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well, it's not quite....it was sunday night at the TNA pay per view but it took a while to filter to me because i don't get all the PPVs.
so, Kurt Angle is "jumping ship" to from WWE to TNA. (sort of news story here.)
Apparently, we learn nothing from the death of the late great eddie guerrero. Or any NUMBER of professional wrestlers who have ignored nagging injuries via artificial means and caused themselves worse injury and death.
the story is that WWE released kurt angle because nagging injuries stemming from even his amateur wrestling days have not healed properly and continue to be a liability. AND that to deal with these lingering injuries, kurt has resorted to 'artificial means.' whether that means addiction to pain relievers or just plain doping to improve performance, or both, i don't know. the fact that WWE took the step to actually RELEASE one of their most popular performers tells you that, IF the story is true, things must be serious.
if you didn't click the link above (hell, you probably skipped over this already :) you'll see kurt's amatuer wrestling career, with two gold medals. Watching him in the professional ring, he would often translate that talent. he was very VERY fast. occasionally he and Chris Benoit would throw some traditional "real" greco roman and freestyle wrestling moves in there. it's been several years since i was a wrestling stat (okay, more than several) but he definitely has some talent there.
so it sucks to think that he can't or won't give it up, at least temporarily to heal COMPLETELY (as shawn michaels did, and as it appears chris benoit is doing). as i told my friend E (who called me yesterday afternoon once he read the news) "Does he WANT to have us watch him die in the ring?"
the risk is not just to himself. say what you will about the 'choreographed' and 'staged' nature of professional wrestling, but those are real stunts they are doing. there is a tremendous amount of skill in lifting someone over your head and safely bringing them to the ground, all while making it look 'real.' or at least 'real enough.' there's also a tremendous amount of trust in the person holding you suspended head first over the mat, knowing that the person holding you *could* drop you on your head and break your neck (and it's happened...) but you trust they won't.
the way i see it, if this is all true, not only is kurt risking his own life, he's risking the lives of his fellow wrestlers. and if i'm a fellow wrestler, i'm not sure i'm willing to work with him.
i do say 'if' an awful lot. the pro wrestling business being what it is, you can never tell what is a work and what is a shoot (i.e., what is a storyline, also called 'kayfabe,' and what is real.) one of WWE's announcer's recent firings was reported as legit (and got the internet wrestling community all up in arms). turns out, he needed time off for medical purposes. *sigh*
for his part, kurt is saying that the WWE exaggerated. that his injuries and other issues aren't that serious and are well on the mend. for his safety and his coworkers' safety, i hope he's right.
[[then there's the part of me that thinks WWE really owns TNA (or that a mcmahon owns a part of it) and this is just a huge work to justify moving kurt over there to help TNA's ratings :) and, i just noticed TNA's webpage advertising the Rock's new movie (produced by WWE's movie-making faction), the circumstancial evidence thickens!!]]
if he's at the end of his in ring career, he could still be an asset to wrestling. he's got terrific mic skills (something certain other superstars would do well to emulate.) you could keep him on camera as a manager, which means he could still give and take a few bumps here and there, but nothing life threatening. behind the scenes he could be a trainer and mentor for new talent (see 'certain' and 'other' above...)
ah well...in the grand scheme of things it ain't building new houses or stopping bombs from falling on old ones.
so, Kurt Angle is "jumping ship" to from WWE to TNA. (sort of news story here.)
Apparently, we learn nothing from the death of the late great eddie guerrero. Or any NUMBER of professional wrestlers who have ignored nagging injuries via artificial means and caused themselves worse injury and death.
the story is that WWE released kurt angle because nagging injuries stemming from even his amateur wrestling days have not healed properly and continue to be a liability. AND that to deal with these lingering injuries, kurt has resorted to 'artificial means.' whether that means addiction to pain relievers or just plain doping to improve performance, or both, i don't know. the fact that WWE took the step to actually RELEASE one of their most popular performers tells you that, IF the story is true, things must be serious.
if you didn't click the link above (hell, you probably skipped over this already :) you'll see kurt's amatuer wrestling career, with two gold medals. Watching him in the professional ring, he would often translate that talent. he was very VERY fast. occasionally he and Chris Benoit would throw some traditional "real" greco roman and freestyle wrestling moves in there. it's been several years since i was a wrestling stat (okay, more than several) but he definitely has some talent there.
so it sucks to think that he can't or won't give it up, at least temporarily to heal COMPLETELY (as shawn michaels did, and as it appears chris benoit is doing). as i told my friend E (who called me yesterday afternoon once he read the news) "Does he WANT to have us watch him die in the ring?"
the risk is not just to himself. say what you will about the 'choreographed' and 'staged' nature of professional wrestling, but those are real stunts they are doing. there is a tremendous amount of skill in lifting someone over your head and safely bringing them to the ground, all while making it look 'real.' or at least 'real enough.' there's also a tremendous amount of trust in the person holding you suspended head first over the mat, knowing that the person holding you *could* drop you on your head and break your neck (and it's happened...) but you trust they won't.
the way i see it, if this is all true, not only is kurt risking his own life, he's risking the lives of his fellow wrestlers. and if i'm a fellow wrestler, i'm not sure i'm willing to work with him.
i do say 'if' an awful lot. the pro wrestling business being what it is, you can never tell what is a work and what is a shoot (i.e., what is a storyline, also called 'kayfabe,' and what is real.) one of WWE's announcer's recent firings was reported as legit (and got the internet wrestling community all up in arms). turns out, he needed time off for medical purposes. *sigh*
for his part, kurt is saying that the WWE exaggerated. that his injuries and other issues aren't that serious and are well on the mend. for his safety and his coworkers' safety, i hope he's right.
[[then there's the part of me that thinks WWE really owns TNA (or that a mcmahon owns a part of it) and this is just a huge work to justify moving kurt over there to help TNA's ratings :) and, i just noticed TNA's webpage advertising the Rock's new movie (produced by WWE's movie-making faction), the circumstancial evidence thickens!!]]
if he's at the end of his in ring career, he could still be an asset to wrestling. he's got terrific mic skills (something certain other superstars would do well to emulate.) you could keep him on camera as a manager, which means he could still give and take a few bumps here and there, but nothing life threatening. behind the scenes he could be a trainer and mentor for new talent (see 'certain' and 'other' above...)
ah well...in the grand scheme of things it ain't building new houses or stopping bombs from falling on old ones.
