All language subtitles for biography_wwe_legends_s02e04_kurt_angle

I never had a love for something as much
as I do for this company.

I always

thought that my destiny was the Olympic

gold medal.

But being in WLB, this is what brought
me real joy.

This is my first love.

Y 'all ready?

There aren't any words to describe
exactly how great this next individual

simply because he is in a class by
himself.

The one, the only, Kurt Angle!

was determined to be Olympic champion.

He lived it. He breathed it. He slept
it.

He won a gold medal with a broken
freaking neck.

So all of a sudden this guy shows up and
I'm thinking, you know, can he make the

transition? An American hero!

I'm an American hero!

Audiences loved to hate him.

But here's the thing.

He was also a bad...

He is at the very, very top of that
list.

Hands down, bar none.

Those matches are what made me the best
in the business during those years.

Now comes the tough part of the
questions.

I went to a chiropractor. He said, you
know you have four broken vertebrae,

right?

These painkillers can hide a lot of
pain.

My life completely spun out of control.

This guy who's an Olympic gold medalist,
you think he's bulletproof, but nobody

is. Vince, he told me, listen, you're
going to die. When you have that level

addiction, it takes a hold of you to a
point where you just don't care.

My husband, how did he get from where he
was to this point of his life?

Don't let people see you like that.

Now you, Kurt, ain't.

I always felt that Kurt was a man with
great resolve.

It's never too late to make changes.

It sure as hell isn't too late to save
your own life.

I think I want Kurt Angle to be
remembered, not for the mistakes he's

but what he was able to accomplish in
his lifetime.

We were from Pittsburgh.

We were the city of champions back then.
The Steelers, Pirates, World Series,

Super Bowls.

So, Kurt, he was set on being a
champion, you know, from the beginning.

They played a lot of sports, the Angle
Boys. Kurt, he was, you know, he's good

at everything.

One of those guys that was just a great
athlete, and I think most, like, his

brothers were, too.

They were all tough guys.

He did not want to mess with the Angle
Boys.

My brothers had a reputation of being
fighters, tough guys.

We had a hard time with the police
department in the area where we lived

my brothers were in so much trouble.

No, hardly ever.

Yeah, yeah, we got in trouble here and
there. But Kurt never got in trouble,

never.

Didn't cause my mom no grief, none.

That's why she loved him. She adored
him. That was her whole life, Kurt, was

unreal, the bond that them two had.

Mian was a really good sister.

She was the only girl in our family. My
sister was my dad's princess, so she's

the only one that my dad ever hugged.

My father was in the service for 25
years.

Master sergeant, first class.

We got a lot of our discipline from my
father.

The guy was the most solid mother you'd
ever want to meet, okay?

People say he'd give you a shot off the
bat.

Okay, this guy would really do it. He
knew that I was going to be capable of

doing something great. He seemed to know
that early on.

He was my coach up until a time in high
school, and he felt that it was time

that somebody else taught me, and he
became my fan, my number one fan.

The great thing about my dad, though, he
didn't pressure us. He didn't tell us

we had to be good.

He just wanted us to give our best.

My dad was a functional alcoholic.

He drank all day.

What did your dad do for a living?

He was a construction worker.

Now comes the tough part of the
questions.

Okay. Your dad, the record will show,
had an accident on August 27, 1985.

Do you remember where you were when that
happened?

Yes, I was at football practice, and
somebody came up to me and received a

call, one of my coaches.

and told me that my father was in an
accident.

What happened was he went to the cab to
get his lunch.

When he stepped back, he stepped on some
rebar, lost his balance, and went

against the guardrail.

He fell through it.

Thirteen feet on the back of his
shoulder and his head at the same time.

He actually broke his shoulder and
fractured his skull all the way through.

In the hospital, he went into a coma.

And I remember my sister -in -law
saying, Kurt, do you realize what's

here? And I said, yeah, my dad's hurt,
but he'll be fine.

No, no, he's not going to be fine.

Your father's brain dead, and they're
going to leave him on a machine.

So I remember them taking us into the
room where my dad was, and my mother had

to make a decision to either keep him on
or pull him off.

off of the machine, and she decided that
she wasn't going to let him just stay

like that. So she, I remember her
getting on her knees, and before she

the doctor permission to do it, she
begged my dad to come back.

She asked him, or she actually told him,
if you come back,

we will make this work.

I'll be the...

She said she'll be the wife that he
wanted her to be.

And then right before they pulled the
plug, my sister started crying.

And that was just, she jumped on my dad.

She begged him not to go.

We pulled her off of them, and they
pulled the plug, and that was it. You

my dad was gone.

My father passed away on Wednesday, and
it was the first week of school.

I decided to play football that week.

I wanted to do something special for my
dad, knowing that he would have wanted

me to play.

I really didn't want to play, but it
just felt like somebody was tugging at

They were telling me, you know, get up.

Keep moving.

I had a game day.

It wasn't just spectacular. It was
beyond unbelievable. It was perfect.

I had two touchdowns as a fullback. I
had 14 solo tackles, two fumble

and interception.

And I did it for my dad.

I always wanted to make him proud.

I'd like to be All -State in the Big 33
game.

I'd like to go on either Penn State,
Pitt, West Virginia, or Rutgers as a

linebacker.

Football was my first love, not
wrestling.

I never watched pro wrestling before.

I was taught by my brothers, don't watch
that stuff. It's crap. Don't waste your

time watching it. So I never did.

But in high school, I was very, very
good.

And the high school coach, Coach
Lampranakis, pulled me aside and said,

I haven't had a wrestler like you in 20
years.

You're going to be a state champion.

And I dominated.

My senior year, I was the state champion
from Pennsylvania, and all I had left

was the junior nationals in the summer.

And I won it. So I was considered a
national champion in high school before

ended up going to college.

We recruited him out of Mount Lebanon
High School. He was blessed with

and talent.

He was the one that gave the extra time,
the commitment to the weight room and

to the practice room.

And I was beating guys that were
Olympians.

It was crazy. I was a 19 -year -old kid,
and I'm beating all these great

athletes. Nice, beautiful dunk to a
double, and he's got Walker on his back.

Kurt Angle's probably 5 '11 1⁄2".

He's not your typical 6 '5",
heavyweight, 270 pounds.

He was 220 or under.

He amazed me a lot of times.

Staying in it to the very end and
winning was something that he shouldn't

beat.

I knew that I was really good. I knew
that I could compete at the NCAA level.

I didn't know it was that good.

He continued to grow. We found out that
he could go with the best of them.

