Kurt Angle On Reason He Decided To Sign With TNA In 2006, Why He Thought He Had Something To Prove

On a recent edition of The Kurt Angle Show, Kurt Angle discussed how his deal with TNA came together in 2006, the reason he signed with the company, and much more. You can read his comments below. 

Kurt Angle on how his deal with TNA came together: “Dixie Carter, she called me and we talked on the phone. Jeff [Jarrett] ended up calling me and we discussed a possibility of working together and they told me to write down a figure and they would reach out to me the next day and we’ll see if we can make it work. It was relatively easy and the quickest deal I ever did. I wrote down my figure, and the next day, they said, ‘OK, we’ll fly you up and sign you.’ No negotiations, it was a one-time thing. I got what I wanted and was very happy.”

On the reason he signed with TNA: “The reason I signed with TNA, and there’s nothing wrong with this, but when you’re in WWE, it’s a huge company. It’s bigger than you. There’s nothing you can do. You can have the greatest career of all time, you’re not going to make a bigger impression on the company than the company itself. TNA, it’s a smaller company and you’re the big name in the company. You’re carrying the company on your back, you’re building that company, and you’re making it into a WWE. You have a purpose that way. When you’re in WWE, you’re never bigger than the product. When you’re in TNA, you are bigger than the product and it’s carrying that product to another level. There’s a bigger purpose in it.

On whether he felt he had something to prove: “It was about me proving myself that I could be a formidable player and make a company grow bigger than it was. I think I did a good job of that, it wasn’t just me though. There were a lot of other wrestlers in that company. But I wanted to show that I had a purpose in my life and that purpose was TNA and nd I could make this company grow. It never became as big as WWE, but there were times where the ratings started getting fairly close. We were doing two million viewers a week, 2.1 million viewers a week, which was a big deal for TNA at the time. It made me feel very good as a representative of the company that I was one of the main reasons for it.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit The Kurt Angle Show with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.