The Wrath of Tito - Complete, full-blown analysis of Kurt Angle's departure to TNA
Submitted by Mr. Tito on Monday, September 25, 2006 at 4:48 PM EST
Welcome to the Wrath of Tito. You'll have to excuse my week off... I have a busy schedule coming up with my workload increasing and fixing up the house I bought recently. I was really worried about writing a column this week due to teaching college courses on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings! However, with a top news story, I FOUND time...
HUGE news and potentially the top story of 2006 occurred over the weekend with Kurt Angle joining NWA-TNA. In fact, this story topped the WWE's releasing of Kurt Angle. Back when he was released, the WWE fully expected Angle to receive the help he needs (both medical and mental) and return to the WWE within months. It was a mutually agreed release and everyone believed that Kurt Angle respected his history with the WWE.
Throw that out the window! Both Kurt Angle and NWA-TNA have made major ballsy moves. With TNA, they take on a very risky wrestler given his health (his neck is worse than people know and torn groin) and his mental state (drug problem and personal problems). However, if Angle recovers from injuries, works a lighter schedule to avoid more injury, and gets his life in order, TNA made their first official steal from the WWE (Christian has NOT paid off). If Angle pans out, TNA might have officially pulled up a chair to the "big boy" wrestling table.
With Kurt Angle, his move is more out of disrespect to the WWE. Yeah, they released him. But the WWE probably didn't intend for him to quickly join the competitor without negotiating with his past job first. While Angle is a gold medalist, the WWE gave him the stage to make a bigger name for himself. Additionally, the WWE supported Angle through all of his injuries and was even going to support Angle if he was to take time off to make an Olympic comeback in 2004. Angle has betrayed the WWE's trust and it will probably take a few years to mend back those fences.
But then again, this IS cut-throat professional wrestling and it's professional wrestling that has lacked legitimate competition since WCW started losing by a margin after Hogan vs. Bill Goldberg during the summer of 1998. The WWE has dominated the market ever since and with the official closings of WCW and ECW in 2001, the WWE has become somewhat complacent (though I really like the WWE since 2004). Many wrestling fans have longed for some competitor to step-up.
TNA has stepped up to the plate by signing a key superstar of the WWE. By taking this move, TNA better be ready. By signing Angle, they've broken their poker face and just told the WWE that "we're challenging you". I hope, for TNA's sake, that they have their key superstars locked down in contracts. If they don't, the WWE is about to pick them apart. Guys like A.J. Styles or Samoa Joe will be gobbled up instantly if the WWE gets the chance. Given that the WWE is a publicly traded company and a corporation, they can afford out-bidding TNA on any of their wrestlers. TNA better hope for loyalty, as well, because the WWE has been alerted that competition has possibly arrived.
Though I seriously worry about Kurt Angle's healthy and mental state, I applaud NWA-TNA for finally stepping up to the plate and taking it to the WWE for once. This federation, since its inception, has been weak and an embarrassment to wrestling given it's actual vast amount of original talent. Kurt Angle is a superstar with actual drawing power and we've seen that already with the ridiculous buzz it has caused. I can just see it by the posts at LoPForums.com that this move has serious buzz that NWA-TNA must capitalize on.
In my opinion, TNA needs this to work out. With the weak 1.0 ratings, I see them as a fed on the brink of disaster. Given the low ratings, this equals low television revenues for an already low paying market for commercials on pro wrestling programming. I'm dead serious in saying that if TNA doesn't turn their fortunes around by this time next year, they'll be dead in the water. When your back is to the wall, you must fight back. Taking Kurt Angle is a move that a serious fed would do.
Just look back at WCW... They knew that they were in trouble after a disasterous 1993 when free agent signings like Davey Boy Smith, so what did they do in 1994? They signed the biggest fish around in Hulk Hogan. By 1995, they had the vehicle to challenge the WWE on Monday nights, thanks to Hogan, and the signing of key wrestlers, such as Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall only made WCW a more legitimate player in the industry. After signing Hulk Hogan, it took WCW just ONE year to compete legitimately with the WWE and another year to defeat the WWE. This goes to show you that a big move can go a long way.
Why does it have to stop with Kurt Angle, I ask? Chris Jericho is on the market and that's another blow they could deliver the WWE. Make Jericho rich, TNA, if you're serious. Both Angle and Jericho, most fans will agree, are superstars and were held back based on the political nature of the WWE.
But as I said above, TNA has stepped up to the plate. Granted, Angle might not pan out, given his injuries and mental state... But they officially let it be known that by a big free agent signing, they're attempting to challenge the WWE monopoly on the wrestling marketplace. Now, it will all matter on TNA's booking of Kurt Angle to make it worthwhile.
It's time for Jeff Jarrett to keep the chair at the "big boy" table. His booking in the past has sucked. Relying on Dusty Rhodes for horrible booking ideas hurt. Jeff Jarrett is NOT a major superstar here in 2006. He must check his ego at the door and give fans the dream matches they want:
-Kurt Angle vs. A.J. Styles
-Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
-Kurt Angle vs. Monty Brown
And as an oldschool mark....
-Kurt Angle vs. Sting!!!!!!!
I WANT to see those match-ups. As a Kurt Angle fan (probably my favorite wrestler in the modern era), I want to see him wrestle against the best. If Angle is healthy, we're in for some really unique match-ups if the booking is there. The booking MUST be there, but I, of course, worry...
Why? Guess which booker has come back to TNA? Vince Russo, "Mr. I'm the Only One Responsible for the WWE's Success". Yeah, even though it was Vince McMahon who screwed Bret Hart and Austin/Rock peaking, it was ALL Russo. *sarcasm* Just look at WCW in late 1999 and mid-2000 if you want to see Russo unhinged. He's great pals with Jeff Jarrett and his position as a booker within TNA, especially at this key moment in TNA's history, could actually be the downfall of TNA. Why this fed can't showcase their original talent over Jarrett or the older WCW stars, well, I don't know?
