The Kurt Angle Show - TNA Genesis 2012 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Here we are in 2022 talking about 10 years ago in your career. Before we get to 2012 let’s put some perspective into things. Coming off Final Resolution with James Storm you’re going into your 14th year in the business. Did you ever think you’d be wrestling in 2012 when you signed your original WWF deal?

You’re about to move into your 6th year with Impact. You have really achieved a ton in Impact, World Champion, top heel & babyface…where was your mind at this time in the company? Did you think you had achieved all you could?

Is it hard to have the motivation to keep pushing to do more?

The first Impact taping coming off the loss to Storm finds you coming out and cutting a promo to Sting. Let’s take a listen.

Kurt Angle Lays Out His Plan of Revenge

Do you remember who came up with the plan for you to travel to James Storm’s hometown?

What was Sting like to be in the ring with cutting promos?

Do you know if the idea was for you to go against Sting as you talked about Sting having it out for you?

When did you go to film these segments?

Was it Jeremy Borash or Vince Russo with you for these?

Let’s take a listen!

Kurt Angle Pays James Storm's Hometown a Visit

Storm cuts a hell of a promo here Kurt. Do you think working with you was elevating James’ game?

Here you are now in the bar in “Tennessee” terrorizing Storm’s hometown.

Kurt Angle Terrorizes James Storm's Hometown

Now Kurt I’m going to break the 3rd wall here. I know the first guy you hit the pool cue with is former Northeast wrestler CJ O’Doyle. But where does the get up of putting yourself in a cowboy hat and carrying a fake gun around with you? Is that all you?

Is it hard to be funny and serious all at the same time?

Is this just different from your time in the WWF with Austin and the cowboy hats?

These seem like a lot of fun to shoot! Were they or was it a lot of work?

Do you prefer these types of segments compared to in ring?

Does this type of stuff help heal your body and give you the rest you need?

On Friday December 30th Brock Lesnar stepped into a UFC ring for one of the last times against Alistair Overeem and Overeem beat him in 2:26. I bring this up because Brock is one of your biggest rivals and he made the transition to MMA. Did you watch this fight? Was it sad to see this Brock compared to the monster that started when he became UFC Heavyweight Champion?

There’s two house shows I want to ask you about. In Albany, New York you put over James Storm but you’re 3rd from the top…under Garett Bischoff beating Gunner. Any issue with Eric’s son working 2nd from the top compared to you?

In Poughkeepsie you again put over James Storm. Is this more of a babyface should win type thing considering you’re at a house show?

You have this weird promo with Sting on Impact where Sting tells you you’re going to wrestle and you joke about wrestling X division guys…do you think that’s a burial of that division and those guys?

Eventually Sting tells you you’ll be wrestling a guy who has kicked you in the face and split your head open before … you try to say no but Sting makes the match … you vs. Rob Van Dam. What was it like working with Rob at this time?

Rob Van Dam vs Kurt Angle

Meltzer has some criticism of the match and finish: “Angle beat RVD via DQ in 5:13. RVD missed a frog splash and Angle put him in the ankle lock. James Storm ran in and superkicked Angle for the DQ. They pushed it like Storm knocked Angle out cold with the kick. Why exactly are we supposed to want to watch a PPV where a guy who got pinned a few times in a row and then got knocked out with one kick is wrestling against the same guy again? If Angle was world champion, sure it makes sense. But he’s not world champion. Angle vs. RVD was not much of a match. Really hits you how far downhill RVD has gone in the last two years.”

Do you think RVD’s work changed in the last couple of years? Do you think it was made for you to look weak going down like that with the superkick?

Do you know of any talk of you doing a 3-way with RVD or is that all just storyline tease?

The next week for the go-home Impact there’s an opening promo between Sting, Bobby Roode, you & Bully Ray that sets up a 6-man tag main event against James Storm, Abyss & Jeff Hardy.

Sting Applauds Jeff Hardy - But Not Everyone's a Fan —- this is 12 minutes so you might want to clip this down to include it

The main event goes to a no contest as it goes off the air with Bully Ray choking Abyss with a chain, you putting Storm in an ankle lock and Roode putting Hardy in a cross-face. What did you think of this match?

Here’s the video preview for your match against James Storm: Genesis PPV Preview: Kurt Angle vs. James Storm

The story of this match is you’re the wrestler…do you think this was the juice this feud needed?

Before we get to the show you do some media for it and you talk about another run at going to the Olympics. From the Observer: “Foxsports.com had a good article on Angle. They talked to Dave Hawk, Angle’s business manager and good friend, who said, “It’s this crisis in his mind thinking, `I’m not Kurt Angle anymore. I’m Kurt Angle, this character on TV. But Kurt Angle was real once. He needs to prove it not only to the world but to himself. He wants to regain his youth, prove he’s still there and still has it.” While Angle claimed to others that he guaranteed he’d make the team or be an alternate, in this article he spoke differently. “Do I still have a shot? Yeah, but it’s a long shot. These guys are younger, quicker, but I might be smarter. When I show up at the trials, people will say, `Holy (crap), he showed up. If I do well, it’ll be `Holy (crap), he did well.” USA Wrestling is insisting Angle come to Colorado and train with the Olympic wrestlers because they don’t want to be part of a carnival side show if Angle doesn’t belong in the trials.”

Were you really interested in doing this at the time?

Also from you doing media: “Angle was in Sirius XM on 1/9 and must have taken some brutally honest pills because he said he thought 2011 was a subpar year for the company, and said the biggest problem was the lack of communication between the writing team and the creative team. He said he knows that the scripts are done, but then everyone starts changing things and the end result is a direction that the writers never intended in the first place. He said Vince Russo writes the shows, but Hogan and Bischoff and others change things at the last minute. He said he’s not against the changes and backed Hogan 100%, but felt this should be done a week before the shows and not at the last second. He noted Hogan changing the result of the Bound for Glory main event the night of the show. He noted that it worked out for the better, but he didn’t like that he and Roode found out at the last minute when he was trying to work a match with a torn hamstring and shouldn’t have been wrestling in the first place. He also said they haven’t done Samoa Joe justice.”

How often were you voicing your opinion at the time to the powers that be?

Let’s get to the match Kurt!

“7. Kurt Angle pinned James Storm in 13:42. They showed Robert Irvine of Dinner: Impossible on the Food Network in the stands. He’s getting married soon to Gail Kim. The crowd was quiet once again. Angle just seemed to have no fire. Storm should be a kick ass brawler and at this time, this isn’t the style of match he should be doing unless they tell the story about him sharpening his wrestling going for the title. But given the angles leading to this, beating up his friends and such, going out and doing an exchange of moves wrestling match is out of context. Angle did a lot of his usual spots, the overhead belly to belly suplex, a three German suplex spot and a moonsault. Zero reaction when Storm kicked out. Angle got the ankle lock but Storm kicked his way free. Storm used a DDT but Angle kicked out. When Angle hit the Olympic slam, no reaction when Storm kicked out. Storm blocked a superkick, hit a codebreaker and a diamond cutter for near falls, followed by an elbow off the top rope. Storm finally got the crowd doing. Storm set up the superkick, but Angle pulled Earl Hebner in front of him so Storm held up. Angle then kicked Storm low as Hebner was distracted and kicked Storm to the head and got the pin. I think it was supposed to be a superkick, but it looked nothing like it. Nobody was expecting that move to be the finish so it was a flat finish. 2 & a quarter stars'”

Did you think the finish was weak? Is it hard to do a match like this 3 months in a row and keep the crowd?

The story of you hitting him with the kick…who’s idea was that?