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The Ongoing Madness of Kurt Angle

I love the bloke, but...

Anyway, here are some of his latest quotes from his interview with Bubba 'The Love' Sponge, courtesy of our friends at fhwrestling.com:

Kurt Angle gave yet another candid interview to Bubba The Love Sponge on Thursday. Highlights of the discussion, courtesy WrestlingObserver.com and PWInsider.com, follow:

_According to Angle, Dixie Carter is paying him more than Vince McMahon ever did. He called her a better businessperson than Vince McMahon and said that there’s a rumor going around that an NFL owner might begin backing TNA.

_Angle said that TNA has opened discussions with Hulk Hogan and Chris Jericho. He believes Jericho, Big Show and Hogan are the top free agent prospects. Angle did a great job putting over Big Show, claiming that he was one of WWE’s hardest workers and that, should he sign with TNA, Angle would push for him to have a long undefeated streak.

_He said that TNA’s ratings are now beating ECW and SmackDown.

_Angle claimed that a doctor once told him that Vince McMahon has blood vessels on his nose (which he masks with makeup on television) that signal high blood pressure; McMahon, according to this doctor, is at risk of a heart attack.

_He said that Shane McMahon, who has done a lot for WWE’s international business, is a better businessman than Vince. Angle took responsibility for helping WWE break into China.

_Angle put over Test (and Bobby Lashley); he had nothing positive to say about Triple H.

_He called his match with Hulk Hogan a “five-star” bout; he put over the Hulkster.

_He said that he hopes Christian gets a chance to headline as a long-term champion but that he needs to change his style to become a more effective heel.

_He criticized Shawn Michaels by mentioning his own track record as someone who has done more jobs than anyone yet not lost overness (but he did admit that HBK offered to put Angle over at WrestleMania). He also mentioned that HBK refused to move to SmackDown.

_He told Bubba to bring Tito Ortiz on the show next week so they can discuss fighting.

Hey, maybe some of it is true... but honestly, I think TNA need to put a stop to this man doing public appearances. In terms of in-ring ability, he is the best I have ever seen. When he played a comedy character he was great on the mic, and it was also difficult not to enjoy the character transformation he went through. His feud with Samoa Joe has also been very enjoyable.

But, for his own sake, I really truly never want to see him in MMA competition. I fear he will though, and although I would be delighted if he proved me wrong, I think he will get humiliated.

Also, Daniel Puder has given an interview to Power Slam magazine (available in all good newsagents for £2.90) where he calls Angle a 'moron' and responds to some of the stuff Angle has been saying about him. Although, if you're undecided about whether or not to purchase Power Slam, I will say that the two-part interview with Jim Cornette from this month and last, was absolutely fantastic in itself!

I haven't updated much lately but I will start doing more often again soon, ideally about once a week.

General Round-Up - The first of 2007

Bam Bam Bigelow found dead at his home

Posted on WWE.com:

“We can confirm that Scott Bigelow was found in his home this morning. At this time the cause of death is unknown,” Kevin Doll of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office told WWE.com.

An autopsy will be performed on Bigelow’s body; the body is already in the custody of the county’s medical examiner.

Bigelow worked for WWE, WCW and ECW during his professional wrestling tenure. He is best known for his feud (and eventual WrestleMania main-event) with Lawrence Taylor."

Obviously my thoughts are with his family at this time.

Plenty of releases by WWE

So far, the following have gone:

• Tatanka
• Sylvester Terkay
• Christopher W. Anderson
• Jazz
• Rodney Mack
• Tony Mamaluke
• The Bashams
• Al Snow (from active wrestling; he remains with the company)
• The Gymini
• Gangrel

There are also reports that there will be more. Ultimately most of these were not seen on TV much, so it will not have a great impact. Still, I would like to see a bit more of the dross out, and an end to the Raw/Smackdown split.

The brand split should be with ECW, and ECW should be just that - a different brand of wrestling.

Speaking of ECW...

ECW house shows to remain absent

Initially the plan was to have the ECW house shows return after WrestleMania. However, as the roster gets smaller it seems that this is no longer a priority, and reports are suggesting that there will be no return for the house shows.

Quite frankly I do not think this is a bad thing. They should worry about sorting the TV product, first and foremost.

The Return of Stone Cold

So we all know he is not coming back to wrestle.

