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Outsiders Edge
September 29, 2006 by Denis Shkuratov

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There are times in the wrestling world that defines the business. One of these times is - whether you like it or not - Kurt Angle jumping to TNA. There are people who don't realize or for some reason will not understand what this means for the wrestling world what this means for wrestlers what it means for you!

Kurt Angle is wrestling. There I said it and if you disagree with me then you must be stupider then I thought. Kurt Angle is a great wrestler he is one of the last wrestlers from the attitude era that can put arses in seats and he cuts very good promos.

Oh how I wish I could see Vince's face when he found out this news because my face was full of delight and excitement. Incase you didn't know Kurt Angle asked for a release in his contract after a heated discussion with Vince. The toll was far too great his injuries could not handle the WWE schedule any longer. So Kurt did what most wrestling fans think should have happened along time ago he decided to take time off and rest up. After all my discussion with wrestlers about the future of TNA (I am one of the Hosts for the dominant Australian Wrestling Radio talk show "Submission Radio). After asking the question that everybody wonders but nobody can answer. Now finally we have an answer! Kurt Angle.

"TNA needed to throw money at someone big". That's what most people told me. That's the answer I got from guests known journalists and wrestlers alike. I have to admit I was pessimistic. Even if TNA signed Goldberg I didn't know if it would take them to the place they needed to be. I would have never thought never guessed never even dreamed that TNA and Angle would come to a deal. How could it! Angle is WWE. Kurt Angle who is loved by all wrestling fans young and old. Kurt Angle who is one of the best wrestlers in the world. Kurt Angle who is now in TNA! For those who don't realize TNA is great programming but they never had the star power to get enough fans watching weekly. Sting who is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time is a huge star but he alone could not deliver what TNA needs. Cage the master of the peeps went over and created even more buzz. But was it enough" No not at all. We have a mix of great wrestlers but nobody could create the buzz that the Olympic Hero can.

What does this mean for TNA" It means higher ratings possibly a better slot and it means that the wars are almost close to beginning. What does this mean for us" It means the WWE is going to be creating quality programming it means that there is twice as many great matches to watch it means over the next few months we will see some very high quality brawls. Everybody wins!

You know last time I spoke to Kurt Angle in 2005 and asked him about the chances of him vs. AJ Styles he said that "AJ Styles isn't even in his league". Well now Kurt he quite literally is now that's true its damn true!

by Denis Shkuratov ..

ben clifford wrote:
I couldn't of put it better myself. I wish i could of seen Vinces face too. well written can't wait to see Kurt V AJ or even Kurt V Sting! As they say anything can happen!

Johnny F. wrote:
How can I say this... Look at the history of sports entertainment... Vince buys the territories against Vince Sr wishes... He snags up the top talent .. and the Megalomania of the WWF and Hulkamania is established within the eighties... This is fact. Enter WCW... Hogan thinks the grass is greener on the other Ted Turner wrassling"!!" side. Others go as well...ECW starts an interesting promotion with former and future greats... and a new promotional sports entertainment god, Paul E.. Vince lets it go for some time, like a predator watching its prey, says enough is enough, and buys them out...Hogan, Paul E, Eric B, and many many others join the megalomania. WWF... Bret Hart, The best there is the best there was. Montreal screw job, Owen's death, Bret blamed on Vince. WCW, Poor storyline, Career ending injury buy meathead Goldberg. 2006 HOF, Vince throws a lifeline... Yeah Bret deserves it, But VM did not have too...I can go on and on about so many others who crossed the "Boss", just to return to kiss ass...but I wont. All it takes is one phone call, and TNA, ROH and any other worthy promotions will fall to the Megalomania... Kurt Angle, See ya at WWE HOF 2017...

Stephen Mitchell wrote:
While Kurt Angle will bring some more viewers to TNA he isn't going to be able to push them as far as to make them direct competition to the WWE. The product just isn't good enough for that to happen.

I mean what kind of company has a PPV where the world title isn't defended" At Victory Road that is exactly what happened, sure nobody wants to see Jarrett but the World Champion should at the very least be on the card at any PPV.

Another thing that I don't like about your article (and it's not just aimed at you lots of people say this) is that you talk about the beginning of another 'Monday night War.' Why would you want this to happen" TNA doesn't have any of the tools to compete with the WWE. They don't have the market share, production facilities or most importantly the check book to make it happen.

