channel. Young, old, there's always something to watch.

Norton: If you got a huge offer from WCW, would you be interested in jumping?

Angle: No, not at this time. I have a great relationship with the WWF. I trust them, they trust me, I'm real happy with what they're doing with me as far as character. I'm happy with what they're paying me. My contract may not say they're paying me much, but the harder you work, the higher up you go, the more you get. I have total trust in what they're going to do, and I'm sure they'll re-sign me before my contract is up.

Norton: What do you feel you have left to accomplish as an individual?

Angle: I just want to be one of the best in sports entertainment. I've been on television for ten months. I'm not asking to do that within a year or two years, but I'd ultimately like to be remembered as one of the best. There's been a lot of tremendous guys, and I think I have the ability to do it. It's just a matter of time, learning from all these great workers. Hopefully some day I can be just as good as the greats.

Miss Galatea: You had success with the Olympics, and in pro wrestling. What's the contrast in the personal rewards?

Angle: It's different. Now, it's more of a dramatic performance and a show. I can get more into it. In amateur wrestling, you go out, you train, you work on instinct. Here, you have to think all the time. This is more satisfying… more gratifying. It's more "me." It's more of the athlete, the person, the character. It's not just my wrestling, it's my look, everything. You have to have everything in one package. I find it more satisfying.

Norton: Thanks for talking with us. Best of luck in your recovery.

Angle: Thank you very much!