His match with Sylvester Durkheim in the
NCAA Finals his senior year is an

epic match.

I was a national champion.

Over half my wins were by pinfall. That
was my thing. I pinned a lot of people.

This was a David and Goliath story all
the way. Kurt's 5 '10", this guy's 6

Kurt's 200 pounds, this guy's 275.

Was I worried? Yeah.

Was I very confident that Kurt was going
to win?

Oh, not so much.

I was a big, tall, lanky guy, and here's
a guy that's a lot more stockier, kind

of compact, he was kind of hard to get a
hold of.

There's a minute left.

Came down to who was going to get the
first takedown.

It was like a falling timber.

Technician against a big burly dude.

And the technician won.

It was the smartest match I ever
wrestled.

That's when you know you've matured.

As an athlete, you didn't just go out
there and try to put on a show for the

fans. You went out there and you got the
job done.

It showed that I was ready for the next
level.

I was on my way to the Olympic level.

I just graduated college. I knew I had
four years to prepare for the Olympics,

and I was doing everything I could.

Foxcatcher was a facility owned by John
DuPont.

Mr. DuPont, you know, the heir to the
DuPont throne.

He wanted to promote amateur wrestling.

And he started his own club.

And he recruited the best of the best.

My name is Dave Schultz. My involvement
here at Foxcatcher is as an athlete.

I train here.

I work with DuPont.

Dave Schultz was the recruiter. Dave was
really good at spot talent.

And everybody wanted to be there to work
with Dave.

Kurt Angle went and trained at
Foxcatcher because Dave Schultz could

And how many other people went to
Foxcatcher or went around Dave because

could help them?

I remember the first time I wrestled
Dave. He was 40, 50 pounds lighter than

He beat the shit out of me.

He thought Kurt was as hardworking an
individual in wrestling as he had ever

seen. I could just see Kurt really
respected Dave, and Dave really

Kurt for the work that he was putting
in.

So I think Dave was a mentor, you know,
and of course a good friend.

He had such an impact on my career.

He was a friend, a father figure, and
when I looked at him, he was everything

wanted to be.

So I decided if I was going to do this,
I'm going to have to...

take my conditioning level to a level
where it's never been before.

I did what you call exhaust training.

I trained until I was exhausted, and
that's when the training started.

Kurt Angle set his goals real high. He
didn't.

believe he couldn't do anything you know
he wasn't he didn't have a limit that

he thought he couldn't achieve he
believed in himself more probably than

people did he was determined to be a
world champion he was determined to be

olympic champion and he lived it he
breathed it and he he slept it everybody

wants to win the olympics on the day of
the olympics but you have to want to win

the olympics every single day when you
wake up leading up to the olympics my

schedule every day was

This is how crazy it was. I'd do a six
-mile run, and I would do it in about 38

minutes. When I got done, I would do 10
200 -yard hill sprints with somebody on

my back.

See the story about him running up the
hill over Mount Level with a guy on his

shoulders? So I guess.

On his shoulders like a log.

So I guess.

These guys that want to be Olympic
champions, they're obsessed.

They won't stop with Kurt.

We had to watch him because he'd
overwork.

He would work too hard.

We worked a little bit more like mules,
and Kurt worked a little bit more like a

racehorse. There was a purpose for why
he was doing the training that he was

doing. I would train every day, three
times a day, for 28 and a half days a

month out of 30 days.

I did that consistently for two years.

I did not stop.

It was 10 hours a day almost every
single day.

He's one of the best conditioned
athletes in the world.

Had to be. The way he worked out and
trained, he had to be.

I mean, he lived here with me, and I've
never seen him. He would come in to eat

and run back out, change his clothes,
and he puts everything into everything

does, you know. And I guess, you know,
not because I'm bragging it, but I'm

trying to say that when he does
something, he does it the best.

getting set to wrestle for the
championship, and he's not thinking

Olympic Games. In fact, there is only
one thing on his mind tonight at the

The World Championships right now, like
I said before, I'm not going to think

about anything else.

This is as big as the Olympics, and I'm
going to give everything I've got to win

this title.

Erevat Sabeev was the world champion
from 1994.

He also pinned me in 38 seconds three
years prior.

He was good.

I took him into overtime. As the
overtime started getting longer and

further into it, he was getting really
tired.

He was so tired, he kept asking for
injury timeouts.

He's faking injuries, and I knew I had
him.

for Pennsylvania.

Get used to that name because he is just
now emerging on the world scene and has

just now captured his first ever world
freestyle wrestling title.

This sport's the toughest sport in the
world. I don't regret one minute of it.

You work harder than any other sport.

And when you win, you might not get the
money like those football players or

basketball players or baseball, but you
get a lot more in here.

And that's what I love about the sport.

The victory against Aravat Sabih put me
on the map. It let everybody in the

world know that there was a serious
contender for the Olympic gold in 1996.

Kurt, you're on a new mountain. What is
your new horizon?

Oh, Olympics next year.

Win the Olympics, retire.

But I didn't have a guaranteed spot on
the Olympic team.

I still have my work cut out for me with
the USA wrestlers at the 1996 Olympic

Trials. It wasn't going to be easy.

In 1995, when I won the Worlds, that was
a credit to John DuPont.

He made it possible for wrestlers to not
quit early on and get real jobs.

He would give you a house at Foxcatcher.

He would give you money for food. He
would give you all the equipment you

needed. And he would take care of all
expenses, traveling expenses.

But I could tell you that he wasn't
right.

Anyone that jumps in the sport of
wrestling, just to jump in the sport of

wrestling and throw millions of dollars
at it and...

put people on their property to train
full -time and hardly know them, that's

not sane.

I always knew he was eccentric.

91, 92, 93, he was fairly reasonable.

94, he was starting to change.

In 1995, he was, at that point, really
what I felt like losing it.

We'd get together for breakfast, and he
would talk about the little demon on his

shoulder that was talking in that ear.

There was a time where John DuPont
thought I was in his walls.

So there were a lot of things that were
going on that showed he needed some

help.

In 95 is when he started packing a gun.

He never made me nervous about it, but
it made a lot of people really nervous.

It was just really a regular day.

In the afternoon sometime, Dave and I
were having lunch.

As we were finishing up lunch, we heard
a car pull up, and Dave went out.

And I heard a shot, and I heard Dave
scream.

And by the time I got to the door, Dave
was down in the snow, and John shot

him in the back.

And then I grabbed a phone that was
right by the door, and I went out, and I

said, I'm calling the police, and I was
just trying to get him to stop.

