Kurt Angle Recalls Convincing Doctors To Clear Him Early in WWE, Getting Hurt Again Because Of It

Speaking on a recent episode of Table Talk with D-Von Dudley and Mo Lightning, Kurt Angle discussed the more lax WWE health policies back in the day and how he was able to convince doctors to clear him earlier than he should have been. Angle was talking about how much better WWE is about taking care of its talent these days and recalled how being able to be cleared by his personal doctor allowed him to come back just a few weeks after neck surgery.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On talking his doctor into letting him wrestle hurt: “You know, my perspective of the difference between now and then is, back then I only had to get cleared by my own personal doctor. I literally went in my doctor’s office, and I said, ‘You’re gonna clear me today.’ And he was like, ‘I can’t clear you, you just had surgery three weeks ago!’ I said, ‘You’re clearing me today.’ He’s like, ‘All right, I’ll clear you.’ So he contacts WWE, and I’m cleared. I’m not ready to wrestle. I just had neck surgery and I’m back in it again. And I re-injure my neck again. And I did it two more times. So in that two and a half year span, I broke my neck four times. And that’s because I rushed back. WWE had nothing to do with it.”

On the changes WWE has made since then: “But now today, you have to be cleared by the WWE doctors. So there’s a huge difference. There’s a different drug policy today, there’s a different Wellness Policy today. Everything’s catered toward the athlete. You should see the catering now compared to where it was back in 2001. [laughs] I mean, everything is set there. They have massage therapists and trainers, and doctors even at the arena every night. So everything is catered toward the athlete, and they’re making sure that they don’t do anything that’s a liability for the athlete. If anything, they’re gonna keep them out longer than they should be.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Table Talk with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.