WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle spoke with BroBible.com on several topics, including his advice to up-and-coming amateur wrestlers.
Angle said, “Wrestling is the toughest sport in the world. Don’t give up on it. Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you’re not going to be successful in the future. I’m a good example. I got my butt handed to me my first three years in wrestling. I was horrible, and I came from a wrestling family, and my brothers thought that I wasn’t going to be very good because I was a bit of a crybaby. I lost, and I cried a lot, and I pretended I was injured. I wasn’t a very tough kid, but the light bulb went off in my head when my dad passed away. The reason is my dad was such a big wrestling fan and a big sports fan, and he never missed any of our sporting events. Even if the event was earlier in the day and he had to leave work early, he would show up, and I loved him for that. So, I dedicated my athletic career to my father. When I did that, I started getting more focused and more determined. I started setting goals for myself. That’s when the success started coming. I went to States in high school, I went to Nationals in college, went to the World Championships, won the worlds, won the Olympics. Everything opened up for me, and I became a good wrestler for my family. I actually did better than my brothers did. What I’m saying is, don’t give up on it. Even if you’re not good, you got to push through that and continue to train and believe in yourself that you’re going to end up being better, and you will get better, and you will improve, and you will start winning.”
On how fans have stopped referring to him as “Perc Angle”:
“Thank you so much. I was really pleasantly surprised that they responded that way. It makes me know that I have true fans out there that really enjoyed my career and loved me for what I did. I’m just grateful that they’re going to drop the name Perk Angle. It reminds me of a dark time in my life, and it’s something that I don’t want to have to deal with it anymore. I dealt with it already, and it’s behind me. Hearing Perc Angle just makes me think I’m known for that. It was not cool. I’m just glad that they’re now using Peak Angle, instead I’m very grateful for that.”