And he pulled the gun and pointed at me,
and I just had to step back inside. And

then he pulled it, and he shot Dave in
the back.

Second time, third shot.

When I touched him, it was just soft.

So I just put his head in my lap and
told him I loved him.

And he died very quickly.

I was in Pittsburgh at the time. I left
Dave a message around 1 p .m.

that I was coming to the farm the next
day and that I would stop by to see him.

And literally three hours later, I saw
on CNN that Dave was shot and killed.

No one is sure or saying why John DuPont
would have killed Dave Schultz.

This is crazy.

Dave and I would have a lot of
conversations. I mean, in November

killed, you know, he said, I'm going to
get out soon, but, you know, I got

things. Things are okay down there and
safe. All the rumors that you hear about

John being crazy, you know, it's not as
bad as people say. It's, you know, and

then three months later, you know, he's
shot.

Shot Dave Schultz, who won a gold medal
in the 1984 Summer Olympics, lived with

his family in a home on the estate.

It is at that home that police say
DuPont drove up and shot Schultz in the

driveway. Dave was one of my best
friends, and I just want him to know

love him and I care a lot about his
family, Nancy and the kids, and I just

to God that they're going to be okay.

Dave will be missed so much by his
family.

friends, and the wrestling community
around the world.

I don't know that anybody will ever know
why.

That's the sad part.

Nobody will ever know why he shot Dave.

There's all kinds of speculations, but
what was the real reason, I don't know

you will ever know.

After Dave was killed, there was this
gap because it was January and the

trials were in June, right? And all the
funding had come from this guy.

So we have... probably, I don't know, 17
to 20 elite -level athletes who are

counting on at least a stipend every
month.

I called Foxcatcher and told their
attorneys to take me off the payroll.

I couldn't take blood money.

And Nancy Schultz heard about that.

And Nancy called me right away.

And she said, well, I'm starting a
wrestling club, the Dave Schultz

Club. would you like to be the first
member?

I was like, wow, me?

I said yes.

And Kurt was the first one to say, I'm
going to wrestle for the Dave Schultz

Wrestling Club.

And it was a huge turning point for me.

It showed me that he respected Dave's
memory and that he had some faith in me

and who was helping me to put together
the program.

Kurt stood up immediately and said,
let's wrestle for the Dave Schultz

Club in Dave's honor.

Well, in 1996 at the U .S. Open, that
was the beginning stages of the Olympic

trials. And I had a wrestler that was
pretty tough named Jason McKinney.

We were wrestling and I dug for an
underhook to get my arm under his

And he hit me with this arm throw.

So as he threw me with an arm throw, I
went to put my hand up to block the

ground so I wouldn't roll over my back.

I couldn't get my hand over in time, so
I put my head up to stop me from landing

on my back.

And I landed right down on my face.

All I heard was a bunch of cracking and
crunching in my neck.

I knew I did something.

Little by little, I was scoring a couple
points here and there, and I believe

with about 20 seconds left, I scored my
fifth point.

It got me into the finals. The problem
was I didn't know how bad my neck was

injured.

I went to a chiropractor.

He said, you know you have four broken
vertebrae, right?

You're in a position where...

you could do some real damage to your
body, like paralysis.

It makes you think I could end up being
paralyzed or even dead if I land wrong.

Before I wrestled the Olympic trials,
they were going to have a doctor there

present, and he was going to stick me in
the neck with 12 different shots of a

type of Novocaine to numb my neck.

Feeling the Novocaine and feeling how...

It made me completely pain -free. It
gave me confidence that this might work

out.

I just never considered quitting, never
considered giving up. It was, what do I

need to do to get back in the game?

And I did that.

Nobody was going to stop me.

My opponent in the Olympic trials, the
finalist was Dan Chade.

I wasn't sure who would win.

You would think that they wouldn't be
fond of each other.

Somebody's dreams are going to be
crushed.

So the first thing he did is he went
right for my neck.

Put both of his hands around the back of
my neck and was pulling me down, trying

to inflict pain.

But because of the Novocaine, I couldn't
feel it. It wasn't working.

His mindset was, go for the net, go for
the net. And every time he did, he left

himself open.

Tactically and strategically, Kurt, he
was smart.

The whole game plan backfired on him,
and it benefited me.

I just made the Olympic team by beating
Dan Shane.

It was good. It was something that built
my confidence, that made me realize

maybe, you know, you're more ready than
you think you are.

We got to the Olympics.

I'm still having some pain, but I was
ready for the Olympics. I knew I

had a great shot at winning the gold.

I remember my first match being against
the Mongolian.

The Cuban, I won 1 -0, double overtime.

The next round, I had a Russian.

I took him down, won 4 -3.

I didn't have to have a pretty
performance.

I just wanted the gold.

Any way I could get it.

The gold medal represents that there is
nobody better than you on this planet.

I wanted that gold medal.

Kurt had to wrestle, probably at that
point, the most famous Iranian of all

time, Abbas Jadidi.

Abbas Jadidi, who I believe, even
including me, was by far the best

the weight class.

Kurt, he was the underdog.

For sure he was the underdog.

Kurt Angle having lots of reasons to be
motivated for this competition.

He wants to do it for his mom. She's
raised him. He still lives with her. His

father died in a construction accident.

And he's wrestling also for David
Schultz who was slain.

Kurt wrestled well. The later the match
went, the better he got.

So now we're in overtime. It's one to
one.

And he's getting really tired.

And a little voice in my head said, you
need to do something.

You have to take him down.

I got both of his legs.

And I had to take that.

One ref gave me a point.

The other two didn't give me it yet.
They're waiting for me to move up onto

hips a little higher.

If they don't give me it, they'll at
least award me it because the match was

that even.

The way that it was the ref's decision,
it looked like it could have went either

way.

First thing I thought was four more
years. I have to do this four more years

because I can't just stop at a silver.

First thing I thought about, I got on my
knees and I thanked God. And I thought

about my dad and I thought about Dave
Schultz, how proud of them they would

been to me. And, oh, man, Dave would
have, he would have ran on that mat and

lifted me up on his shoulders.

What a tough year. I mean, Dave gets
killed and Foxcatcher breaks down and

you don't have a club. And then Nancy
Schultz gives you the Dave Schultz

Wrestling Club.

Everything that we went through that
year, my broken neck and all this work

put in, it's done.

You don't have to worry anymore.

You don't have to stress anymore.

No more waking up at 4 a .m. No more
staying until 1 o 'clock in the morning

the weight room.

It was done.

It was incredible.

I can't believe this happened.

This is the best feeling I've ever had.