If the WWE wanted to kill TNA they could sign their Stars to big contracts that simply couldn't be financially viable for TNA to match. If TNA were then to start handing out contracts that competed with what the WWE could offer they would go out of business.

The new wrestling wars are not going to start anytime soon. In boxing terms it would be as big a mis-match as Joe Calzaghe / Jeff Lacy.

Also has no one taken a step back and thought how dangerous this is for Kurt Angle. I don't read dirt sheets so don't have any inside info but I don't think The WWE would release Kurt Angle without it being blatantly obvious that if he continued Wrestling it may kill him. What if something bad happens to Kurt whilst he is at TNA"

WWE release him for health issues then TNA sign him and something goes wrong" It makes the company look very, very bad.

Also Dennis, for you to say that some fans may be Stupider than you think shows you up a bit mate. Stupider isn't even a word.

Michael Liparota wrote:
That's right Denis, Kurt Angle is literally in AJ Styles league. I know I can't wait for that match up but the one I think all us internet freaks want is Kurt "freakin" Angle vs. The Samoan Submission Machine Samoa Joe! Ohhh man that would be sweet. One concern I do have is that Angle is hurt; he recently suffered three injuries in one match, leading to his early release and defection to TNA. Logically, he would wait until he is fully healed and ready before coming back and wrestling a TNA style match. But knowing Kurt, he'll be back in action within a month. Until then, keep it real... DAMN REAL!

Sam Smith wrote:
I really understand the hype that Angle has created because of his move to TNA, but to your point about Kurt being labelled as "star power". In the eyes of critics and the IWC, he's amazing, he's Kurt Angle. How can he not be the man to draw for TNA"

Firstly, just to clear this up, Angle wasn't exactly a major player in the WWE.

Say what"

I'll put it into perspective. Outside of wrestling, what and Angle claim to achieve in terms of providing exposure for the company. John Cena, HHH and Kane have dipped into the market of movies, 2 out of the 3 taking the star role. This is not to say that Kane is more of a major player than Angle, but it says something about how much you gave to an entertainment company, in terms of outreaching the product. Even Edge has been on Minds of Mencia. Angle can get some wrestling fans interested, but that has never been the huge majority of WWE or WCW's audience. And I doubt that it ever will in regards to the WWE.

Right, so he's not a great at dipping into other markets. But he can sure wrestle.

Yes, but that won't be the deciding factor in drawing a newer audience. It's selecting the times for him to wrestle, it's marketing heavily that you will only need to see him in the ring or cutting a promo once to get hooked. I'm not talking about just getting a minute amount of WWE's audience to watch TNA, it's about getting those guys who want something to watch, something to actually care about. Almost 90% of TNA's roster can't really do that. Meaning the chances of a person actually managing to catch Angle/Cage/LAX actually being a character isn't high.

One man can't get higher ratings, a consistent show overall gets you that. Angle has caused buzz for the IWC; who have never been the majority in being an audience for the WWE or TNA. A good wrestling show that evolves means squat if there isn't a character to connect to.

This isn't the start of a war between TNA and WWE, this is just a refresher of the current TNA product. And to be honest, I don't think this caused a dent for McMahon at all.

Brian J. Adkins wrote: At first i thought this would be an article about Hall and Nash.

Your article is filled with hyperbole and a rather biased opinion which does not take into account many facts.

Kurt Angle is a big-money name to have been acqired by TNA. He has been in some exceptional matches in the past. However,he is currently hampered by severe injuries,which is the main reason he was let go and why during his tenure will have a limited amount of matches per month. This is also one of the reasons he has been touted as a "ringside enforcer" for the main event of TNA`s self-proclaimed "biggest ppv in TNA history",October`s BOUND FOR GLORY and not in a wrestling match.

TNA announced a new time slot,that being Thursdays at 8 p.m EST on SPIKE TV,before signing Angle due to fan support.

"Kurt Angle is loved by all wrestling fans young and old." That`s a subjective statement as i know fans who think he`s rather boring.

"TNA has great programming." This is also a very debatable statement as their track record is hit-and-miss in a number of ways from bad booking to ridiculous storylines to wrestlers with no character development. The addition of Kurt Angle doesn`t help in any of those areas.

"The wars are close to beginning." A ratings battle is not likely to happen between TNA and WWE anytime soon-if ever -for different reasons.

WWE making "quality programming" also falls under debatable and subjective matters.

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