Kurt Angle Talks about Painkillers, TNA Wrestling

Kurt Angle recently gave an in-depth interview to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The piece began with an introduction, explaining how Angle began his career in the WWE and how the experience took a toll on his body. From there, Kurt talked about his addiction to painkillers and how many he's take each morning.

"Not just a handful," Angle said. "A large handful. I'm telling you, excruciating pain, all of the time. Cold sweats. I felt like a shell, like I didn't have a body or a soul. I was just a skeleton ... until I took those pills. About 18 [in the morning]. I'd lie there for five minutes with my eyes closed, and then it would kick in, and I could open my eyes again. Like, OK, I was ready to get up. That would carry me for about four hours."

As a result, Angle's wife, Karen, briefly took his daughter and left. But the wrestler only had himself to blame.

"It was my fault," he said. "It was my abuse. It was me not caring about anything, not even myself. I was just doing my job, making a lot of money and thinking that was good enough for my family and that they should just shut up. I was happier on the road anyway, because nobody was there to stop me from taking my pills."

Of course, as all fans know by now, Angle eventually received his released from the WWE and signed with TNA wrestling. He can work a lighter schedule there. He also now refers to the company as "home."

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