Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett TNA Drama

[Jingus]

You are giving Vince too much credit. Vince will do ANYTHING to run out competition. Even if that means Angle will be put on retainer and only wrestle 6 matches a year and be put in the role of someone's manager and only having to work PPV and TV. Don't put it past Vince.

No. For three reasons.

 

1. Since when has Vincent Kennedy McMahon ever showed that he gave the tiniest shit about TNA? This isn't like the intensely personal Monday Night Wars here. Vince doesn't give a damn if TNA lives or dies. He rarely makes much effort to sign anyone away from there. What former TNA stars currently work for the WWE? All I can think of are Gail Kim and R-Truth, and they both got their initial big-time breaks in the WWE anyway so it was more of a return than a jump.

 

2. You may say "but Kurt Angle is different". I don't think so, not really. If Vince wanted Angle that badly, he would've never fired him in the first place. He would've known that Angle's most probable course of action would be to go straight to Dixie Carter's front door.

 

3. When does World Wrestling Entertainment ever let someone wrestle such a limited schedule like that? Vince insists on a workaholic schedule from all his wrestlers; the only time they get a vacation of more than a few days is when they're sitting at home to rehab a serious injury. I can really only think of three people who are given large amounts of time off when they want it, and those are Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Undertaker. I don't think Angle would be included in that rarified group. Even a guy like Jeff Hardy is subject to the "no time off, either work or quit" treatment. Nobody in the WWE is allowed the light schedule that TNA gives its top old veterans, period.

 

There's been a lot of talk about how Angle "insisted" on working through injuries during his WWE tenure. People act like he was out there wrestling against the will of the office, which is fucking nonsense. It's not like Vince was trying to hold him back at the curtain, pleading with him not to go out there and risk his life again. If the company didn't want him to wrestle, he wouldn't have wrestled.

[Loss]

Could someone please translate that from Jim Ross doublespeak to English, because I have NO idea what he's saying.

It sounds like he's gently suggesting that Angle commit suicide.

[Loss]

Kurt's side of the story he told Bubba the Love Sponge:

 

Kurt wanted Rhaka Khan wanted out of his house, but she changed her mailing address to his house, which gave her official residency there. Kurt talked to the cops a few weeks ago, they told him he would have to get a order of protection. He didn't want to do it and from there Khan tried to blackmail him saying she would file one against Kurt, if Kurt didn't give her $50,000 or an engagement ring, Angle said no. Well, she filed the order of protection against him this past week. Kurt said he was at Starbucks first. From there Khan called the cops and this is where we are today.

 

Court hearing is tomorrow.

 

Kurt's gonna be on the show on Wednesday, giving his perfect interview about it.

Come ON. You mean if I put in a change of address to your address at the post office and just decide to move in to your house, you can't kick me out?

[Loss]

You are giving Vince too much credit. Vince will do ANYTHING to run out competition. Even if that means Angle will be put on retainer and only wrestle 6 matches a year and be put in the role of someone's manager and only having to work PPV and TV. Don't put it past Vince.

Let me say this the nicest way I possibly can.

 

I believe your views on Vince McMahon and WWE to be overly simplistic.

[Jingus]

It sounds like he's gently suggesting that Angle commit suicide.

...actually, yeah, it totally does.

 

Come ON. You mean if I put in a change of address to your address at the post office and just decide to move in to your house, you can't kick me out?

Surprisingly, that one might not be bullshit. Yes, I've heard of cases before where a man was thrown out of his own house by the cops because of a domestic complaint, while the woman (who owns exactly zero percent of the property) is allowed to stay. A lot of domestic-disturbance type law in America does tend to be heavily biased in women's favor. Of course there are very good reasons for that, as any of the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of abused women in this country could tell you. But there are also plenty of cases where stuff like this happens. Along the same lines of how mothers are much more likely than fathers to be granted primary custody of the children in divorce cases.

[Bix]

Don West fired, as expected.

 

Could someone please translate that from Jim Ross doublespeak to English, because I have NO idea what he's saying.

It sounds like he's gently suggesting that Angle commit suicide.

 

It really does read that way but there's no way that's what he meant.

 

I think.

[Jingus]

Don West fired, as expected.

I dunno if he's fired, there are rumors around about some kind of promotion or transfer to an office position. But still, Taz is slated to take his place at the announce table. As many have pointed out, why subtract West right after he's finally improved so much? For the majority of his tenure in TNA, he was just David Crockett 2000, a guy who kept shouting "LOOK AT THAT, THAT'S AMAZING!" in your ear. They could've replaced him with the color commentating equivalent of a laugh track and there wouldn't have been much difference. But once he's actually become entertaining and useful as a fawning, hypocritical heel, now they get rid of him?

[Bob Morris]

For those thinking Vince would never take Kurt Angle back, now and forever, those are the people giving Vince too much credit. Certainly he wouldn't take him back _now_, but if a year from now, this stuff has all died down and Angle somehow isn't off the deep end, Vince would take him back if he thinks he could make money off Angle.

 

It has nothing to do with wanting to put TNA out of business. Dave Meltzer has always said that, if Vince feels he can make money off you, he'll take you back and it will take something pretty significant to stop him from doing so. Yes, there's no way he'd take Angle back tomorrow if he became available, but who knows what will happen in a year's time.

