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Angle, WWE Come to Crown: It's True!
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| by MICHAEL COUTOUZIS, Up & Coming Weekly, June 23 - 29, 2004 |
June 23, 2004 |
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The people of Fayetteville are about to get treated to a smack down ... literally. On June 29, WWE SmackDown! will be coming to the Crown Coliseum for a night of flying frog splashes and body slams. But before all of this goes down, one star in particular took time out to give his "angle" on his experiences in the biz as well as a brief summary on what to expect Tuesday night. That star is none other than Olympic gold medallist and WWE superstar Kurt Angle. And in Angle's famous words, "Oh yeah, it's true! It's true!"
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Angle, who is now current SmackDown! general manager, has been a professional wrestler for roughly the past five years. Known for his egotistical antics and attitude, Angle has quickly become one of the most popular WWE stars that people love to hate. "In the wrestling business, you either want to have positive or negative feedback. You never want the fans to just not care," Angle explained. "They care about me, just not in a good way."
But away from the cameras, Angle is a different person. "Most people think I am a pretty nice guy. I don't try to stay in character when I am out in public. I just try to be me," Angle said. And being himself has led Angle to volunteer his time for programs like "Get Tough on Angina," which raises awareness for chronic angina (a heart condition). It has also led him to become co-chairman of Smackdown Your Vote!, a non-partisan partnership that encourages young people to vote.
Angle's WWE character was originally the brainchild of WWE owner Vince McMahon. Because of his Olympic success, McMahon believed that the average fan wouldn't be able to relate to Angle. Nonetheless, McMahon saw this as an actual benefit. "Vince thought, 'Hey if people can't relate to you, they are not going to like you." And since every good guy needs a bad guy, Angle found his niche. "Even at times when I try to turn good guy they still don't really quite relate to me...That's why I do much better as a bad guy than a good guy," Angle laughed. Due to recent injuries, his wrestling career has had to take a back seat. Angle can still be seen on SmackDown!, however, as the evil, plotting General Manager. Angle joked, "They boo me and tell me I suck so obviously it's working well."
Angle mentioned that making the transition into professional wrestling as a whole took some getting used to. He explained how amateur wrestling and pro-wrestling are "worlds apart." In amateur wrestling, Angle was taught to focus solely on his opponent, not to respond to the crowd and to go straight for the kill. Professional wrestling, on the other hand, is quite different. "In Pro-wrestling you're trying to tell a story. Whether your working on the guy's back, or working on his arm, you are literally telling a story out there in the match so that the crowd will respond to it. In amateur wrestling, you don't tell a story. You go out there, beat the guy's butt and try to pin him."
While working for the WWE, Angle has grown close with many fellow stars. "I'd have to say my closest friends are ironically the guys that I work programs against," Angle explained. "Good guy" wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Steve Austin and the Rock have all made his buddy list. "A guy that just ended up leaving for the NFL who I consider my best friend is Brock Lesner. Last year, we had one of the best programs in a long time," Angle said.
Life as a manager has kept Angle busy. Wrestling keeps him traveling roughly 230 days out of the year. Before each performance, Angle has to attend meetings, interviews, promotions, autograph signings, script reviews, pre-takes of the show and photo ops. "From 12 noon to 12 midnight, I'm working around the clock the whole time," Angle said. Amongst all the buzz of professional wrestling, Angle still found time to write his autobiography entitled, It's True! It's True!
Now for those who wish to meet Angle as well as fellow stars Lita, Matt Hardy, Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie, they will be appearing at Lafayette Ford on 5202 Raeford Road from noon to 2 p.m. Angle will be signing free autographs. For a nominal fee the other WWE stars will be signing autographs with the proceeds going to benefit A.D.O.R.E. (Amy Dumas Operation Rescue and Education).
For those can't make it to the signing, they can always catch Angle as well as their other favorite WWE stars at that night's SmackDown! at the Crown Coliseum. The main event of the night, according to Angle, "will have something to do with Eddie Guerrero, the Undertaker, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, John Cena and myself." Angle went on to say, "Fayetteville is a great area. They have very enthusiastic wrestling fans. I've been there quite a few times and every time I'm there, the crowd is great...They seem to be the most excited and obnoxious fans."
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©Up & Coming Magazine 2009
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