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WWE legend and USA wrestling gold medalist Kurt Angle has been retired from the sport for quite some time, but he’s still working hard to advocate for amateur wrestlers of the future.
We sat down with Angle to discuss women’s collegiate wrestling, Team USA’s funding needs, his advice for up-and-coming wrestlers, and his reaction to WWE fans retiring the “Perc Angle” nickname.
Hey Kurt, this year’s big news was that the NCAA added women’s wrestling as a championship sport. You’ve been a big advocate for women’s wrestling; what are your thoughts on the latest developments?
“Well, women’s wrestling has grown so quickly. In the last Olympics, the women’s wrestling team dominated the Olympics. They had four medals. They put on a record performance. Having these structured programs, you have little kids programs, you have high school wrestling, you have college wrestling now.”
“Now they have NCAA wrestling for women’s wrestling, which is really incredible. These girls are going to be able to train their whole lives all the way up to the Olympics. Women’s wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in the whole entire world. We’re on par to be one of the the greatest countries in the world with women’s wrestling. This is a huge feat for us to be able to compete at a college level.”
You’ve spoken a lot about the funding issues in amateur wrestling. Can you explain why wrestlers aren’t paid very much?
“Well, the thing is, wrestling, there’s not a lot of money in it. There’s not a lot of incentive. USA wrestling pays their top three athletes in every weight class, a stipend. It’s not a lot of money. It’s enough to barely get by, but it’s enough. What they do is they have another stipend, a bonus, where you can make money if you medal the World Championships or the Olympics. For the Olympics, you get $38,000 if you win the gold medal. It’s not a lot of money. You get $23,000 to win a silver and $15,000 to win a bronze, but at least it’s money. It’s money that these wrestlers can use to make sure they don’t have to get another job and they can train and compete full-time.”
“Even though it’s not a lot of money, it’s enough for them to get by. Also, their incentive is if they wrestle at the World Championships, if you win the gold in the worlds, you’ll get $50,000. Silver metal gets $25,000 and the Bronze gets $15,000. Like I said, again, not a lot of money, but enough for them to continue to focus full-time on wrestling and not have to worry about anything else.”
What do you think can be done to improve pay for Team USA wrestlers?
@jzosports Kurt Angle on Team USA wrestling needing funding #kurtangle #teamusa
“Well, it’s just funding. We need funding. These wrestlers, they got to be paid stipends. I’m going to tell you something you probably don’t know. Russia and Europe and countries like them, their governments pay their Olympic athletes to train and compete full-time. They don’t have to get jobs. They don’t have to earn a living. All they have to do is train and compete, and they’re taken care of. We don’t have that luxury here in the United States. Here, we have to get jobs for the most part. We have to train around our work schedule.”
“That doesn’t fare well for an Olympic athlete because if you’re working 8-10 hours a day, you’re not going to have enough time to train 2, 3 hours tops. That’s not enough for an Olympic athlete. I’m here to raise money for USA wrestling. Go to Kurtangle.org and donate whatever money you can. I promise it will come to good use. These athletes are preparing for the next Olympics, and now is the time to raise the money.”
You’ve been extremely successful at all levels of wrestling. What advice do you have for young athletes wrestlers?
“Wrestling is the toughest sport in the world. Don’t give up on it. Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you’re not going to be successful in the future. I’m a good example. I got my butt handed to me my first three years in wrestling. I was horrible, and I came from a wrestling family, and my brothers thought that I wasn’t going to be very good because I was a bit of a crybaby. I lost, and I cried a lot, and I pretended I was injured.”
“I wasn’t a very tough kid, but the light bulb went off in my head when my dad passed away. The reason is my dad was such a big wrestling fan and a big sports fan, and he never missed any of our sporting events. Even if the event was earlier in the day and he had to leave work early, he would show up, and I loved him for that. So, I dedicated my athletic career to my father. When I did that, I started getting more focused and more determined. I started setting goals for myself. That’s when the success started coming. I went to States in high school, I went to Nationals in college, went to the World Championships, won the worlds, won the Olympics.”
“Everything opened up for me, and I became a good wrestler for my family. I actually did better than my brothers did. What I’m saying is, don’t give up on it. Even if you’re not good, you got to push through that and continue to train and believe in yourself that you’re going to end up being better, and you will get better, and you will improve, and you will start winning.”
Last month, many WWE fans said they were going to retire the “Perc Angle” nickname after learning that it made you sad. What’s your reaction to those fans?
“Thank you so much. I was really pleasantly surprised that they responded that way. It makes me know that I have true fans out there that really enjoyed my career and loved me for what I did. I’m just grateful that they’re going to drop the name Perk Angle. It reminds me of a dark time in my life, and it’s something that I don’t want to have to deal with it anymore. I dealt with it already, and it’s behind me. Hearing Perc Angle just makes me think I’m known for that. It was not cool. I’m just glad that they’re now using Peak Angle, instead I’m very grateful for that.”
Any final message for wrestling fans?
Go to KurtAngle.org and donate whatever money you can. I promise it will come to good use. I also have a protein on the market called Kurt Angle’s American Dream Cookies and Cream Protein. Go to KurtAngleBrand.com go to the link section, tap the Cookies and Cream Protein link, and you can purchase the protein right there. I’m telling you, it’s the best tasting protein on the market. Just try it. You’ll love it.