The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interview up with TNA star Kurt Angle. Here are some highlights.
On working the TNA Wrestling schedule:
“It’s very grueling. There’s no time off. We don’t have an off-season. That’s why it’s so difficult on wrestlers. That’s why they break down physically. They try to rotate them in and out so nobody gets burned out. Except for me. I’m getting too old for this. I’m 40 and I’ve got 32 years of wrestling, quote unquote, amateur and pro, under my belt.”
On the wrestlers that interested him growing up:
“Roddy Piper intrigued me. He was always funny. The other wrestler I liked was Paul Orndorff. If those two weren’t on, I really wouldn’t watch.”
On getting into pro wrestling:
“I turned on Raw in 1998 and watched Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mick Foley and the Rock and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s kind of cool. I could do that.’ I called the WWE and they said, ‘Why don’t you come up and try out?'”
If he has ever used steroids:
“Have I used steroids before? Yes, I have, after I broke my neck and lost three inches in this arm and 21/2 in the other from loss of circulation. But I paid the price, both financially – I got fined $125,000 – and reputation-wise. I was a pure athlete, an Olympic champion. And all of a sudden, I’m like Kurt Angle the cheater? It really sucked. You can test me right now. I’ll come up clean. But there was a time when I did it.”
To check out the full interview, click here.