October 2, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Kurt Angle, Bound for Glory
After a lot of hype, this was TNA’s biggest week in its history of true Impact.
In probably the best kept major secret in the entire time I’ve been covering pro wrestling, a video clip of Kurt Angle showed up at the end of the 9/24 TNA No Surrender PPV. Even with the Eric Bischoff appearance on Raw for the first time, while kept a secret from almost everyone, many had known the two sides were talking business going back a year and at one point were very close to a deal but Bischoff backed out.
Lex Luger appearing on the first Nitro, which is very similar as far as presentation, was a surprise to a degree, but everyone in the know did know WCW and Luger were talking. People affiliated with Angle had told me TNA was the one place he wasn’t interested in. It went so far that Dave Hawk, Angle’s manager, during the week, announced Angle had retired as a pro wrestler and would be becoming an MMA fighter. Of course, after pulling the swerve, now you have to be skeptical of anything from the Angle side.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.