Angle's In and Out of Ring Health A Major Concern
There is no question that Kurt Angle has given his heart and soul to the world of pro wrestling. From his first pro matches in 1996, to taking to the ring today, Angle has had that mix of heart, intensity, humor, and physical ability that makes him a certain future Hall of Famer. What now though must be said is that Angle is both on the verge physical and mental disaster. Angle's body has been breaking down over the past few years, starting with a neck injury that first occurred when he was wrestling for the US Olympic team. That neck injury should have kept him 100 yards away from a ring as WrestleMania 19 approached. The company was scrambling as Angle was not going to be able to compete in the event in the main event against then babyface Brock Lesner. Ever the pro, Angle somehow, someway, sucked it up and made the match, and made it a good main for the annual megacard. A surgery followed, though not the surgery that would normally put you out for a year. Angle was back by early summer, and again found himself with the belt by July of that year.
Since then, Kurt has been back and forth between shows, and at one point held the World Heavyweight Championship when Batista went on the shelf in December. He defended the title well up until WrestleMania 22 when it was decided to go with the heartfelt storyline of giving it to Rey Mysterio. Since then Angle was shipped to ECW, where he was wrestling as the so-called "wrestling machine," using his amateur background and high intensity to make him almost unbeatable.
Things though in ECW have not gone so smoothly for Angle. First he was "suspended" due to health reasons having to do with nagging injuries, then in one of his first matches back, he did severe damage to his groin area, possibly tearing it, again putting him on the shelf. The storyline of Angle being removed from the 3-way ladder match a few weeks ago on ECW TV was not all that far fetched. The company simply could not stand by anymore and watch Angle put his body through the physical anguish that he was putting it through.
Those behind the scenes are concerned that once again, Angle will convince the company to allow him to come back at less than 100 percent, and again will suffer some injury. At 38 years old and with the amount of physical abuse that he has gone through in both the amateur and pro ranks, one has to wonder how much Kurt has left. On the mental side, Angle is currently going through a divorce from his wife Karen, who has been seen on TV and in specials with Angle a few times. The two have gone back and forth, being apart and then together, recently, and now it is knowledge that Karen is carrying Angle's first son. It just adds more to the pain that Angle is going through physically.
While there is no question that given the chance, Angle would jump back in the ring today, but for his own good the company has to use their best interest and not allow Angle to do just that until he gets a clean bill of health, which may take sometime. While always a fan of Angle, I can say that him getting back to 100 percent, both in and out of the ring, should not only be the companies priority, but Kurt's as well.
