The 46-year-old from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has done it all. The only Olympic gold medalist in professional wrestling. Angle won the gold medal with a broken neck, beating Iranian Abbas Jadidi in the final of the 100kg freestyle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Angle then went on to become a 13-time World Champion and has held a total of 21 titles during his career in WWE, TNA and NJPW. Not only that, in WWE Angle was a Grand Slam Champion and is a Triple Crown Champion in both WWE and TNA.
Previously I interviewed Kurt Angle in January 2014 prior to his induction in the TNA Hall of Fame. In that interview he discussed his favourite matches and opponents, which wrestlers he enjoys watching and more.
I got the opportunity to catch up with Kurt again recently to discuss his upcoming Q&A shows in the UK, Samoa Joe and James Storm in NXT and who he wants to wrestle before he hangs up his boots plus much more.
You’re coming over to the UK for a Q&A Tour, The Golden Truth Tour in November what can fans expect?
I think the question and answer sessions are a brilliant idea, and a great concept. I’ve never really had the fans control what I’m going to be saying before, they’re going to be asking the questions and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of great questions.
There may even be some questions that I might not be able to answer but I love the whole idea of this tour and I can’t wait to get started especially with it being in the UK as well. The fans are a lot more respectful and a lot more responsive, they’re also very well educated and that’s why I love going over to the UK so much.
I know fans have lots of questions about the past and what I’ve got planned for the future so this is a great chance for me to tell my story.
Have you seen other wrestlers doing their Q&A shows?
I haven’t seen any for myself but I have spoken to Ric Flair who I know did a similar show over in the UK and he told me it was one of the best times he’d ever had. I know Sting has just come back from the UK after doing a similar show.
The wrestler Q&A’s are becoming very popular over in the UK and I think it’s the start of a trend. I think a lot more countries will want to do something similar to this. I also think opens up another avenue for the wrestlers especially when the time comes to hang up the boots.
You’ve wrestled in London and Manchester before but there’s a few new places you’re going to be visiting on this tour, are you looking forward to that?
Yeah it will be great to visit parts of the country that I’ve never been to before. I’m always excited about coming to the UK and I told my wife yesterday that I’ve been to 79 different countries but I’ve been to a lot of the same places and it’s always been the same cities that I’ve gone to. I’ve been to Japan numerous times but I’ve only ever been to Tokyo.
On this tour I’m really looking forward to visiting places I’ve never been to before like Cardiff and Edinburgh.
You are part of the TNA Maximum Impact tour in January, is that going to be the last time we see you wrestle in the UK?
After the tour in January I’m going to take a break from wrestling and I’m not sure what I’ll do after that, I’m leaving the door open. That will be my final tour and what a fitting way to end my time in TNA is to go to the UK and to be able to perform and wrestle in front of those great fans in Manchester, London and Birmingham.
I’ve talked to TNA and they’ve offered me something and asked me to think about it which I will do but I’m really looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and then see where it goes from there.
There have been lots of changes in TNA over the past couple of years, what are your thoughts on the situation at TNA?
We have a great locker room at TNA and there is a lot of new talent and it’s been refreshing, I’ve finally been able to get my hands on some new, young fresh talent this year. I had a lot of fun working with both Eric Young and EC3, two guys I hadn’t worked with much before.
I think the guys from the UK are doing really well, Drew Galloway, Rockstar Spud and Bram all really stand out for me.
What have you made of Sting, Dudley Boyz, Samoa Joe and James Storm going to WWE?
Yeah obviously Sting and the Dudley Boyz are established guys and I’m not surprised to see them doing well on the main roster and in the frame for titles. I’m so happy Sting got the chance to go to WWE before ending his career and getting to have his WrestleMania moment and wrestling someone like Seth Rollins for the WWE Title.
The other two guys, Samoa Joe and James Storm they are both really great guys and I’ve seen some of Joe’s matches in NXT and he fits in really well. I wouldn’t be surprised if they both got called up to the main roster.
If you had one last match who would you most like to wrestle?
Oh gosh, if I had to pick one guy to wrestle to end my career with it would be Daniel Bryan. I think Daniel is an amazing wrestler and I know him and I would be able to have an incredible match similar to what Shawn Michaels and I did at WrestleMania 21.
He is an extraordinary talent especially in the ring, they don’t get much better than him – he is the one I would like to get my hands on somewhere, sometime I would love that match.
Daniel Bryan has been out of action for a while now and you’ve suffered some serious injuries – what is it like to be on the sidelines for a long period of time?
Daniel Bryan has his style of wrestling and he’s his own worst enemy. When he goes out to the ring he puts everything on the line especially his body. When you’re a wrestler you are not meant to be harming yourself but Daniel Bryan seems to be doing harm to himself whether he’s doing an offensive move or if someone is doing a move on him.
Daniel is always bumping, his high running knee he takes a bump, when his flying through the ropes he’s taking a bump but that’s his style and he’s not going to change the way he wrestles, he’s going to wrestle like that until the day he retires. I just hope he gets another chance to get back in the ring and finish his career the way he wants to before he retires.
Tickets for Kurt Angle’s The Golden Truth Tour are on sale now here.
Tickets are also on sale now for TNA’s UK tour via Ticketmaster.co.uk or Facebook.com/TNAWrestlingUK.
For more information on Kurt Angle you can also follow him on Twitter @RealKurtAngle