[kjh]

Could someone please translate that from Jim Ross doublespeak to English, because I have NO idea what he's saying.

It sounds like he's gently suggesting that Angle commit suicide.

 

It really does read that way but there's no way that's what he meant.

 

I think.

Kenta Batista missed the initial paragraph of JR's first blog posting on the matter, which clears up what he meant:

 

It was troubling to hear of Kurt Angle's arrest in his hometown of Pittsburgh over the weekend. I've always had a respectful repore with Kurt ever since we signed him to his first WWE contract. Without question, Kurt Angle is one of the best athletes to ever migrate to pro wrestling and "got it" as fast as any one that I can recall. Nonetheless one being arrested in one's home town is regrettable and embarrassing. From a personal point of view and speaking as someone who has enjoyed most of my business dealings with Kurt, I hope that he can recover from this matter and regroup. If regrouping requires Kurt to leave pro wrestling and moving to other endeavors such as acting full time then so be it. Perhaps the former Olympic Gold Medal winning Freestyle Wrestler in the '96 Games in Atlanta puts too much physical pressure on himself in an athletic setting and may be more relaxed and happier if movies were his focus is not being a "jock."

 

What has occurred lately for Angle obviously isn't working for a legitimately decent human being. It seems as if problems exist and my theory has always been that if one can't, after doing all that's humanly possible, solve a problem then the only alternative is to eliminate the problem.

 

There are times in everyone's life where they need to step away from what they feel that they have immersed themselves and take the time to reassess. Trust me on which I speak as, from the best that I can tell, we only pass this way once.

Follow up post:

 

We received some unique feedback on the thoughts I wrote this weekend on the Kurt Angle arrest situation. Let me make it clear that Angle has not been convicted of any thing. I never even mentioned the allegations regarding alleged physical abuse to a woman which, by the way, I do not believe. The issue is that when external factors adversely affect one's life and when one's life is under such a professional microscope and is overly scrutinized there are times when one simply needs to take him or herself out of the game for a while to regroup. Call it a vacation or even a leave of absence but stepping away and being able to exhale sometimes isn't a bad thing. (I have these emotions all the time and would love to be able to recharge my batteries from time to time.) I remain steadfast that I believe Kurt Angle to be a good hearted human being but I also believe that sometimes that he can be his own worst enemy. Many of us have that propensity. The drive it takes to create an Olympic Champion can be both a blessing and a curse. I have not talked to Kurt in years but I still feel as if I know him very well and for him to take a moment to simplify his life, re-prioritize it and to determine what's most important in his life might be timely.

 

I often times see "wrestling couples" hooking up and I truly feel empathy for them. As I have said in this space many times, with the exception of a minority of examples, "wrestling relationships" are usually bound to implode which then adversely affects the locker room and often times forces many within said locker room to "choose sides." Choosing sides in a matter such as this isn't good as the only "side" a wrestler should have is the "side" of the company that pays them their pay check.

It's pretty clear that JR believes Kurt should take some time away from the business for his own good, so he doesn't end up another wrestling tragedy.

[kjh]

For those thinking Vince would never take Kurt Angle back, now and forever, those are the people giving Vince too much credit. Certainly he wouldn't take him back _now_, but if a year from now, this stuff has all died down and Angle somehow isn't off the deep end, Vince would take him back if he thinks he could make money off Angle.

 

It has nothing to do with wanting to put TNA out of business. Dave Meltzer has always said that, if Vince feels he can make money off you, he'll take you back and it will take something pretty significant to stop him from doing so. Yes, there's no way he'd take Angle back tomorrow if he became available, but who knows what will happen in a year's time.

I think this is spot on. It should be remembered that numerous WWE employees have been caught buying (Signature Pharmacy) or with illegal substances (Brian Christopher, RVD, Sabu, etc). Rarely are they ever fired and if they are fired, they are often given a second chance. The stalking charges are much less serious than the domestic abuse charges Steve Austin was convicted of or the statutory rape charges Jerry Lawler once faced. Ric Flair was accused of road rage and domestic assault while under WWE contract, but the company didn't even bat an eyelid. The AP may have picked this up, but really this isn't a major story outside Pittsburgh and is likely to be forgotten about by the mainstream media by the end of the month.

[Guest Kenta Batista]

From another forum:

 

Here are some items TNA can make to capitalize off the latest incident involving Kurt Angle:

 

1. Kurt Angle wife beaters (size S thru 3XL).

 

2. Kurt Angle Super Strength Sunglasses. Hide your blood shot eyes from the nosey police or your “ask too many questions” significant other. Heck, it even blocks out sunlight!

 

3. Kurt Angle Travel Coffee Mug. Keeps your coffee warm while you circle around the Starbucks parking lot mulling over asking them for a warm-up.

 

4. Kurt Angle Brand HGH. Hey, other people in the industry (his quote) use it, why not the fans?

 

5. Kurt Angle Skin Cream. Replenish the broken skin across your knuckles and back hand. Cuts heal in the amount of time a restraining order can be filed!

 

6. Kurt Angle hip flask. Always have a source of liquid near by to wash down your meds!

 

7. Kurt Angle Gold Medal Handcuffs. Have ‘em slapped on in style with these all new “Olympic Gold” colored handcuffs.

[Loss]

There was something in the WON recently about Vince shooting down Kurt Angle's name when someone suggested bringing him back.