Thank God.

I saw you kneel on the mat and pray.
Were you talking to your dad?

Oh, yeah. My dad's always with me.

Dave Schultz, I knew they were with me.

This is the best thing that's ever
happened to me. I can't believe this.

All I wanted to do is win a world
championship.

Olympic gold medal.

I did them both.

If I died tonight, I'd be the happiest
man in the world.

I love you, Mom.

I did that one for you.

She deserved this more than I did.

She's done so much for me. She raised me
from when I was just a kid, you know.

You know what's funny about that? My
mom, too.

What are the odds?

To be honest, nobody's going off to win
the Olympics to, like, be a millionaire,

you know. No one ever thinks that. But
you at least think that, you know, you

should have, like, a path or a career
for the rest of your life. And usually

people just end up with an Olympic medal
in one hand and their dream in the

other.

When you win something or you're awarded
something that you dreamed about since

you were a kid and you felt like there
was nothing else more important than

and you finally accomplish it, you wake
up the next day and you say,

what am I going to do now?

It has been said that anything can
happen here in the World Wrestling

Federation, but now more than ever,
truer words have never been spoken.

This is a conscious effort on our part
to open the creative envelope, so to

speak, in order to entertain you in a
more contemporary manner.

Even though we call ourselves sports
entertainment because of the athleticism

involved, the key word in that phrase is
entertainment.

If Vince McMahon were to give you a
phone call tomorrow and say, Kurt, tell

what, I'll give you a three -year deal
worth two and a half, three million

bucks.

Would you consider it? I think I'd say
no. One, due to the fact that I am a

wrestler, a true wrestler, an Olympic
champion wrestler.

Kurt Angle, 1996 Olympic gold medalist
in Atlanta. He won, you know, the broken

freaking neck, man.

So he had a little legendary status as
being a badass.

So he was on the radar early and often.

I had the opportunity to sign up with
the WWE back in 1996.

I met with Vince McMahon, and he offered
me a 10 -year deal.

Really, really good deal.

When I thought about professional
wrestling, I didn't care for it. He said

much money he was probably going to
make.

Well, I said, yeah, you can do that.

First thing I said is, okay, I'll sign
this as long as I never lose a match.

And Vince was like, okay, nice meeting
you. See you later.

He knew I didn't get it.

But then I started watching Raw.

At the beginning of 98, I started
watching these guys, and they were doing

some of the most athletic things I've
ever seen.

And there was a

restaurant there that really caught my
interest.

His name was Stone Cold Steve Austin.

If you want to see Austin McMahon, give
me a hell yeah!

There's nothing like when you're in the
entertainment business, grabbing a crowd

and having them hook, line, and sinker,
and you are dictating to them and

getting a response, and they're buying
into your story.

It's intoxicating. It's so uplifting.
It's so powerful. If you could bottle

stuff and sell it, you'd be a
billionaire.

I loved the character.

He was a lot of fun to watch.

So why am I so bitter about these guys
making all this money?

Why don't I try it?

Why can't I do it? They already offered
me a deal.

So call back.

So I called Vince McMahon back in late
1998.

He told me to talk to Jim Ross, who is
head of talent relations.

And I asked him if that contract still
stood.

And he said, nope, but you can come up
and try out.

And I said, oh, wow.

So I have to try out now?

Yes.

Timing is everything.

The shine, if you will, no pun intended,
off that gold medal had faded a little

bit.

I believe you should have signed this
deal in 96.

He said, if you make it, you will get
the lowest guarantee that any wrestler

gets.

All right, I guess I'll have to prove to
you guys that I can do this, and

eventually I'll make the big money.

I remember seeing this guy, and I'm
thinking, okay, he's a good -looking

great physique, stud athlete with a big
-ass neck, but can he make the

transition? Kevin Quinn, there's no
doubt in my mind you're a tremendous

wrestler. No one is a guaranteed blue
chipper in the business. You know, you

have to have something, whether it's
talent or look and ability to speak.

Some of the moves I've seen you... I've
seen so many amateur wrestlers come

along, legitimately tough guys.

It could never get it.

Okay.

First of all, Bruce, now you're laughing
at me, aren't you?

And so many guys come from the amateur
ranks, and because of the ego involved,

can't stand being on the bottom.

It was very difficult to go against my
instincts and let people throw me

Nobody ever did that to me before.

Now I had to allow them to.

One day I got out of the ring and I told
my manager, I can't do this. This is

garbage. I said, this is self
-mutilation.

Why would I want to do this? All I'm
doing is hurting myself.

This hurts.

I walked out and my manager followed me
and said, listen, just stay to the end

of the day.

Just do everything they do and see if
you can do it.

And I did. I stayed until the end of the
day.

And I was able to hang in there. I was
sore as hell.

But I showed up the next day and decided
I was going to commit myself to this.

He approached our process without ego.

He won a gold medal in the Olympics and
came in with all this cachet and all

this incredible accomplishment behind
him.

And he came in with great humility and
said, I just want to learn. I'm going

back to day one.

And he checked your ego at the door.

Seldom will you find that in a great
amateur wrestler.

They're going to want to go in there and
show you what they can do and how they

can beat somebody up. But Kurt Angle got
the idea.

He was a great student.

I started picking things up relatively
quickly.

And I think they saw something in me
they never saw before.

So I got a contract.

It wasn't handed to me.

I earned it.

Vince wanted to present Kurt as really
what he was, this incredible athlete

incredible accolades, gold medalist,
been through it all, done all this.

But he wanted to present him in a way
where he sort of saw himself as a real

wrestler. You know, the WWE superstars
were sort of beneath him.

You're going to walk in here and you're
going to be a heel.

And Kurt was absolutely certain that
this would not take place. So they

to create these vignettes around Kurt. I
do respect the athletic ability of the

superstars in the WWF.

And I'm sure some of them could have
competed on the Olympic level.

But I believe you have to have a little
extra something to win the Olympic gold.

With my intensity, integrity, and
intelligence.

I can share with the people my great
achievements and inspire a new

of athletes in the WWF. Vince told him
again, when you come out, you're going

get booed out of the building, and Kurt
was certain that wouldn't happen. And

when that music hit, they booed him out
of the building.

The only Olympic gold medalist to ever
grace a WWF ring,

Kurt Angle!

It was my first match, my debut in WWE.

Vince McMahon said, listen, I'm going to
throw you into the ocean.

You either sink or swim.

He told me to grab the microphone and
tell these fans you do not boo an

champion. I was like, holy.

You do not boo Olympic gold medals.