But, to be fair, Austin did say he could potentially wrestle a couple more matches, providing the circumstances were right.

He was scheduled to wrestle Mohammed Hassan and also Coachman, but he pulled out of the Hassan match cause he (correctly) thought he was rubbish, and the Coachman match he was not happy with the storyline - originally JR was supposed to come back, but then they decided against it (which obviously turned out to be pointless as they brought him back anyway eventually!)

He did also discuss the Hogan match, albeit at no great length.

So the answer is while he will never wrestle again full-time, he could potentially still work a couple of matches. They would just need to be 'worth his while' or whatever.

For example, this is how one such situation could work:

Austin is due to come back soon, HHH is injured.

HBK is currently in a situation with Edge & Randy Orton.

So that story runs on a little while, and on one episode of Raw, HBK is getting his ass whupped by Rated RKO.

"Smash". Austin's music hits, he comes down for the save, stuns both of them & drinks a couple of cold ones with HBK.

Crowd go wild.

So, this leads to a match at WM 23, which is not far away. The build-up does not involve Austin wrestling, just mainly promos (which all 4 people involved are good at) and the odd bit of action that keeps his physical work down to a minimum.

In the match, Austin starts and 'stomps a mudhole' in one of Edge/Orton. Tags in HBK, and eventually the tide turns. HBK gets a bit of a beating, Austin eventually tags in & wins the match.

Again, huge pop from crowd.

Austin gets 'one last match', without putting his body in too much jepoardy. HBK & Rated RKO get storyline continuity, with a conclusion that is far more entertaining than just fizzling out cause of HHH's injury. WWE gets a story that the fans are sure to be into.

Simple, eh?

Get me a job at WWE!

TNA better than WWE? Oh It's Real ; It's Damn Real!

So on Saturday I taped TNA:iMPACT!, and on Monday I taped WWE Raw. I watched them both this morning.

TNA finished up with an entertaining brawl between Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe, which also featured (at the very end) Christian Cage, Tomko & Sting.

Before that, pretty much all the angles & matches were passable at a minimum - including the standard VKM attempts at getting a rub of their more famous counterparts at WWE - and quite frankly, I get the impression that the show would actually benefit from doubling in time to 2 hours.

Then I watched Raw... I saw a parody match between Rosie O'Donnell & Donald Trump. WTF? The crowd were clearly not impressed either, and in fact both 'TNA' & 'VKM' chants were very audible.

There was also Raw's newest aquistion... the Great Khali. Plus a tag match between Cryme Tyme and Cade & Murdoch, as well as a womens tag match that featured Maria.

TNA won hands down here, and that is getting to be the norm now. I just hope Stone Cold Steve Austin provides me with some old-school entertainment when he returns next month.

On the plus side, New Years Revolution did not totally suck!

In results from the card:

Match 1
Jeff Hardy beat Johnny Nitro in a decent steel cage match to retain the Intercontinental title. Not quite up the standard of the belter of a ladder match that they had a few weeks ago on Raw, but decent nonetheless.

Match 2
Cryme Tyme come out on top in a Tag Team Turmoil event. They defeated Cade & Murdoch, who had knocked out The Worlds Greatest Tag Team. In turn, they had eliminated both the Highlanders & the random team of Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Super Crazy. Ultimately the action took a dip in quality once Benjamin & Haas left the ring.

Match 3
Kenny Dykstra beat Ric Flair in an average, now typical-Flair-bout.

Match 4
Mickie James beat Victoria in a passable match for the Womens title. This included interference at the end from Melina, Maria and the lovely Candice Michelle.

Match 5
Rated RKO retained the tag belts after their match with DX ended in a no-contest. This was an enjoyable enough match, but I was hoping for a bit more from DX when they got their inevitable revenge at the end. This was a costly match for Triple H though, as he is now likely to be out for four to six months.

Match 6
Chris Masters beat Carlito in an average bout. Both men could do more to enhance their careers in my opinion.

Match 7
John Cena beat Umaga in an ok but predictable-ish bout. Between Umaga & the Great Khali it is starting to feel like they are using Cena in a late 80's /early 90's Hulk Hogan type capacity!

