Angle Signs with TNA Pro Wrestling

[ideamark]

Thanks to Intermat for providing the link to this story....

www.tnawrestling.com/news/fullnews2.php?all=851

TNA WRESTLING MAKES TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS
Signs Kurt Angle / iMPACT! Moves To 9 PM on Spike TV Starting Thursday, November 16



Nashville, TN, September 24, 2006 – Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling announced today that Olympic gold medalist and pro wrestling megastar Kurt Angle has signed exclusively with the company. It was also announced that TNA iMPACT! will move to 9:00 PM ET/PT Thursdays on Spike TV starting November 16.

“This has been a huge week in our company’s history,” said Dixie Carter, president of TNA Entertainment, LLC. “The signing of Kurt Angle and the move of iMPACT! to 9 PM are both significant benchmarks in the growth of TNA. The history of pro wrestling is marked with events that change the landscape of the industry and I believe that this week will be viewed in that context.”

Angle, a 2-time NCAA Division I champion and a 3-time NCAA Division I All-American, capped off his illustrious amateur career by winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, competing with two cracked vertebrae, two herniated disks and four pulled muscles.

On November 14, 1999, Angle made his on-screen debut with the World Wrestling Federation. Since then, this 5-time WWE World Champion has held every major championship belt in WWF/E. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.

“Kurt is considered the greatest wrestler in professional wrestling,” added Carter. “His in-ring ability is matched only by his leadership and attitude. We are thrilled Kurt is joining the TNA family and we look forward to a long, successful relationship.”

“Being with TNA feels like I found my home,” Kurt Angle commented. “TNA will be the most watched show on cable TV – it’s just a matter of time. Thank you TNA for saving my career, my life and my desire to do what I love.”

TNA also announced it will premiere in primetime on Spike TV starting Thursday, November 16, kicking-off with a two-hour extravaganza from 9:00 – 11:00 PM, ET/PT to celebrate the move. The following Thursday, TNA can be seen in its regularly scheduled timeslot (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), with encores continuing to telecast on Saturdays (11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT).

“We’ve been impressed by TNA’s growth and the acquisition of Kurt Angle today continues to show us that wrestling fans, as well as professional wrestlers, know that TNA is the place to be and now primetime on Spike TV is the place for them to be,” says Kevin Kay, General Manager of Spike TV.

After twenty telecasts in the Thursday 11 PM ET/PT time slot, TNA iMPACT! is averaging a 1.0 HH rating, with a 1.1 in M18-49, a 1.3 in M18-34 and an average audience of 1.1 million viewers. Compared to YAGO in that timeslot, TNA is up +137% in HH, +211% in M18-49, +244% in M18-34 and +157% in average audience. Among ad-supported cable channels in the time period (11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT), Spike ranks #1 in M18-49, #1 in M25-34, and #2 in M18-34. (All ratings reflect Most Current viewing levels)

The new wrestling alternative, TNA delivers a distinct brand of high-risk, athletic entertainment. TNA’s roster includes new, fresh talent like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Monty Brown and recognizable stars such as Sting, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Team 3D, and others. TNA features the innovative six-sided ring and the high-flying “X Division,” as well as concept matches such as “Ultimate X,” “King of the Mountain,” and “Six Sides of Steel.”

TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Nashville, TN. The names of all Total Nonstop Action Wrestling televised programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and all TNA Wrestling logos and trademarks are exclusive property of TNA Entertainment, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com.

Spike TV is available in 90 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.

[oc]

Hope it works out for him, I've read other peoples perspectives regarding this, i.e. is he going to do a Shamrock circa 2003 gig (mix in MMA with some wrasslin). Whatever he does I hope he competes less and lets himself heal up.

[ezra]

I thought he left WWE because of injuries? Hard to believe that was the only issue with WWE given how quickly he signed a TNA contract...

[RYou]

“Kurt is considered the greatest wrestler in professional wrestling,”

Pooh on that self serving statement. Bruno Sammartino will forever hold that title.

[ideamark]

Krusty,

Good point.

From what I've read, the WWE originally came up with their statement "greatest athlete in professional wrestling" (slightly different than what TNA is saying) to differentiate Angle from others in the WWE who did not have amateur wrestling backgrounds... and as a "tweak" to those in the amateur wrestling community who were not happy about Angle crossing over to the pros.

Not sure if Sammartino ever competed in high school, college or international amateur wrestling.. tho I would agree with you, he's definitely up there as one of the all-time best in pro rasslin, if not the best.

All that said, my reading of the statement would be a slap in the face of other real wrestlers who became pro rasslers -- guys like Verne Gagne, Dick Hutton, Jack Brisco, Dale Lewis, Dan Hodge, Bob Backlund, and Brad Rheingans, to name guys who had earned NCAA titles and/or international titles and then became pro rasslers. While it's true that none of these other wrestlers earned an Olympic gold medal (as Angle did), Hutton's and Hodge's three NCAA titles each trump Angle's two college crowns. (Hodge was in two Olympics, earning silver in 1956). I'll let these guys sort it out amongst themselves... but I would say Hodge would be the greatest amateur wrestler in pro rasslin.

Mark

PS One could also make a case for Robin Reed as best amateur wrestling to go into pro rasslin... tho his pro career was brief, and he competed in college before there was an NCAA tornament, he was dominant in college wrestling in the early 20s and won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics.

Mark

[swayz]

ryou said:

“Kurt is considered the greatest wrestler in professional wrestling,”

Pooh on that self serving statement. Bruno Sammartino will forever hold that title.

I got an old Bruno toy from the late 70's and some posters from about 2 years ago from when he did autograph signings at Primanti Brothers.