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World Series of Fighting (WSOF) will debut on Nov. 3, 2012 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of a special NBC Sports one-off television special featuring longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) commentators Michael Schiavello and Bas Rutten.
What does that have to do with us here at Cageside Seats?
According to this report, the former PRIDE pair will be joined in the broadcast booth by none other than Olympic gold medalist and current TNA Impact Wrestling headliner, Kurt Angle. Because as we all know, when you have a combination of various fighting disciplines on display, it's important to have a professional wrestler on hand for analysis.
Just ask Bill Goldberg, who called WFA: "King of the Streets" back in 2006.
To me, this feels more like Dennis Miller stinking up the booth during Monday Night Football. I don't know shit about the NFL, but even I knew Miller's smarmy references weren't a good fit for a fan base that still thinks Coors Light and Funions are part of the food pyramid.
Angle has been working Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans for what seems like an eternity, claiming he was a year or two away from "doing the MMA thing" every year or two. By my calculations, he's likely to make his Octagon debut in about a year or two.
Neck problems hindered his career, as did a 2010 report that linked him to steroids.
What's the point? I guess my feeling is, there are so many talented fighters out there, guys who haven't been spending the past five years dreaming about stepping inside the cage -- because they've actually been doing it. They're light years ahead of Angle when it comes to understanding technique, intricacy and nuance.
It's all in the credentials -- and Kurt is a pretender.
Angle can talk wrestling, obviously, as he was legendary on the mat, but not much else. I'd like to see a retired fighter or someone who wasn't around long enough to get the big-money paydays secure a gig like this to keep them working in the industry.
What can the oft-injured TNA star bring to the table, other than a high asking price and a few curious eyeballs?