I'm the best in the world.

Here's this guy. He's so squeaky clean
that you could see with the right spin

it, he could be very arrogant and not
better than you.

I remember his red, white, and blue suit
and his metal, and it just had this

authenticity and this power.

I came here for you.

You do not fool me.

People hated Kurt. You know, it was
loud, very loud. But I think for him, he

in a place to, he could sort of learn to
love that.

My fans responded, and they started
booing me even more.

It was the birth of the heel Kurt Angle.

The next night, we were back in
Pittsburgh again.

And Kurt pulls me aside and says, look,
this is Pittsburgh. Like, I'm like Mr.

Pittsburgh, basically.

He said, I'm beloved in this town. He
said, they're just going to cheer me.

just not going to work here tonight.

And I looked at Kurt, and I said, Kurt,
they're going to boo the hell out of

you. Because you have now, you know,
made yourself better than them.

I can't believe this.

You tear a pimp over an Olympic gold
medalist.

They boo him. I mean, cascade of boops.

Kurt comes back. He was like, that was
unbelievable.

And it just clicked.

Take those medals, turn those sumbitches
sideways, and stick them straight up

your Olympic ass!

And the build -up to all of our matches
were always fun because I would talk to

him. You see, Kurt Angle, this isn't the
Olympics. You're not facing the

Romanians. You're not facing the
Bulgarians. You're facing the Rock. He

talk to me. Just bring it.

Audiences loved to hate him.

And I tell you what, Rock, your chances
at winning the title in front of these

sleazy hometown losers just went from
slim to not.

So what do you think about that?

From the psychology of wrestling to
being a character to being entertaining,

just all came to me very quickly.

Most amateur guys are taught, don't show
any emotion.

From the company amateurs to the pros.

We don't want that.

We want emotion.

And Kirk got that.

And that's why I'm glad I'm here in this
town.

Because if there was ever a town that
could relate to losing, it's Detroit,

Michigan.

It's really hard to find somebody that
can be a kick -ass guy, that can be a

villain, and make you laugh.

He can do all those things. And it just
came naturally to him.

I am very proud to be here tonight at
Madison Square Garden.

In a building this famous, it deserves
to have a true champion performing in

it. And we all know that if we wait for
Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks to

bring home a title, we'd probably be
waiting forever.

He was a wrestler. He spent his entire
life training.

But at the same time, Kirk just had a
natural charisma and a natural delivery.

What in the blue hell is that?

It's got calcium.

It helps you build strong bones.

And above all, it's delicious.

Kirk got comfortable in his own skin and
started doing these just hilarious

things that you wouldn't expect from an
Olympic gold medalist.

I remember walking through the airport
one morning, and I think I had a

hangover. I looked over, and I saw this
little bitty cowboy hat.

I got you something, you little rascal.

You did?

Yeah. So I said, man, Kurt would look
amazing in that hat because he's got

you know, 22 -inch neck. You know, his
neck is like a cobra.

The guy does this look.

I feel like a real cowboy.

Yippee -ki -yay.

I got on people's nerves.

I noticed that the city of Chicago is a
little short on winners and a little

long on fat, sweaty pigs.

It was a lot of fun.

It's true. It's damn true.

He won inside and outside.

Kurt Angle on the road to WrestleMania.

It's true.

He won in the mainstream world.

1 -800 -CALL -ATC for collect calls.
He's giving some undeserving fan a

to go to WrestleMania.

And then he won in the WWE world.

His ascension was like a rocket.

I remember coming in this building the
first time I came here.

First time I met Vince McMahon. This
was, gosh,

96 right after the Olympics.

I was overwhelmed.

Vince McMahon had it planned from the
beginning.

He knew I was going to be the top heel
of the business.

I thought he was crazy, an Olympic gold
medalist, being a top heel in the

business. But Vince had plans for me.

Vince McMahon's been in this business
for decades.

And he knows when things are going to be
huge and when they're not going to be

huge. And he pegged my character right
away. And I became, I believe, one of

favorite characters to work with.

And that was a huge honor for me.

And the relationship started to grow
rapidly.

I actually loved him. Loved him like a
father.

On behalf of every person in this arena,
thank

you, Kurt Angle.

As long as I could produce for him, he
would continue to have better things

planned for me. And every week, my
character as a heel would step forward.

I was gaining momentum.

And I was, within months, I was the top
heel in the business.

The winner of the year, though.

to be champion.

It's a huge honor.

I think Vince just thought I was ready.

And since he thought I was ready, I
believed I was ready.

And I guess I was ready.

At that time, the company, it was like a
wild, wild west.

It was the Attitude Era.

It was crazy, and it was awesome.

So, Kurt came along at a time where he
just wanted to entertain the crowd.

But then, the B -side, and also the most
important side, was

the promise of an amazing match.

He had a natural propensity to be a pro

wrestler. It just came to him. He was
like a savant.

A genius at this stuff. I became a
better technician.

I got into my zone. I got into my craft.

He had chemistry with everyone. He could
just adapt to everybody. So it was so

easy to do stuff with him.

It's hard not to fall in love with that
character.

But one of the matches that I remember
the most, it was a cage match. Kirk gets

on the top of that cage and does a
moonsault.

That guy will go to the end of the
world. So I put on

a damn good match. As I'm sitting there,
I'm thinking, holy, I mean, you know,

part of my language is you're crushing
it.

A lot of people have said that.

Stone Cold and Steve Austin and myself
were one of the greatest matches of all

time at SummerSlam.

Kurt Angle going to meet Austin and
Austin retaliating in kind.

That crowd that night absolutely loved
it.

Kurt had great chemistry, not just with
me. I mean, he had great chemistry with

basically anybody. That's how good he
was.

Eddie Guerrero matches.

Back body drop.

Edge.

Brock Lesnar.

Shawn Michaels.

2005 WrestleMania.

And then 2006 No Way Out against
Undertaker.

The match I had with a big man.

And the story we were able to tell.

It was incredible.

Those matches are what made me the best
in the business during those years.

He was just meant to wrestle, whether
it's competitively or professionally.

Kurt did it as good as anybody ever did
it.

Kurt Angle with another championship!

Any top guy that's ever watched Kurt
knows what a badass he is.

What a night in the life of Kurt Angle.
He is at the very, very top of that

list. Hands down, bar none.

Again, he had this naivety to him, this
innocence to him. But then he disrupted

that with, I'm also a bad - And I will
angle

slam you through the mat.

You know, the irony of the success and
the bright lights is very exciting and

can be very alluring.

