Ringside Review: Angle risking serious injury at WrestleMania
In the fabled history of sports, there is nothing like hearing the story about how an athlete rose to the occasion while playing hurt in the biggest event of their profession.
Hockey fans know about the heroics of Bobby Baun, coming back from a broken foot to score the game-winner and force a seventh match in the 1964 Stanley Cup finals.
Willis Reed of the Knicks left his mark on the NBA in 1970, leading his team to the championship over the Lakers with a bad knee. Kirk Gibson blasted a two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley with two out in the bottom of the ninth in the World Series, with leg injuries that had kept him out of the game until that pinch-hit homer.
Now, it’s Kurt Angle’s time! WrestleMania, the Super Bowl of pro wrestling and the biggest show in the business, is Sunday night.
Unlike Baun, Reed and Gibson, this is not just any injury that Kurt has. Two herniated disks are pressing on his spinal cord. He will require surgery to fuse two vertebrae, and will miss up to one year of action. Doctors have said that he will need a second surgery five to 10 years from now, that will end his wrestling career altogether.
When the news of the neck injury came out last month, many assumed Angle would relinquish his title on “Smackdown” and not go to WrestleMania. But Kurt said he wanted to take on Brock Lesnar on the WWE’s biggest night. Dr. Youngblood told Vince and Kurt that this match held very high risks, and that a fall on his neck might end Kurt’s career — or his life.
From Brock’s perspective, imagine how he’ll feel on Sunday, the biggest night of his career so far, knowing that Kurt’s life is in his hands. Remember, Brock has less than a year of experience under the spotlight.
The fans who know Kurt know that the arrogant, cocky and greedy person in the ring is not his true persona.
Like most pro wrestlers, Kurt gets paid for what he does in the ring. He doesn’t make the kind of money Steve Austin makes on merchandising, or money for movies like The Rock. Sunday will be the biggest payday of his life, around $250,000. That one match, about 20 minutes, will make sure his wife and children are taken care of.
• Sid Vicious has announced he is retiring from in-ring work. Sid broke his leg on one of WCW’s last pay-per-views, “Sin.”
Ultimo Dragon has not signed with the WWE, but could very soon.
Goldberg should be in the WWE next week!
• The war has the WWE’s superstars watching the news, just like all of us.
Chuck Palumbo’s brother (Chris), Shelton Benjamin’s cousin, Jamie Noble’s uncle, Bell DeMotts’s brother-in-law and Jimmy Hart’s son (Jimmy Jr.) are all involved. ECW’s Chilly Willy (William Jones) is also in the Persian Gulf.
• Tonight at Jake’s Auction House, The Hardcore title is on the line when Outlaw Lee Condry and Bruiser Brown, with manager K-9 Cole, hit the ring for a three-team match against The Outlaws and Williams and Rhodes. Fans are encouraged to bring weapons of their choice.
In other action, Slade takes on Vandy, Lee Condry faces Eric Andrews, Williams squares off against Mike Rage, and Pain takes on Kid Chaos.
Bell time is set for 8 p.m. Doors open at 6 o’clock and admission is $7 at the door with kids 10 and under admitted free.
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