Steroids.  Once again, this fun topic has reared its ugly head again.  Former Major League pitcher Roger Clemens has been all over the new lately due to the fact he just got indicted for lying to Congress about his past steroid usage and UFC Heavyweight Shane Carwin has been all over MMA websites for allegedly receiving illegal steroids in 2006 from Applied Pharmacy Services which is currently under a federal investigation.  What has been overlooked a little bit is that former Olympic gold medalist and current TNA wrestler Kurt Angle has also been allegedly named on the same list that Carwin is on (along with other pro wrestlers). 

This isn't the first time Angle has been named in an investigation similar to the current Applied Pharmacy Services one and it is usually no surprise to anyone when they hear a professional wrestler is on steroids.  That is probably the reason he, along with the other pro wrestlers on the list, aren't taking any heat at the moment. 

Check out the extended trailer for Angle's reality show that wasn't picked up after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

MMA Diehards has posted an interview on YouTube with Kurt Angle that was shot at last month's Arnold Classic:

After plugging his new multi level marketing/specialty foods venture, the subject of MMA came up.  Nick Thomas at Bloody Elbow grabbed the choice quotes:

"I just did my physical this past year with Dana White. The problem is I'm not allowed to wrestle and fight. Dana White will not permit that."

"I’m a UFC die hard. Strikeforce yeah, I looked that way... but the one I want to fight for is Dana White."

"I do want to do the UFC, the MMA thing and hopefully God willing it will be in the next year or two."

"I don't consider myself a pro-wrestler, I consider myself an Olympic gold medalist. Brock [Lesnar] and Bobby [Lashley] were great wrestlers but they weren't anywhere near where I was. I'm in the top 5 of the greatest amateur wrestlers of all time."

"Some of my fellow Olympians are Randy Couture, unfortunately he didn't walk away with a medal in the Olympics but he's still an incredible wrestler. I would love to see how I would fare against him."

"Brock Lesnar is the real deal, he's an animal. Bobby Lashley is up and coming and is going to be great. But I don't know where I'll be, light heavyweight or heavyweight. I can make either one like that."

"I train at the Pittsburgh Fight Club. My trainer is Eric Hibler. Not a lot of people know who he is, but that's a good thing. What I'm going to use is what I do best and that is wrestling and ground and pound."

Ever since his departure from WWE in 2006 Angle's talk about fighting has been a lot of talk and no action.  He was even very close to deals with multiple promoters at different points that he pulled out of at the last minute.  While it was talked about, the idea that he's too broken down to get licensed was considered a non-issue according to Dave Meltzer, who noted that Don Frye and Ken Shamrock were cleared in spite of being comparable physical messes.  That was over 3 years ago, though, and he's now reached the point where Meltzer, who's as cynical about bodybuilding drug use as anyone, is under the impression that Angle's spine is in such bad shape that he honestly needs to inject human growth hormone to function.  There's also the little-mentioned fact that Angle had considered taking time off from WWE to try to make the the OIympic wrestling team in 2004, only to drop the idea after a session at the team's training center where he realized that the talent and technique level had advanced so much in 8 years that he shouldn't even make a go of it.

It's another in a long line of wacky Angle interviews about going into MMA (like the one where he claimed that he would be unbeatable because he had a secret, never before used method of blocking punches), but it's interesting to see him talking about it after seemingly giving up the ghost for awhile.  Also, it's nice to see him admit that nobody's heard of his camp.  When he first mentioned training there awhile back, nobody knew what the hell he was talking about.

Over at the UK Sun, there is an article about Kurt Angle's latest business venture: Angle's Signature Series meals, which are allegedly prepared by his "personal Olympic training chef and nutritionist."  Apparently, "Each Angle meal is balanced with high-quality real-food protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.  Plus, they're packed with a whopping 12-15 grams of a patent-pending blend of soluble and insoluble Ultra Fiber DX."

But wait, there's more!

While anything about Kurt Angle being health-conscious is darkly amusing, it's gets better.  The Angle Signature series is being distributed by Foodie's Gourmet Food Club, which is a multi-level marketing company, like Amway.  This company also sells its products directly to consumers without intermediaries or any kind of subscription fees, though marketing customers get a 30% discount on meals with their membership fee, so it looks like they want people in the marketing program regardless of how they're going to use it?

Aside from the higher protein and fiber content, they don't look like they're much more than somewhat higher quality versions of the various "healthier" frozen dinner options, especially with the relatively high sodium content.

While Angle is the first wrestler that I know of to have his own line of MLM products, other wrestlers have participated in similar programs.  Bill Watts sold Christian-oriented vitamins and supplements (really) and Nikita Koloff sold Amway products.  Ivan Koloff noted in his autobiography that his "nephew" did tremendously well in such programs because creating a vast network of contacts came easily to him.

TNA has released their official preview for tonight's episode of IMPACT.

Continue reading this post »

Kurt Angle has been released on bond and should be PPV bound. How will TNA and Russo handle this unexpected opportunity? Will there be some shooting done tomorrow night? A legitimately interesting evening could be in the works for TNA fans.

TNA champion Kurt Angle was arrested Saturday morning after he was seen allegedly stalking a woman who had an order of protection against him. The woman, a TNA star, told police she saw Angle following her while at a Starbucks in Robinson Township, PA. Police found two vials of HGH as well as a syringe in Angle's girlfriend's car, which he was driving.

Full story after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

The Sun recently published a story announcing that Kurt Angle, TNA World Champion, has been shortlisted to be a contestant on the next season of ABC's hit show DANCING WITH THE STARS. Angle apparently has been interested in appearing since Stacy Keibler's run on the show in 2006. The show returns on September 21st, with the cast being announced on ABC's Good Morning America on August 17th.