But then there's a dark side. There's
also an underbelly that so many of my

friends, my family members have gone
through and experienced.

Some gone through an experience and
wound up on the other side better and

stronger for it.

Some not better.

It's a scary situation.

And I was in that for a while.

Well, at that time.

I was on a roll.

Keep moving. Just keep moving.

Keep moving forward.

That's what kept going in my head.

Guys on his level, world -class level
athletes, they just have this fear of

failing. That can manifest itself into a
great blessing and more drive and more

accomplishments, or it can become the
kiss of death.

Guys like Kurt, who wrestled all their
life, you can't expect them to be

healthy. It's impossible.

People have to understand, these guys
are taking their own falls.

They're bouncing around all with that
mat, and that mat's not a posturpedic

here.

So you do that 200 days a year or more,
several times a day, it's obvious what

it's going to do to your body.

Between the years of 2003 and 2006, I
had a very bad

string of luck.

In early 2003, I was on Brock Lesnar's
back. I had him in a chokehold.

and he was running from one side of the
ring to the other. He turned sideways,

and I hit the turnbuckle, and my head
snapped sideways.

I literally lost feeling in my left arm.

I couldn't raise my arm. It was just
dead.

I knew something was wrong, and I went
to see a doctor, and I was told what it

was, and then I broke my neck.

There was no coach to be Boston's
doctor.

He did stone cold neck fusion.

So when I went to see him, he wanted to
do fusion right away.

When I had to leave to go get my
surgery, I was gone for 12, 15 months.

career suicide for 9 out of 10 people.
So Kurt had that same fear. He's not a

dummy. I was very tentative about that
because you would have to take a year

off, and I don't want to take that long
off. I remember one night I went over to

my neighbor's house.

And there's a really nice kid. His
name's Johnny. And he said, I hear

wrestling Brock at WrestleMania.

And I said, yeah.

He said, I really wish you'd be able to
wrestle Brock.

He handed me a DirecTV magazine.

And on the cover was Brock Lesnar versus
Kurt Angle at WrestleMania.

And I was like, this might never happen
again.

So I called Vince. I said, listen, I'm
doing WrestleMania.

Kurt's a different breed of athlete.
He's going to have the drive to work

through anything.

He won a gold medal with a broken leg.

Injuries were nothing to him.

That's the way he is.

What are you going to do, make a pit
bull or a poodle?

Vince McMahon actually is against me
wrestling.

He said, hey, I'm against you doing
this, but if this is what you want to

then I'm going to support it.

And I said, thank you, Vince. And he
said, I just want to tell you one other

thing. You're not going to like it, but
I'm going to tell you.

I said, what? And he said, I love you.

And I actually started crying.

This match we have been waiting for for
a month. Two of the most decorated

athletes in WWE history.

So I wrestled Brock with a broken neck
at WrestleMania 19.

This is WrestleMania.

It's like the Super Bowl. These guys are
world -class athletes, and they're

going to go out and give you everything
they got.

So then that's where Lesnar tried the
shooting star.

And he missed it.

Ended up being a hell of a match.

And they were both...

really sore.

Afterwards, I can remember it was pretty
bad. They were both busted up. Guys,

can we clear, please?

Clear this hall!

I went back home and decided, am I going
to do this? Am I going to get fusion?

Or do I find somebody else?

A man named Dr.

Joe got a hold of my manager.

And he said, listen, I can fix Kurt
Angle. He will only be out for six

And I thought this was bogus. I was
like, this is too good to be true.

He was going to give me a minimally
invasive surgery.

And he would cut out the problem and let
the neck heal. So I decided to do that

surgery.

Can't wait for him to get back in the
ring.

After six weeks of healing, I went right
back to wrestling.

I don't believe my neck fully healed.

So I broke my neck again.

I went back to the doctor.

He decided to do surgery again. Did the
same thing again.

Clipped out part of the disc and let the
neck heal.

So I got back and knew it again.

It was the beginning of

2004.

I made it all the way to WrestleMania.

Against Eddie Guerrero, WrestleMania 20.

landed on the back of my head, and I
broke my

neck again.

This is the third time in a year.

Broke the vertebrae.

I was taken off the shelf.

Vince McMahon said, that's enough.

We'll let you rest up. Take five, six
months off.

So I did that.

Came back and I started wrestling. I
believe early 2006, I broke my neck

I broke four vertebrae, and I don't
remember what match I did it in. There

just a lot of confusion going on in my
head.

A lot of things going on at that time.

It was a really bad, bad time for me.

But it got worse and worse.

When I broke my neck at No Way Out in
2003, I met with a doctor

that prescribed me pain medication.

Opioids. I remember taking the first
one.

It definitely masked the pain.

I felt a little more energetic, more
euphoric, and I liked the feeling. So,

know, I started taking more.

I was taking about four a day.

Didn't take me long before I doubled up
to eight.

After that, it went higher, higher,
higher.

I gave him a call, and as we were
talking there for about an hour to an

a half, and, you know, his voice changed
from being very coherent to kind of

starting to slur.

And I've been around enough guys, and
I've given a few other calls like that.

And I said, dude, are you all right?

And he's kind of saying, Steve, I'm
telling you, I'm fine. I can't imitate

slurring voice, but he didn't sound
good. And I was honestly scared for him.

Vince McMahon saw a change in my
behavior.

And he had Jim Ross call me. He said,
listen, you need to get off the stuff.

And I said, what are you talking about?

And he said, we know you're doing
something.

Some of those guys are really proud,
man. They don't admit they got problems.

They don't show any weakness.

It's a sickness.

They're over -medicating.

Then they start feeling very guilty.

And they feel very vulnerable.

Then stuff starts unraveling.

And it's not just wrestling.

Drug issues are not a pro -wrestling
issue.

It's an all -war issue.

This is tough.

There was a point where my sister was
getting in a lot of trouble.

She didn't have money.

She was living in Virginia Beach.

She was taking a lot of drugs.

And I knew she was.

I adored her.

She was a great woman. She just ended up
in three bad marriages.

Her value of herself became nothing. She
just thought she was useless.

And it drove her to a point where she
started using drugs.

She kept calling me for money.

I kept saying, I kept sending her money.

She kept telling me the bills were
racking up.

I found out later she was using it for
drugs.

So when I found out that she was $35
,000 in debt, I gave her an

ultimatum. I told her she has to move up
to Pittsburgh, live with my mother, or

I wouldn't pay her debt. So she moved.
She came back. She didn't want to, but

she didn't have a choice.

