Does anybody feel sorry for Kurt Angle?
 

It's well documented that the guy practically chose the road life of working with WWE than spending time with his wife and kid. Apparently, he did a shoot promo on RAW last week where he was bullshit at the crowd when they kept going "You suck" and then he went off on how he deserves better because he gave so much of his life up for them, the fans.

So now Angle's personal woes, ala Hardy/Edge, are made included in a character promo. Aside from that, does anyone symphatize with what Kurt Angle has become?

I don't think less of him because of the work that he's put in since 96-97 but the bottom line is it was his own personal choice. He's a workhorse no question with this never die mentality, but what do you think is to come of Angle, especially given online news of the tension mounting between him and the business?

I feel bad for him, and yet when he brings up this stuff in a promo, it makes me hard to take these issues seriously. the minute it comes up on WWE TV, it's suddenly just not as severe.

Kurt's busted his ass for us, and so I feel bad that this business is weighing so heavily on him.

It's sad that in order for people to call him (one of) the greatest wrestler of all time (in my opinion, he is), that he had to lose his family because of the dedication he put into it.

He was already being called that before he lost his family.

Seriously, Angle's had nothing but respect through his career.

I felt bad for him when his wife left him, not as much now, after the fact. He must be over it to some degree to be the one that puts it into his on-air promo. And as much of a bastard as some of you would like to believe that Vince McMahon is, I honestly think that if Angle had a problem mentioning that on the air, he could've gone to him, and it would've been worked out.

I do feel sorry for Kurt Angle. Anyone who choses an 'unreal' sport (or any sport or job) over family needs, in my opinion and from my perspective, to wake up and re-evaluate thier priorities. I respect his work but in all honesty I think at the end of the day he should do what is best for his family.

Definitely.

Finding out about that was the first time my respect for Angle ever dropped.

I wasn't aware that his wife really left him. When did that happen?

That's gotta suck, although hopefully, he's over it enough to put it in a promo, instead of everything being Vince's idea.

I think Angle looked at it at a different perspective, because he knew that a lot of people loved his in-ring work and he did not want to take that away from them.

I mean it's easy for some of us to say "Oh, thats messed up that he gave up his family.." but he was probably thinking of the unfortunate people that are fans that look at wrestling as an escape and love watching him do his job.

I concur.

It's what these guys do for us.

HOWEVER, I do think it's preposterous to claim that the sole reason for a marriage breakup is a job. I'm not a member of the Angle household, but I'd wager that there's more to the story than meets our eyes, and frankly, it SHOULD be that way.

Kurt's personal details are his business, not ours.

he loves the you suck chants he has some of the best heel heat, he knows we don't think he sucks. that is like the disco sucks chants what he does not want is no crowd reaction.

That's a piss poor excuse for letting yoru marriage fall apart.

It's possible but I doubt it. Angle's a wrestler, being a wrestler myself I understand his mentallity. You want to be the absolute best. No matter what it is, you want to be the best, and you're willing to lose everything to accomplish it. I've lost relationships for wrestling, MMA, etc. Granted nothing like a wife or child, but it's a choice you make when you have that kind of competitive mentality.

I should hope so. He's playing a heel, so drawing a negative reaction is a sign he's doing well.

Angle can do whatever he wants, he wrestled with a broken neck at WM 19.

Yeah, but if that's all you have, at the end of the day you're kind of...Empty.

I agree with KK by the way, it is a piss poor excuse. I understand, I don't agree with it though.

Agree 100%. Looking back, I made bad decisions to be the best at what I did. Yeah, I won state titles for wrestling and MMA but that doesn't mean as much to me as that girl i lost, or the friends i lost or whatever. It's just in the moment, when you're there, you look at life with that attitude. It's a once in a lifetime oppertunity, it's the chance to be where everyone wants to be, and you have to be dedicated... selfish even to get there. ANd by getting there you make a lot of stupid, selfish decisions.

