Key Takeaways
- Kurt Angle excelled in WWE and TNA, battling injuries and addiction behind the scenes.
- Angle's "Perc Angle" TNA era was marked by risky stunts, despite his personal struggles.
- The WWE Hall of Famer denounces the "Perc Angle" nickname, clarifying he never wrestled while high.
Kurt Angle is one of the most renowned technical wrestlers in the history of professional wrestling. He was an immensely successful amateur wrestler, infamously winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games (with a broken freakin’ neck!). After reaching the pinnacle of amateur wrestling, Angle turned to the sensationalized world of pro wrestling.
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While Angle is most known for his time in WWE, more seasoned fans of pro wrestling are also familiar with Kurt Angle’s run in TNA from 2006 to 2016. This era of Kurt Angle’s career generates mixed reactions from fans when they reflect on it. On one hand, Angle delivered a series of phenomenal, memorable performances against stars like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, but behind the scenes, Kurt Angle was struggling with grief and a severe addiction to painkillers.
Why Kurt Angle Left WWE For TNA
Getting Injured And Being Overworked Led Kurt Angle To Jump Ship
- Kurt Angle's athleticism quickly brought him to the top of WWE.
- Angle became a multi-time world champion over the course of his career.
- Unfortunately, injuries piled up and caused Kurt Angle to leave WWE.
Kurt Angle was one of WWE’s top stars during the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras. He made his in-ring debut for the company at Survivor Series 1999 and was immediately treated as a top star thanks to his Olympic accolades. Over the next seven years, Angle would become a four-time WWE Champion and World Heavyweight Champion. Unfortunately, the good times wouldn’t last forever.
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Pro wrestling is one of the most grueling careers on someone’s body. Even Olympic-level athletes can’t avoid the wear and tear that comes with such an unrelenting schedule. In August 2006, Kurt Angle’s health became so strenuous that he could no longer fulfill the demands of his WWE contract; he was working through injuries and couldn’t take any time off. So, Angle asked for his release and was granted it soon after.
“Perc Angle” Is Born In TNA
TNA Fans Were Amazed By Kurt Angle’s Gutsy Performances
- Kurt Angle made his TNA debut in October 2006.
- Angle was dealing with long-term injuries and coping with painkillers.
- Despite his hardships out of the ring, Kurt Angle was immensely successful in TNA.
Kurt Angle’s run in TNA is mostly remembered for the sheer amount of reckless stunts that Angle pulled off. He made his debut on October 19, 2006. Angle immediately became a fan-favorite in the company, but Angle’s life behind the scenes painted a much darker picture. He was still grieving the loss of his sister, Le’Anne, and dealing with the physical pain of several lingering injuries. Angle coped by heavily using painkillers, once saying that he had been taking 65 Vicodin a day during the height of his addictions.
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Fans, though, only saw what was going on in the ring. They saw Kurt Angle moving like a madman, diving off the stage, flipping off the tops of steel cages, and suplexing his opponents into oblivion. To this day, fans continue to celebrate and idolize this era of Kurt Angle’s career, either not knowing or not caring about what was happening behind the scenes. They dubbed the Kurt Angle of his TNA run as “Perc Angle,” a play on the pain medication Percocet.
Kurt Angle Isn’t Fond Of The Nickname
The WWE Hall of Famer Denounced “Perc Angle” In 2023
- Fans today continue to share clips of "Perc Angle" and celebrate his stunts.
- Kurt Angle himself doesn't appreciate the nickname.
- Angle asserted that he never wrestled while high on painkillers.
During an episode of Broken Skull Sessions with Steve Austin, Kurt Angle spoke about his “Perc Angle” nickname. He showed some resentment for it, explaining that he would never wrestle while high on painkillers for the safety of himself and his opponents.
I was injured a lot. I was suffering from the painkillers and I had my sister die and you know, I think the next day, I wrestled in an ironman match and I was all fricked out wrestling Brock in my match and thinking about my sister the whole time. That night I threw down a bunch of pills and things were real ugly for me in those years. You know, the thing that upsets me is people think that I was high when I was wrestling. I didn’t get high when I was wrestling. I got high when I was done. So it wasn’t Perc Angle that was out there. It was me. Like it’s just really insulting to hear fans say, ‘Oh, that’s because he was perked up. He didn’t know what he was doing.’ Could you imagine just wrestling all perc’d up? It would be a disaster and people don’t understand.
Given the harsh reality of what Kurt Angle was going through during his run as “Perc Angle,” and his expressed disdain for the nickname almost two decades later, perhaps wrestling fans should leave the moniker in the past.