So she moved back to Pittsburgh. I paid
off that $35 ,000 debt, and she seemed

to be doing okay for a while.

Then she relapsed.

And so I

gave

her another ultimatum.

I told her that if she didn't get clean,
I wasn't going to talk to

her, ever.

She did get clean.

So for the next eight months, I didn't
talk to her.

And then she overdosed.

I wish I would have talked to her.

I find out that night that my sister
died of heroin overdose.

When you're taking the drug, you're in
denial of anything else. It's the only

thing that's on your mind. You're
thinking about how you're going to get

next day, and, you know, it takes
control of your life.

By this time, I was already 40 deep into
painkillers, so

I started taking more.

My mom would call me all the time to see
how I was doing, and I'd lie to her all

the time.

Tell her I was okay.

The higher I got, the better I felt.

Or I should say, the less I felt.

Spankers can hide a lot of pain, not
just physical, but emotional.

Between my dad and Dave Schultz and my
sister Leanne, it's just like nothing

ever gets easier.

As he's over -medicating himself, trying
to manage his pain, his personality

started changing.

And he knew he was carrying a burden.

And you could see that that burden was
starting to wear on him.

There are a lot of... things that were
going through my mind that I had to get

away from. I was always running away
from problems.

You know, the pills were my sanctuary.

I would say that every evening I went to
bed, I would put about 18 pills

next to my counter.

I'd be going through a draw when I woke
up. I would throw those down and chew

them up and swallow them.

I do it in the morning and after my
match at night. I made sure I didn't

messed up or high when I worked out or
messed up or high when I was doing a

show.

But when the show was over, it was fair
game.

This guy who's an Olympic gold medalist,
one of the toughest guys I know, you

don't think anything can happen to him.
You think he's bulletproof, but nobody

is.

I've seen way too many...

Good people it takes over your life. It
takes over your mind. It takes over All

of your relationships it just It sucks
and it sucks to watch me outside and

I can't even imagine what it's like to
experience I Was taking pills to go

normal Over time you build a tolerance
and you have to have more and more and

more and more One led to two two led to
four four led to eight before I know it

I was

Within six months, I was taking 65 of
them a day.

The hardest part about being an addict
is knowing where you're going to get

drugs next.

It would make you do crazy stuff.

I mean, I started stealing pain meds and
just doing crazy stuff that I never

thought I would ever do.

I had to have my fix every day, and I
had to set up a schedule.

I had a calendar where every other day I
would call a doctor to get a script,

and then every couple weeks I would call
my Mexico contact to get

my painkillers illegally sent to me. And
I had to keep up on this schedule.

It was my number one priority.

It was above my work.

It was everything.

I have a lot of respect for Kurt, like a
big brother.

And to see him, like, shaking and it
just made me angry. And

I just got angry with him.

And was like, man, don't let people see
you like that. You know, like, man,

you're Kurt Angle.

When you get a hold of these drugs and
they get a hold of you, there's no way

quit.

I mean, I was taken enough to kill a
horse.

I remember going in to meet with Vince,
and he told me, listen, you got to get

your ass straight.

You're going to die.

You can't keep doing this.

So the ultimatum was, we would like you
to go to rehab or leave, leave

WWE.

And that is the reason I quit.

I decided to quit WWE.

I didn't go to rehab because I didn't
want to let go of the drug.

Kurt's downward spiral, it was hard for
everybody to see.

When it comes to addiction, it's really
difficult because unless that person

wants help, there's not a lot you can
do. So you're sort of just kind of

watching it happen, and you're helpless.

And Vince doesn't handle that well, so
it was difficult for him.

Well, there's been a lot of rumors as to
why exactly Kurt Angle was released.

Can you set the record straight right
now?

Some of it is confidential, you know,
and I'd love to tell you exactly what

story is, but it really revolves rather
around Kurt's health more than anything

else.

I didn't want to quit, so I had to go
somewhere else.

Here's this once -in -a -lifetime
talent. You know, he's one of the best

and now he's down at TNA.

And I'm thinking, man, TNA, you know,
they're not at our level.

When I left WWE, I

started drinking alcohol and TNA. So now
it's mixing the pills with the alcohol.

The debacle of a run he had in TNA.

He's lucky he's not dead.

Seriously.

I was so out of control. My life
completely spun out of control.

My first wife, she moved out with my
first two kids.

And then I met Giovanna.

I basically knew nothing about him. The
first time I met him, he walked in and I

was like, oh my God, he's so handsome.

And after our first date, we just were
inseparable.

The friendship built into something
more. But it was in a dark point in my

So for her, it was hard.

In the beginning, he hit it very well.
And I was five months pregnant when we

got married. I had a lot to balance.

So I didn't put two and two together
until things got worse.

I didn't want to say, don't take
medication.

Are you okay?

Because I didn't really realize how
severe his injuries were. I know that he

broke his neck and all that stuff, so
who am I to say you can't take a pill?

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year. I love you.

I ain't going to make it through the
year.

It just got worse and worse and worse,
drinking and mixing pills together.

That's not good at all. Daddy's
stealing, of course, Juliana's food.

Now I'm taking these cocktails.

I was taking probably six Xanax a day,
probably eight somas a day,

two morphine pills.

I was driving at night on medication

and 12 beers in me.

Channel 11 News reporter Gordon Lush was
there as Kurt Angle faced a judge on

DUI charges.

I got four DUIs in five years.

I was lucky I didn't get more.

The drugs took over my life. It was the
worst feeling in the world.

He was drunk, and he was sitting there,
and he had a beer in his hand, and he

was just passed out watching TV.

And he's just talking to sleep, and he's
just drooling, and he's just...

He just doesn't even know what he's
doing.

I actually got on my knees and I was
like, I prayed and I said, God, what am

doing wrong?

Because I literally still didn't believe
I was a drug addict.

I just thought that I had some bad luck.

When he was going to jail, drinking and
driving, like, that's serious.

He could kill himself.

That was the worst time of my life.

I was scared.

It was all over the Internet. It was all
over the news.

People were calling me.

I just had another baby.

Giovanna got a call from me from jail,
and she was

pissed.

I was thinking about maybe when he comes
home, I should be in a hotel

so he knows what he could lose.

He called me again, and I'm like, you
know, I have to pick up. I have to pick

up. And the first thing I did, I said,
why? Why did you do this? Why did you

in trouble again?

He's like, I don't know what's wrong
with me. I'm sitting here in jail, and

like the lowest point of my life,
Giovanna.

I need help. And I said, yeah, you do
need help. I needed to show him this is

what happens when you make the wrong
choices in life.

