03:18:05
Kurt Angle
Kurt
Angle was honored at the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships
today as a member of their 75th Anniversary team--recognizing
the 15 Greatest NCAA Wrestlers of All-Time. Moments after
the ceremony, Angle joined us for the following conversation
which aired later on Sports Overdrive on WGNU...
I'm
doing fantastic, Brian. It's great to be here in St. Louis
and I never thought I'd be picked to be on this 75th Anniversary
team-to be picked as one of the 15th Greatest Wrestlers
of All-Time, it's an honor. It's like being inducted into
the Hall of Fame again.
And I heard the excitement in your voice when you shared
the news, this is really something. The names-the roll call,
you were all in awe of each up there…
Yeah,
well you know you're standing next to Dan Gable and Cael
Sanderson. Carlton Haselrig, Lee Kemp-guys that, most of
the guys that I looked up to since Cael's younger than me.
But a lot of these guys, John Smith and his brother Pat,
are guys that I looked up to growing up and were my role
models. I never thought I'd be standing next to and being
compared to, as being the best ever. I mean, winning a World
Championship and Olympic Gold Medal obviously helped out
the cause, but it feels really good to be considered one
of the greatest wrestlers of all-time.
You're
even carrying around your own camera to take pictures…
(Laughs)
Yeah!! It's exciting today. I've got my little camera taking
photos. I'm such a fan of amateur wrestling and some of
these athletes here. Dan Gable and Tom Brands and John Smith,
and Lee Kemp-to be around these guys I'm like a WWE fan
that's just seen Stone Cold Steve Austin. It's wonderful.
For
Kurt Angle, the person, what kind of memories does being
here at the NCAA championships bring back?
It
brings back memories of being at Clarion. My school was
a very small school, but we were a powerful wrestling team.
We had a coach, Bob Bubb-he's one of the four top college
coaches that has over 300 wins. So to be able to be a part
of this team (75th All-Time) and have a teammate from 1972,
Wade Schalles, who also made the team. A small, little tiny
school like Clarion to have two guys on this greatest 15-team
ever, that's quite an accomplishment and the credit goes
to Coach Bubb because he coached individuals like us.
And
that's one of the great things about NCAA wrestling, no
matter how small the school, you still have the chance at
a national title.
Exactly.
And that's what it comes down to, talent. It's work ethic.
It's coaching. It's motivation. When your team's positive
and you're kicking it in high gear like Oklahoma State is
right now-that's how my team was back then. I'm hoping that
Clarion eventually turns around and becomes a Top 10 team
again, but now we're seeing other teams like Cornell, Lehigh,
and Indiana-teams that were never considered in the Top
10 before in the Top 10 and that's a good feeling.
That
gives smaller school teams like Clarion hope. It doesn't
always have to be Oklahoma State and Iowa, and Oklahoma
and Arizona State being in the Top 10. Now you're seeing
Lehigh, Cornell, and Clarion and teams like that. And it's
a wonderful feeling to see it even out. It's not the same
four teams dominating all the time.
There's
obviously a lot of crossover, but do you notice a difference
between NCAA fans and WWE fans?
There's
quite a bit of crossover. I was definitely the most popular
individual today and that has a lot to do with WWE. Some
fans are just hardcore wrestling fans and some fans are
totally against what I do. Everybody makes up their own
minds on whether or not they accept Kurt Angle as a professional
wrestler or they don't. That's their own decision, but coming
here it is quite a bit of a crossover.
Going
through Union Station, I couldn't even get through there.
It took me literally over an hour to get through there and
most of the other wrestlers basically walked through. WWE
does give you a hell of a lot more exposure, thank God.
And what I'm trying to do for amateur wrestling is every
time I walk out there, like I said in my speech, people
know who I am and where I came from. I'm an amateur wrestler.
I came from Clarion University. I won a Gold Medal. I worked
my butt off to get to where I am.