It's amazing that you mention he wrestled with a broken neck at Mania and not the friggin Olympics.

Of course, a good percentage of wrestlers have had a divorce or two or three, so it's not like Kurt was the first, nor will he likely be the last, although the less intense schedule the wrestlers have these days may help some.

Not to put pro wrestling over too much, but I'm honestly not sure which feat was more impressive. Look at some of the shit they pulled off in that ring at Mania 19.

I agree with that. What he and Brock pulled off was incredible, I was just suprised that's the event he chose.

I always mention both when hyping Angle up to someone.

I guess he figured that if he's lucky enough to be able to do what he does, and to be in the position that he is in, that he could not give it up for anything, including his family. I mean, its awful that his family left him and all, but I can definately understand how he could.

Meh, I always just say he's God's gift to wrestling. (Daniels I love you, but c'mon, he's Kurt Fuckin Angle)

I don't see how he could have put what he did before his family---BUT I don't know what it's like to have that competitive mindset where you will let nothing infringe on your own sets station in life. It's out there, and while I don't agree with it, it's not really my call because I, like many, are on the outside looking in at that situation.

I would feel more sorry if this were an isolated incident. But just like athletes and musicians, wrestlers almost to a man are not able to keep stable relationships. There's just too much time away from their families and
spouses.

I mean it would be nice to think that Kurt, who seems like a genuinely decent guy in his interviews, would be able to keep together his family, especially now that he has a kid. But he's only human. And expecting him to keep together a marriage when he's on the road 300 days of the year is just unreasonable.

Very few wrestlers choose their famioly over their career..that's qwhy it was so cool to see Mick Foley's relationship with his family. Because it was genuine and it was definitely not the norm.

There are millions of fathers mothers in thousands of different lines of work throughout this country that do that every day.

The American culture practically mandates it.

Family stopped being first a long time ago. Not to get too fdeep, or to "excuse" the decision, but look around you...and honestly ask yourself how many of the parents of your friends or your parents spend more than 8 hours a day at work..more than 50 hours a week...its the same thing. I don't think anyone should pity or blame Angle. He's doing exactly the same thing a lot of people do..just in a more public venue.

It's society's fault..DAMNIT!!! :rant:

Not just any man can be Kurt Freakin Angle.

Sometimes sacrifices must be made to make it to the top, and he made them and now he is the best around. I don't feel bad for him at all. These are his choices.

how can you all sit here and judge what Kurt has done with his marrage? Are you all wrestlers? No, how do you know what its like on the road trying to provide for your family, he worked hard for what he has achieved? as if he is going to get some shit ass job sitting at a desk when he can entertain millions of people.

Obviously his wife knew what she was getting into when she married him and she dident know the strain it would put on their marrage.

You all sit here critizising what he has done when you dont know the real facts, so before you all start jumping to conclusions, think about it....it could not of even been wrestling related even tho he said it was on RAW.

It's a sad side effect of overcompetition.

That's more true of people who make money doing McDonald's burger flipping or Wal-Mar cashieering than anything else.

Yknow, youd be surprised what women will do. They may be un-happy as shit for any reason but the reason they give you. Maybe she got bored, maybe she found someone else, but rather than simply say 'its all me, im the reason, and im leaving', they seem to like to give you one last GIANT guilt trip by saying 'im leaving, not because i want to, but because (insert your wrong doing here)'. Sorry, but ive been there and done that. Im not sayin Angle was a saint, but like you guys, i believe that it is a piss poor excuse to let a marriage fall apart.

I do feel for Angle because I am a big fan of his. But this is all apart of the bad side of wrestling. These guys are on the road majority of each year, and rarely get to see their families.

But with being on WWE programming, it wasn't the right place to actually air that, especially to a live event crowd. At a live event, the fans can pretty much do what they want, so when a wrestler says something that could be shooting, many people don't even realize it.