You choose drugs over us.

I literally wouldn't see Giovanna and my
kids.

I would start drinking early. I would
pop my pills, and I would be passed out

five.

My husband, how did he get from where he
was to this point of his life? And I

know how much of a shame he was. I know
that he didn't want his kids to see him

that way.

She was telling me she's on her last
leg. This is it. You know, you either.

Step up and be a man and get clean or
I'm gone.

Giovanna, she said, listen, if you don't
go to rehab and get your ass straight,

I can't stay with you anymore.

I don't want your money.

I don't want to live here.

I just, I'm going to have to leave.

I didn't want to lose my marriage. That
was the most important thing because I

didn't want to lose my kids.

And I knew if I continued down that
road, I was going to end up alone.

That was when I decided to rehab.

There's nothing that compares to the
pain you feel when you're going through

trial. How do I explain how it is?

It's like getting tortured.

The insides of your body pounding and
your

skin's crawling. You're sweating because
you're hot, but you're also sweating

because you're cold.

You can't think straight.

Your body's shaking the whole time.

You feel like you don't have any
insides.

You're out of breath all the time. Your
head's pounding. Your body's pounding.

You go into the bathroom, you're
throwing up.

It doesn't stop.

It is the absolute worst feeling I've
ever had.

And it seems like it lasts forever.

And it was like death.

I actually wished a few times I would
die.

That's how bad it is. I don't ever want
to have that experience again.

I don't want to go through withdrawal.

I am scared to death of it.

It feels like it's going to last an
eternity.

I can't explain it any other way.

The hard part was you start thinking,
what if I fuck up when I get out?

What if I can't stay clean?

What if I am a complete... What if I
just go back to the pills and I start on

again?

And you start doubting yourself.

As soon as he came home, he was like
this.

Like, he didn't know how to deal with a
baby crying without taking pills and

drinking. He didn't know how to deal
with a nagging wife without taking pills

and drinking.

He messed up his knee a year after he
got out of rehab. I told them many

He's an addict. He's not allowed to take
a medication.

He said, what if you just give me one?
What if you just moderate to me? I said,

no, you're not allowed to take this. He
said, how am I supposed to heal?

How am I supposed to go back to work?

And I said, you're not allowed to do
this. You're going to find a way to do

without taking a medication because
you're not going to do that to us again.

only triggers I have is the pain that I
have.

You know, sometimes I say, man, I could
really use a couple of painkillers right

now. You know, that's a trigger.

I have chronic neck pain, back pain,
knee pain.

I do all I can to maintain my body. It's
not a choice. I have to do it or I'm

not going to feel right.

I can't take drugs anymore, so I do a
lot of maintenance training.

Neck traction, anti -gravity device,
stretching yoga.

These things really help me every single
day, and they keep me healthy.

As opposed to six years ago, I was just
taking a couple pills, and I've been all

right. It took a lot of work for him to
know the new him. And I said, you are

not going to feel the best the way you
used to feel, but you're going to

tolerate your pain.

You're going to figure this out. We are
going to figure this out together.

I had to slowly get him into being a
husband again and slowly getting him

a father.

I wasn't there quite a bit for my first
daughter, Kira.

Hi, Kira.

Hi.

When I was home, I was always pretty
high.

And I was only home for four or five
days a month.

So I really didn't get to spend much
time with my first daughter.

What Giovanna was able to do for me that
I couldn't do for my first two kids is

be a good father for my last three kids.

Yeah, look, she's happy.

She's happy.

I got clean.

And I start spending time with my
children.

Do you want to watch videos of Daddy
wrestling?

I realized what was really important in
my life, my family.

Do you want to see Daddy drive a milk
truck?

Do you want to see Daddy with a cowboy
hat on? So I've learned to

appreciate the finer things in life, and
that's not the drug. It's these little

ones. What's this?

Cupcake and bread.

Cupcake and bread?

It looks good.

I've gotten so much enjoyment out of it
the last few years, and I

became the father I never thought I
would.

I'm actually a pretty good father.

I'm surprised.

I have too much on the line right now.

It's not about me anymore. It's about my
kids. It's about my wife.

This is the first time in my life that I
no longer put me first.

I don't want to be screwed up.

You got to stay clean. If you're an
addict and you have a problem with

you got to stay clean.

I think Kurt knows the new him now, and
I think he's happy with the new version

of him.

I don't know many people that will get
here from there.

He missed out a lot on life, but he's
trying to make it up with these kids.

You know,

with the friends that I've had who've
dealt with addiction, and again, some

successfully and some not successfully,
I always felt, though, in my heart and

deep in my bones, that Kurt was a man
with great resolve.

So I felt like with the right people
around him and the right support around

him, he was going to overcome it.

And I'm very proud of my friend for
continuing to push himself to be the

husband and father and friend and all
the things that he is to many, many

people, the best he can be.

I was surprised that I was getting
inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

I thought, WWE never wants to speak to
me again.

If I would have done the right thing and
listened to Vince back then, I would

have stayed in WWE all this time.

Oh, it's true.

It's damn true.

For Vince, in some way, it was like a
son coming home and then getting

for the first times and almost picking
up right where they left off, like just

the level of fun that they were having.

It was really cool to see.

And think about it. I did have a Hall of
Fame career.

The little time I spent there, the six
years, was a very impressionable six

years. And I know how good it was
because I knew how good I was.

I want to thank my five beautiful
children, Kira, Cody, Juliana, Sophia,

Nicoletta. You guys are my life.

And last but not least, I want to thank
the one person that saved my life.

She was there at my worst, and she's
here now at my very best.

That's my beautiful wife, Giovanna.

I love you to the moon and back, babe.

I saw him work so hard to get where he
is today. I saw the strength.

And I think he is excited of what can
this Kurt Angle be, what can this Kurt

Angle do.

Here's a guy who is a world -class
athlete.

He's also the kind of guy who, whatever
he wants to do in the future, he can

accomplish it.

Juliana.

It's never too late to make changes in
your life.

It sure as hell isn't too late to save
your own life.

And that's what Kurt Angle did.

It's a great ending for this story that
could have very easily been one of the

great American sports tragedies that we
would have read about in our lifetime.

I think I want Kurt Angle to be
remembered, not for the mistakes he's

what he was able to accomplish in his
lifetime.

The new WWF champion! It's a celebration
for the Angle family!

I just want people to know that none of
us are perfect.

And I want them to know that I wasn't
perfect either.

But I was able to overcome many
obstacles.

Because I'm a fighter.

A fighter that never gave up on
anything.