And
there is no bigger stage for exposure than Wrestlemania.
Something different for you this year as you go into basically
a cold match with HBK.
Yeah,
Shawn and I have never wrestled before. But then again,
Marty Jannetty and I had never touched before or even met
each other before Tuesday and look how that turned out.
It was phenomenal. I expect Shawn and I to steal the show,
I don't see any reason why we wouldn't. I think that's what
Vince McMahon expected, that's where he thought the money
was.
We're
not in a title match, but we don't need a title. Shawn Michaels
and I, that speaks volumes by itself. We're both considered
to be the very best in wrestling today and probably in the
history of pro wrestling. I don't like to consider myself
up there because I've only been here five years and I think
you need to put in your time and pay your dues before you
can be considered one of the best ever. But, Vince McMahon
and my peers-the other wrestlers. I can't say the fans envision
me that way…
You
were voted The Stranglehold Wrestler of the Year before…
I
know, I know-and that's a great accomplishment for me. But,
to my peers, they consider me one of the best ever. When
you have the other wrestlers in the locker room saying 'Hey
Kurt, you're one of the best I've ever seen in the history
of this sport, in sports entertainment' that's when you
know you're one of the best. So whether the fans believe
it or not, hey folks-Kurt Angle is one of the best, whether
you like it or not. And Shawn Michaels in my mind, is one
of the best too.
The
match with Marty and these other bouts to "break" Shawn's
records, do they provide preparation for the match at Mania?
Are you able to take things from them to help you get ready
for Shawn?
Yeah.
You know, what I'm trying to do is mess with Shawn a little
bit. I'm trying to frustrate him. What I did to Marty-Marty
gave me a hell of a match. I didn't expect that. I expected
to go in there and annilate Marty, actually that's what
was expected to happen, literally. But the performance he
gave on Monday Night RAW, obviously gave him momentum and
Vince McMahon saw a lot more in Marty Jannetty than the
fans thought they would see.
In
turn, we ended up having a 20 minute match on Smackdown.
Which is unheard of for a first segment. But that's how
good Marty Janetty is and it turned out to be a knockdown,
drag out match. It turned out to be a Wrestlemania-type
match that I would have with Shawn Michaels. So here I am,
my job now is just to frustrate Shawn Michaels until Wrestlemania,
get there, and do what I said I would-make Shawn Michaels
tap, something he's never done before.
We've
been privileged to visit with Kurt Angle the character and
person over the last few years, and you've shared before
about the medical problems and how it has effected what
you can do in the ring. Now I've recently seen comments
that you're feeling great and almost back to 100%. How did
this happen?
It's
been a miracle, man. I thank God everyday. I thank the good
Lord that I've been able to come back and do this. I've
been doing a lot of physical rehabilitation on my neck and
my back. I've seen a lot of improvements in my strength.
For some reason, I've turned around and I'm not having any
more problems.
I
feel like my career has been revived and even Vince McMahon
has seen a difference in me. I think you're going to see
Kurt Angle the character climb the charts again and become
the number one guy again. It took a while because Vince
McMahon didn't want to put all his marbles into me when
he knew that I was injury prone.
Now,
I'm becoming more durable and he's seeing a lot more in
me-that look in my eye when I first came out and started
wrestling-the more he wants to push Kurt Angle to be one
of the top superstars again.
So
does that mean your past role of a transitional champion/wrestler
may change?
I'll
probably take a few more chances. I'm not going to be stupid,
I'll be smart about what I do. But you know what, my job-and
this is the job Vince McMahon gave me, is to have the best
matches on the card. He expects that out of me every time.
He got that out of me at No Way Out with John Cena.
I
made John Cena a superstar. His win over me made him a superstar.
And whether or not it was me that made him a superstar or
himself, I'm not going to say that. I will just say I did
my job. And John Cena did an incredible job. And we put
on the best match of the night, and that's what Vince expects
out of me time and time again. And that's what I will give.
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