Dave Hawk and Kurt Angle met with WWE officials last Friday morning, and Angle was told that he needed to get help for his prescription painkiller addictions. They told him to go to rehab and then return to the company once he was clean, which is something they've done for tons of other men throughout the years. Angle, despite the story that was weaved on WWE.com and in the press releases, does not believe he has an issue with painkillers, and so he flat-out refused to go to rehab or seek any kind of help whatsoever.
Vince McMahon then fired him. It was not a release, nor a mutual agreement. Angle refused to get treatment for his illness, so Vince was left with the only real option the company had at that point, which was to fire him. Whether it was to send a message or to protect the interests of the company or Angle himself, the end result is that Angle was released from his job. His no-compete clause remains in effect and will expire near the end of November.
Kurt Angle is not going to rehab, and he's not going home to let his body heal up. He'll probably go rest for three months or so, because at that point his no compete clause expires and WWE officials expect him to sign a contract with TNA. In fact, WWE officials actually encourage him to go to TNA, because he'll be working a much more limited schedule, and the lack of house show tours will allow him to greatly rest up between shows. He'll make $500,000 or so per year to wrestle 5 times per month, and WWE sources believe that he can get his pain levels back down to a manageable level by working for the smaller promotion. There are also those in WWE that believe that Vince McMahon actually WANTS Angle to go and work for TNA, because he's apparently realized in this very late mid-life crisis he's currently enduring that he's a much better businessman and much more creatively inclined when he actually has competition to try and defeat. By signing Angle and perhaps Bill Goldberg, TNA would earn themselves a bigger place on the map and could perhaps instantly jump to that two-hour timeslot they so desire.
My TNA source tells me that they're a bit hesitant to sign Kurt, but that it's already being discussed internally. They realize that if they bring in the incredibly damaged Angle, they're going to need built-in safeties in his contract to help him avoid getting to the point he was at near the end of his WWE run. If TNA does eventually tour, Kurt Angle will likely not be on a majority of those house shows and instead will stick to the television shows and pay per view events. Since he'll instantly be the biggest star in the company, they will be able to market him as a special attraction much the way WWE does with Undertaker, thereby giving him more time to heal, reduce his addictive need for painkillers, and perhaps extend his career (and his life) by many years.
Some have speculated that Angle will go to Japan, but that's not even a remote possibility at this point. In order to make big money in Japan, you have to do shoots and fight with Pride or K1, and Angle will do neither of those. There's a small chance that New Japan or another of the big three major promotions will overpay for his services, but sources close to the situation say they don't see it happening because the rigors of a months-long Japanese tour will kill him even faster than the WWE schedule was. In all likelihood, we'll see Kurt Angle make his TNA debut sometime around November 27, a few weeks after his WWE no-compete clause expires.
credit: PWTorch Newsletter
meh it sounds real but almost a bit too real anyways with the talk of TNA's big announcement I felt I should post this, take it how you want.
edit: This article was posted awhile back early September I thnk
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