WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle discusses New Japan Pro Wresting, Austin Aries and the Anglestrong application

Kurt Angle recently took some time out to talk with me before his WWE Hall of Fame induction. Kurt candidly opened up about a host of topics ranging from receiving the call from Triple H which led to him being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, to his past opioid abuse and the growing Opioid epidemic in the United States. He talked about fatherhood, which wrestler he would have loved to face again for an hour and how he found his time in Japan as part of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He reveals who he believed to be the greatest wrestler to never be in a WWE ring, how the WWE has taken steps to best protect its athletes and his new labor of love his Anglestrong application. Check out excerpts of the interview below and the complete interview here.

On his aspirations for the Anglestrong app:

My personal hope is to put an end to the drug overdoses and deaths. It’s that simple and that’s the most important concept. Last year it was reported by the media that there were approximately 53,000 opioid overdoses. It’s now more than motor vehicle deaths annually. It’s more deaths than from firearms and gun violence. This is a raging epidemic. And a lot of people have turned their backs on the opioid crisis for so long. Many doctors don’t want to be held accountable because a lot of them are subscribing their patients the painkillers….

On what WWE has done to protect its athletes:

…WWE has done an incredible job with both their drug policy and their wellness policy. With their drug policy, very few of their athletes take any drugs, and if they do, they get suspended or fired. Every once in a while you hear about someone that gets caught. They are all getting drug tested, so it goes to show how far they have gone with their wellness policy. 99% of their athletes have stayed clean. That wasn’t happening 20-25 years ago. But, they didn’t have a drug policy back then….

On his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling

…They have a lot of great wrestlers and a lot of great wrestlers from the west are going over there. There is a good mix of them. It is just amazing how far that company has come because it was big for a long time, but then it calmed down and now it is making its comeback. I am very happy. I think that pro wrestling right now, or sports entertainment, there is a lot to choose from. WWE is a monster, there is no question, and it always will be, but it’s nice to see other promotions doing fairly well….

Thanks to Kurt for his time. Once again, if you want to check out the complete interview go right here.