Additionally, TNA's actual "big announcement" was the moving from Thursdays at 11pm to Thursdays at 9pm (1 hour only). While that's a better timeslot than what they had, it's STILL on a Thursday in which there are too many television options out there already. They should have moved to Monday nights. Honestly, what does TNA have to lose? By default, with an increased audience already watching on Mondays, they'll do better than a 1.0 rating. By having Angle on the show now, they'd definitely do better than a 1.0. I'll give TNA the benefit of the doubt since they obtained a better timeslot, but it's still a bad day to have wrestling. Ask Smackdown.
Getting back to Angle, here's what TNA quoted him as saying on a press release:
"Being with TNA feels like I found my home. 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."
Are you wondering if this was a staged comment written by TNA or does Angle actually mean it? When he says "thank you TNA for saving my career", that's a diss aimed at the WWE. By the release and refusing to let Angle wrestle through his injuries, Angle may have felt as though he was held back in some way by the WWE. Even though he has a bad neck and torn groin, along with a bad addition to pain killers, Angle, by his own ego, probably felt slighted by the WWE.
Additionally, he said that "TNA will be the most watch show on cable TV, it's just a matter of time". This, if it's true and his words, shows a vendetta against the WWE. What appeared to be a mutual agreement between Angle and the WWE about his release was not on Angle's part. I'm sure his ego got bruised when the WWE told him that he had a pain killer problem or that he needed to heal injuries. Angle is a very competitive person and he probably felt that he was putting his body on the line for the WWE. The release may have been taken as an insult to Angle. Also, Angle was feeling very upset at the way his character was portrayed on WWE television. He got caught up in backstage politics for the past few years and bad booking infuriated Angle.
I know one thing, I've never looked forward to watching an episode of TNA Impact in my life!
And of course, it's time to discuss the CONSPIRACY THEORY aspect of this deal. Looking around the internet at a few message boards, I already see it brewing... Many conspiracy theorists have suggested that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were sabotaging WCW internally (even though their NWO angle almost bankrupted WWE), that Vince Russo has always been on the WWE payroll (even though WCW was dead by 1999 and Jeff Jarrett's actions against the WWE were legitimate back then), or that the entire Survivor Series 1997 screwjob with Bret Hart was a work (even though Bret has turned down the WWE's requests for appearances and Bret remains openly critical of the WWE to this day).
I've already seen it posted multiple times... The conspiracy theory is as follows: Kurt Angle was purposely released by the WWE to join NWA-TNA to destroy them from within. And just why on earth would this "conspiracy theory" have any legs. Based on what I've read, here's what the whackos have suggested:
-There was no 90 no-compete clause enacted for Angle's release.-Why was Angle released and not sent to rehab for his drug abuse?
-Why wasn't Angle given time off, outright, to sort through personal problems?
-Why wasn't Angle given a medical leave of absence to heal injuries?
I'll hand it to whackos out there: it seems to make sense, given the WWE's past with dealing with wrestler releases. However, the question you need to ask yourself is this: is Vince McMahon really THAT smart? This is the same guy who was taping 4 shows per taping against Nitro, while attempting to shove horrible gimmicks down our throat in the heat of competition (Stalker, Plummer, Garbage man, Doink, etc.). If Vince McMahon was so smart, he would have stepped up to the rising challenge in 1995. However, he did not. Making Diesel world champion, for example, is not how to challenge a rising threat to the WWE. Bringing in Lawrence Taylor to wrestle is NOT how you should challenge a tough wrestling competitor. It wasn't until WCW began to self-destruct, rising stars in Steve Austin/Rock, and the Survivor Series 1997 screwjob that helped swing the momentum. If Vince is ever a "genius" about those days, it was taking a chance on Mike Tyson because it helped enable Austin as a badass and it helped fuel the Vince McMahon character.
Fine, let's agree with the kooks or whackos who suggest that this is "all a work". For this to happen, Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle would have to be sworn to secrecy. They cannot tell a soul what their evil plan is (same goes for Bret Hart, Vince Russo, and Hall/Nash). Given how the insider sources know about everything that occurs backstage, Angle and Vince would have to keep this "work" sealed tight. One false move and the whole fix is off. Secondly, if it was clear that it was a work, then TNA wouldn't pick him up. They damn well know that Angle is badly injured right now and fighting through a painkiller addition. TNA wouldn't have picked up Angle if they didn't check those 2 problems out. They know that they are buying damaged goods. If Angle was "faking" an injury or substance abuse, even a dumbass like Jeff Jarrett would have figured it out.
Besides, it's not hard to spot a work. If TNA wrestlers start suddenly getting signed by the WWE or if key storyline ideas are stolen, it will be clear that Angle is working as an inside man. For instance, it wasn't long before, in 1997, that Paul Heyman and other ECW officials started noticing that Todd Gordon was brokering ECW wrestlers to WCW (Raven, Perry Saturn, Stevie Richards, etc.). If there's an inside job, the professionals in the business of pro wrestling will spot it. When secrets are released to the competition, it's usually quickly snuffed out by the pros in the business with a LOT to move.
Seriously, conspiracy theorists, welcome to reality. Angle is in NWA-TNA because he WANTS to be there. He's pissed off because the WWE bruised his ego by telling him that he's too injured or too much of a drug addict to continue performing. Angle believes he has something to prove, as he has a competitive drive to take a major risk in joining NWA-TNA and to throw away his current WWE legacy.
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