Kurt Angle
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The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Kurt Angle is expected to be out for a month as a result of his neck injury.

The original plan was for Angle to face AJ Styles at Slammiversary, which takes place on June 8. It remains to be seen if Angle will be cleared to return to the ring by that point. Tonight and tomorrow night's tapings for Impact should give an indication in regards to which direction TNA Wrestling is going in.

We previously reported on Kurt Angle's comments regarding John Cena.

In that same interview, the TNA Wrestling star also elaborated on his departure from the WWE:

"I wanted time to really heal my neck," said Angle. "I went to Vince McMahon, the head of WWE, and asked for the time off and he basically said, 'No.' That incident really made me look at my life. That year, I was on the road for 304 days, and my marriage was just falling apart, my wife had filed for divorce...

I went back to Vince and asked to go part-time, like some of the older veterans had done. He said no to part-time, so I was fed up and told him I wanted to quit, and he got really mad, and I mean really mad, almost like he wanted to fight me. I took real offense to that. My life was falling apart, and I felt like they didn't care.

My neck was in tough shape, and they wanted me to keep performing every night. I felt I deserved to at least go part-time, even though I really needed the time off."

WWE fans may enjoy booing John Cena at every opportunity, but a certain TNA Wrestling star has nothing but good things to say about the man.

Kurt Angle was interviewed this week by The Eagle Tribune. In the conversation, Angle talked about defeating Cena in Cena's first televised WWE match:

"I remember he was really green. He was really nervous that first night. My job that night was to make him look good. I was going to win, because I was the established guy and the company thought I needed to keep that momentum, but I wanted to make John look good. I set it up with him so I would win, but he would look better than me. He kicked out of my finisher, and I won with a quick pin."

Angle continued by praising Cena, recognizing his natural ability and work ethic.

"I knew John would be special. I give him a lot of credit; he works so hard at it. He's a great kid, and when I worked him, we were on TV every week, but my job was to teach him, and he was a great learner. He's one of the guys in the WWE I still really respect. I'm proud of him, and I'm proud to say I helped him a little bit."

Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun was backstage for last week's TNA iMPACT tapings. He conducted a series of interviews with talent backstage.

Here are highlights from his talk with Kurt Angle:

Historically, this business has not been great for marriages, especially when the wife also becomes talent. Did you have any trepidation about [Karen Angle] coming into the wrestling world?
When she did her first promo, I was blown away. I was thinking, “Wow, this girl is huge. She can make the company some money.” Jeff Jarrett came to me right afterward. He actually got out of the truck from directing, and we had just gotten backstage after doing the promo in the ring, and he said, “Kurt, she’s huge money.”

I said, “Jeff, that’s the same thing I was thinking when I was in the ring with her.” He said, “Well, will she take a job?” “I said, “You’re going to have to ask her.” She said, “Sure, but I have to be home this many days a month. I can’t do house shows; I can only do TV and pay-per-view. Every once in a while, pay to have my kids come down and go to Disney World while I’m working and it’ll be great.” Thank God, it’s actually brought us closer together. We spend more time together, and it actually did the opposite of what it’s done in the past to others. It’s been great.

Samoa Joe already has main-evented pay-per-views with you. Who are some others that you think will eventually rise up to the main-event level?
Actually, let’s talk about the guys. Samoa Joe isn’t there yet. If you’re going to put him on the same pedestal as me, I don’t think he’s quite there. Can he get there? Yeah. A.J. Styles, is he there? Not yet. He will get there. Robert Roode is a great example. He’s a guy that’s going to end up being a major big-time star. James Storm – another guy that’s mid-cardish right now that’s going to end up being a big star.

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In an audio interview with the Between the Ropes radio show, Kurt Angle had a lot to say about Bobby Lashley's future, major changes coming to TNA Wrestling next month and fighting Randy Couture in an MMA style match this summer.

Here are the highlights:

- When asked about the possibility of Bobby Lashley coming to TNA, Angle said: “I’m not going to say anything, but be ready for anything. Be ready for a big surprise... Whatever he does, it’s going to make big press. Let’s just that I’m really excited about the direction that Bobby Lashley is going.”

- Kurt and Samoa Joe will have a mixed martial arts match at the Lockdown pay-per-view. “We’re going to have an MMA style match at the pay-per-view and this is the beginning of what TNA is going to start doing.”

- Angle said he and Randy Couture have agreed to fight in a legit MMA-style match this summer. He didn't specify which promotion they'll work for or what type of match they're going to have.

TheSun.co.uk interviewed Kurt Angle earlier this week. The TNA Wrestling star told a story about a chilling encounter he had with Chris Benoit a year before the tragedy, while also having words for Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon.

On Triple H burying him backstage when people cheered Kurt over John Cena: “Triple H obviously wanted to bash me because I was a better wrestler than him and I deserved to be in the spot that he was in but he was never going to give up, he’s Vince’s son-in-law. I had to deal with that stuff all the time. I’d wrestle Shawn Michaels and I’d get a little rough with him, then I’d get heat from Vince McMahon because I beat up on Shawn too much So I’m like: ‘Well you know what, I’m tired of the two long-haired sissies. If they can’t go up against me then don’t put them up against me.”

On Vince McMahon: – “TNA is where I want to be and I’m happy where I am. Vince McMahon can kiss my ass.”

Read the full article now.

In an interview with VideoGamer.com at the launch of Midway's new licensed wrestling game, TNA Impact!, Kurt Angle slammed Smackdown vs. Raw for its "lack of effort and lack of ideas."

"Smackdown's game is going to look like all the other games in the past. I've been there. I know how much effort they put behind it," he said. "For each wrestler they usually take about two-and-a-half minutes and that's it. They (Midway) have actually spent hours with wrestlers to make this happen with TNA Impact!

You're going to see it's so much more authentic. It's a no brainer. We're going to win the war definitely."

Read what else Angle had to say now.

WTAE in Pittsburgh is reporting that Kurt Angle will be going to trial for DUI and careless driving, resulting from his arrest on September 28, 2007. The TNA Wrestling star appeared at a preliminary hearing in town yesterday and was ordered to stand trial by District Judge Mary Murray.

No trial date has been set yet.

Angle's lawyer said: "We're disappointed the magistrate would allow such a case to continue on based solely on the testimony of a witness, who herself, faces a DUI charge filed by the same department. There has to be some articuable fact that the police officer saw on each element of this crime. They don't have it here."

Here's what the lawyer for Kurt Angle had to say on behalf of the charges brought against his client:

"Kurt Angle maintains his innocence relative to the charges brought by the police in this matter. The improper arrest occurred in the middle of the afternoon after Mr. Angle showed no signs of intoxication. The police have no blood alcohol content and not firsthand knowledge of his operation of his vehicle.

We believe the motivation for this arrest is based upon Kurt Angle's celebrity status and we are confident that we will prevail when the truth becomes evident."

On September 28, TNA Wrestling champion Kurt Angle was arrested for driving under the influence.

The former WWE star was arrested at his home in Moon Township, Penn. after a witness spotted a white Cadillac Escalade driving erratically after pulling out of a local bar.

The registration of that car led cops to Angle's home, where they say he admitted to driving the vehicle and that he had just left the bar in question.

Officers then say Angle showed "signs of intoxication." They administered a field sobriety test, which the wrestler failed. Angle was then placed under arrest and taken to a local hospital where he refused to take a blood test.

We'll have more on this story as it develops.