Kurt Angle Explains Why He Took So Much Pride In Working For TNA
Kurt Angle loved his time in TNA.
Despite initially refusing to even consider becoming a professional wrestler, by 2006, Kurt Angle had established himself as one of the very best in the world.
However, he shocked the industry when, after leaving WWE, citing burnout and injuries, he signed with TNA just two months later. Despite a high-profile battle with addiction, he became a vital part of TNA for the next decade, winning the World Championship six times.
During an interview back in 2024, Kurt Angle said this period of his career deserves more credit, describing himself as a “man on a mission.
Angle eventually left the promotion in 2016 and headed back to WWE, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame before bringing the curtain down on his in-ring career.
In an appearance on the Mic Check podcast with fellow former WWE and TNA star Ken Anderson, Angle reflected on his time with the company and revealed why he enjoyed that period so much.
Angle said that he was always proud to work for TNA, noting that he enjoyed the amount of freedom talent was given compared to WWE.
“I was always hopeful. I took a lot of pride in wrestling for TNA. I loved it because they gave us our freedom to do what we wanted. We were allowed to say what we wanted. We had to stick with the script of the idea of what they wanted, but we were able to structure our promos.
Ken was very, very good at doing promos, and he was good at structuring them. They were also allowing us to structure our matches. We didn’t have a lot of agents that would structure the matches for us like they do in WWE. I know in WWE, you can put your own two cents worth in, but they’re going to come up with the finish, and they’re going to come up with how you do it.
In TNA, you get full freedom to do whatever you want to do. The only problem with that is you’re going to have every match that they’re all going to go outside the ring. Every match at WWE, you’re only allowed to do it once a night or twice a night. So, we had a lot of you know, doing that kind of stuff, and it became very repetitive.
You know, diving outside the ring, next match, diving outside the ring, next match, diving outside the ring. It just became repetitive and that’s the only downfall to that. But I did love putting in my own creativity and everything I did.”
Kurt Angle Wants Tighter Partnership Between WWE And TNA
During the conversation, Kurt Angle also discussed WWE’s growing partnership with TNA. Throughout 2025, the two companies have become closer than ever, and it’s even been reported that WWE has an option to purchase TNA “within a certain length of time.”
Angle said that his hope is that WWE eventually acquires TNA’s video library so his matches with TNA can reach a wider audience.
H/t to Fightful