A Random Ramble

Well, I aint posted on here much lately, mainly due to the fact that I have been very frustrated by the wrestling biz... To be honest, I am only really watching Raw & TNA:iMPACT! as of late... Smackdown! & ECW are absolutely dire... Mr Kennedy could probably do with a move to Raw, I would say... CM Punk is the shining light in ECW... Lashley is ok, but no way should he be a) a world champion right now ; b) anywhere near ECW... I actually hope Paul Heyman replaces Russo at TNA, and they start to kick WWE's ass... That way, WWE might actually buck up their ideas... The VKM spots in TNA are funny. I highly doubt WWE will EVER respond to anything they have to say. They have a lot more to lose, for starters... Kurt Angle v Samoa Joe is easily the most entertaining feud in wrestling right now... Watched the Chuck Liddell win over Tito Ortiz. Liddell was mightily impressive - in my opinion - and to be honest I genuinely hope Kurt Angle never goes up against either of them (Liddell in particular), despite what he keeps rambling on about... Nice to see Benjamin/Haas, MNM & the Hardyz all teaming together lately, although the latter two are likely to not be permanent... If they was, & all on the same show, then that would be a very decent tag division. Throw in Kendrick & London and you would have four enjoyable tag teams. Chuck in DX & Rated RKO, and you have the best division in WWE by MILES... The MNM tandem will obviously be off for a while at least. The Joey Mercury injury was absolutely minging... The way Lita left WWE was pretty disgraceful to be honest. Love her or hate her, there is no denying her influence... Still, JBL was very funny in the Cryme Tyme segment... I read an interview with Jim Cornette in Power Slam magazine. Absolutely superb, and summed up all the BS going on in WWE right now... Like Kevin Federline... Need I say anything else...

ECW, 2007

Sort of watched December to Dismember.

Rubbish.

Apparently Paul Heyman was sent home after a bust-up with Vince.

Seems to me, if they let Heyman have creative control (like the superb One Night Stand PPV in 2005) that the whole ECW brand would be far superior to what it is now.

The logic that it should be more like a WWE show is frightening, especially when you consider that Smackdown is one of the two flagship shows!

I am still a fan of Raw and I watch that every week. But I am at the end of my tether with Smackdown and ECW.

TNA iMPACT is the second best wrestling show on TV right now, as far as I can see.

General round-up, 29th November

Rowdy Roddy Piper has been diagnosed with Lymphoma Cancer. The cancer was revealed in a biopsy conducted after the 52-year-old wrestler underwent disc surgery.

“It seems like I have been fighting someone, something, someplace, in some manner, my whole life. But this fight, is one I am gonna win!” Piper, who is upbeat about battling the cancer, said on his website.

I am sure you will join me in wishing 'The Rowdy One' all the very best.

Jim Ross has signed a new contract with WWE. With the amount of mistakes that he has been making lately though, I wonder how long the veteran can carry on. Hopefully it is just a phase...!

Although Amy “Lita” Duma ended her run as a World Wrestling Entertainment talent, she is not yet done with the wrestling business.

Maryland Championship Wrestling Bookings announced Monday that she will be available for independent dates after December 1.

Ther are reports that Ric Flair will be embarking on a hiatus from WWE television, which explains the events involving his character on Monday’s RAW.

Fueling the hiatus is the fact that Flair is set to be involved in a messy divorce battle with his ex-wife that could get mainstream coverage.

The degree to which Flair himself pushed for the hiatus, as opposed to it being a call strictly from WWE management, is unknown, but there is a general feeling that the time off is for the best.

As speculated, Candice Michelle does appear to have received a very bad injury to her nose as a result of the womens battle royale on Raw.

Finally, in results from Survivor Series:

'Team Legends' beat 'Team Spirit Squad' in an as-good-as-could-be-expected opener
Chris Benoit beat Chavo Guerrero in a decent, but surprisingly short, US Title defence
In her final WWE bout, Lita dropped the title to Mickie James in a good womens match
'Team DX' defeated 'Team Rated RKO' with a full strength team in a passable match. This was more funny than anything - HBK was quite a hoot! - but did not do a lot for the existing feuds
Mr Kennedy defeated Undertaker in a decent First Blood match
'Team Cena' beat 'Team Big Show' in an ok match
Finally, Batista defeated Booker T to reclaim the World Heavyweight Title in an average bout. On the bright side, it was better than their other recent efforts.