TNA wrestler Kurt Angle appeared on
ESPNews's SportsCenter program on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the International
Olympic Committee's decision to drop wrestling from the Olympics starting in
2020. The following are highlights from the five-minute interview with Angle,
who was introduced as an Olympic gold medalist formerly of WWE and now currently
with "Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling."
- Angle said he "didn't think it
was possible" for the IOC to drop wrestling for the Olympics. "I just can't
believe they would do that right now," he added, stressing his shock over the
decision.
- Angle said he thinks the wrestling community, both
professional and amateur, need to "fight back" against the decision prior to the
IOC's final decision later this year.
- Angle claimed that amateur
wrestling is as popular as it has been since 1980. He backed up his claim by
saying MMA has "jumpstarted" interest in wrestling at the high school and
college levels because the athletes see opportunities to compete
professionally.
Angle cited Bellator - TNA's co-partner with Spike TV -
and UFC as avenues to compete in MMA after wrestling. "A lot of kids see MMA or
want to become a pro wrestler after seeing me make the transition," Angle
said.
- Angle stressed that wrestling being dropped from the Olympics
could hurt the sport's progress in the U.S. "Main reason is kids always want to
go after the gold," Angle said. "Now, I don't know where things are going to
go."
Angle said wrestling's potential has been "built up so much" that it
would be "a shame" if the incentive to strive for Olympics gold is
removed.
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