With Kurt Angle’s TNA contract expiring soon and him pushing his bouts on the upcoming United Kingdom tour as his retirement matches, you would think that this is the end of him in TNA. As noted earlier, that’s not the case: TNA has offered a new, non-wrestler contract that would keep him around as their in-house legend, a promotional ambassador, and road agent. He hasn’t signed as of yet, and has said that he wants to take a break from the pro wrestling scene after the UK tour. Still, if the story about the offer and the nature thereof is true, it’s a nice gesture and well-earned.
Angle is well known for his parade of neck injuries and ailments over the years, including a benign spinal tumor that he had removed last year, keeping him out of action for several months. It all goes back to to the Olympic trials in 1996, where he stuck his head out to avoid back exposure and broke his neck. He found a doctor willing inject some kind of numbing agent (like lidocaine or novocaine) into his neck and won the trials en route to capturing the gold medal at heavyweight in freestyle wrestling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ-osvJEbOk
After Angle had that injury repaired, he didn’t have any major neck problems until 2003, when his arms started to atrophy from nerve damage. A plan was put into place where he’d be removed from his WrestleMania main event title defense against Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit would be inserted into the mix in an “emergency” storyline, but Angle had second thoughts and pledged to work through the pay-per-view. As shown in WWE’s “The Mania of WrestleMania” documentary, he went into shock right after the match and had to be hospitalized. Originally scheduled to have spinal fusion surgery, he opted to have a minimally invasive “cleanup” procedure done instead…which was promptly undone by one chair shot to the head. He’s since had a number of similar surgeries done by the same doctor.
Angle was simultaneously dealing with an addiction to painkillers and alcohol throughout much of the same period. While he didn’t admit it at the time, refusing treatment was what reportedly cost him his job with WWE in 2006. He was noticeably slurring his words during his first TNA interview, but didn’t go to rehab until 2013. At that point, he had already been arrested on multiple charges of driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, one of which saw the arresting officer claim that Angle had pills in his mouth while he spoke. It seems like going to rehab for the first time after so many years of problems stuck with him, and he’s been in noticeably much better spirits since, with a new sense of clarity that he’s talked about.