With stuff like this, is why I try to enjoy the product as much as I can. Whether we like a certain person or not, all of these guys go out and bust their ass every night for the fans.

I don't feel sorry for him. Here's why.

First, he's doing something he loves to do, that thousands dream of and will probably never get the chance to on his level. Few people can say they've reached their dreams like that.

2, As much as it may make me sound like an asshole... It was his marriage, his decisions, etc. With the huge divorce rate these days, it's hard to feel sorry for just one person, especialy when his decison may have led to it.

I thought Kurt got married before he became a pro wrestler...

There's obviously deeper issues within the marrage. If they truly love each other and have that special bond they would still be together. Unfortuantly every day marriages fall apart. I don't feel any more sad for The Angle family than any other family. Think of military wives, family of police, firemen and other people who risk their lives every day, is Kurt angle more important, fuck no.

See...while on the one hand this may all be true, with the recent stuff that's been going on with the WWE's storylines this might just be another jerk the fans around sorta thing. Don't get me wrong...I love Kurt Angle. I think he's one of the best performers the WWE has on it's payroll but it just feels like something's wrong when he comes out and says something like that. And it also makes me wonder about when Karen left too. Because I think there was something in his book about her leaving him for a bit but they managed to work it out.

Or is the pot too strong?

Nah, sometime love isn't enough. No matter how strong the bond is, sometimes things just don't work out.

Doesn't matter if he was more important. Thsi is something brought directly into our homes (via TV) and we will think of him before faceless firemen. I'm not knocking firemen or first responders in general, but the question wasn't "Is Kurt more special than everyone else?" It was "Do you feel sorry for Kurt?"

Now, people are putting Kurt up on a pedestal, and that's sad, but it really shouldn't be an issue of how important he is vs other people. Right or wrong, Kurt matters to people because he's an entertainer.

I agree with what you're saying. I just don't care about Kurt Angle more than anybody else, so no, I don't feel sorry for Kurt, I feel equally sorry for all people who's marriages go down the shitter. No more, no less for Kurt.

Yeah, Angle would never mention real life while on WWE television. He never brings up winning an Olympic gold medal or main eventing WrestleMania with a broken freaking neck or anything like that.

those of you who actually work (i'e not in school) will know how a job can affect your entire life. I work in the television industry- so believe me when you're working in television and live events - THAT IS YOUR WORLD. Your family life is a perk. I know its a sad existance.

Watch Wrestling with Shadows and listen to bret harts ex-wife ,Julie, talk about how she has been waiting for a normal life.

But what is normal nowadays? Before it used to be the dad works 9-5 while the mom stays home looking after two kids. Life used to be like the show "Leave it to Beaver". Now things have drastically changed. You work, come home, eat, go to bed, go to work the next day. Weekend comes and yo'ure too tired to do anything so you watch TV all day. Family or no family, life is just one big routine. At least from what I've noticed.

Sorry, but those of you who actually work should know the difference between a job and a career. :)

Ladies and gentlemen we all hope you're enjoying this episode of WWE Oprah.

What he did in '96 is more impressive. Doing it for the fans as your job is one thing, but to keep on with a broken neck for national pride can never be matched.

The reason why someone does something doesn't change how impressive it is, for the most part. When he did it for the Olympics, that was his "job" of sorts, and the people in this country that care about the Olympics are kind of "fans" of it.

I don't recall him doing any Moonsaults in the Olympics, either.

No, I don't exactly feel sorry for him. He is a grown man and can make choices, and choices have consequences. Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad. When he signed up to be a pro-wrestler he should have come to realize that he was going to be on the road a lot, and it isn't a 9-5 job. He should have realized that it is also a very physical job and it isn't unheard of to get injure, especially when he already has a bad neck/back.

I understand that it gets frustrating and what not, but as is life. So do I feel sorry for him, no. The biggest reason I don't feel sorry for him is because he is getting paid to do the thing he loves.

I don't recall him winning an Olympic Gold Medal for pantomine.