Friday, January 6, 2012

Why I Can't Get Excited for Dream Matches Involving Kurt Angle Anymore

What the hell happened to you?
Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com
Kurt Angle is at it again. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't really pay attention to anything the delusional current Impact Wrestling star has to say because all it does is feed the trolls. That being said, I guess I'm so much harder on Angle because I saw what he once was and it wholly overshadows everything he is now and has been since the tail end of his WWE run. There are a few on Twitter, like Mark Smith and @typicalROHfan, who look at that former complete picture of Angle and dream about the matches he could have in WWE if he were ever to return. Tilts against Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, CM Punk or even Randy Orton and John Cena would definitely be must-watch affairs if Angle were in the shape he was from 1999 through 2003.

That being said, I don't think that we're ever going to get the prime Angle or the broken-down delusion machine that currently exists anymore. Like I said in the first sentence, he's at it again, shooting off at the mouth about how bad WWE has it for him right now. Here's the transcript of what he said, thanks to WrestleChat.Net:
"When Jack Swagger copies my ankle lock and Randy Orton does my Angle Slam, it’s disrespectful," Angle said. "I didn’t come up with the Ankle Lock, Ken Shamrock came up with the Ankle Lock but I waited until he retired to do the Ankle Lock. That company has no respect for me."
I'm not even going to go too deeply into the whole "move stealing" thing because I've tread down that road so many times before that the DOT's 2012 budget has plans for a sweet repaving project featuring recycled tires turned into asphalt. Let's focus on the last part though. WWE didn't respect Kurt Angle? Well, in a way that could be true. WWE really doesn't respect any wrestler who hasn't made it into the McMahon family or in some other close locker room leading consigliere role like the Undertaker. So without any context, yeah, Kurt's right.

However, let's look at the reciprocal situation. What did Kurt Angle do to deserve having every single one of his moves preserved, i.e., gain the "respect" that he wants? Well, he developed a drug habit, showed up to work stoned and then lied to WWE in order to get out of his contract and go straight to the closest thing they had to competition, presumably so he could continue to do drugs in the wake of the Wellness Policy that was in its infancy. Yeah, that's a really great way to ensure that his memory was forever cherished by his former place of work.

Of course, bridges don't stay burnt forever in wrestling if the price is right. WWE was rumored to have offered a contract to Angle as recently as 2010 to work the infamous Shawn Michaels schedule, but obviously we all know how successful that was if there was an offer in place. I'm also sure that if Angle did ever go back to WWE, that he'd be conciliatory and change his tune re: Orton and Swagger in a heartbeat. A lot of what he's saying right now is probably rhetoric to keep his name fresh in the news, much like his attempts to join the Olympic wrestling team or anything else he does outside of the confines of Impact Wrestling.

But that's the whole point. Kurt Angle is not a team player. He's in it for himself. Many of the guys who are there now may have big egos, but at the end of the day, even Triple H has seemingly come to realize that if the company isn't flourishing, he won't be flourishing. It always feels like it's Angle's way or the high way. Whether it is or not, I don't know. I don't pretend to know what's in that man's head.

That being said, I feel like there's evidence in the ring. Angle was so great in his prime because he worked matches with layers of psychology and a flair for storytelling. A lot of people right now, myself included, rag on Davey Richards for throwing MOVEZ onto the wall and seeing what sticks, selling, psych and story be damned, but at the same time, Angle has been doing it since before Richards came to prominence. It didn't even start when he got to TNA either. AT the end of his WWE run, his match quality started to slip to the point where some (my boy and former liar/fraud Dylan Hales being the most prominent one) were noticing this above the din of praise being heaped upon him. What makes anyone think that Angle going back to WWE would fix that magically? Something got lost in translation along the way, and as much as it pains me to say so, something in the back of my mind tells me to assume that neither Bryan nor Ziggler nor anyone who debuted after Angle did (read, everyone except Undertaker, Trips and I guess Chris Jericho now) is going to be able to influence him.

Again, a lot of this is based of reading between the lines of a guy who is either speaking under the influence or speaking like a tried and true company man trolling the market leader. If Kurt Angle somehow makes it back to WWE and reels off a series of fabulous matches with the likes of Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and even Randy Orton, I will be the first to praise him for it. As it stands right now, I can't get excited. I just can't. Kurt Angle seems to me to be a broken, delusional man, and that makes me sad.