Kurt Angle's neck worse than originally thought

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Complications aside, Angle feeling better

by Phil Speer

Nov. 24, 2003

 

Kurt Angle is in great spirits and says he’s on the road to recovery after having surgery last Tuesday, even though there were two fairly major complications.

The Olympic gold medalist returned to Dr. Hae-Dong Jho in Pittsburgh, the same physician who operated on him just after WrestleMania, after Angle was clobbered with a Brock Lesnar chair shot on the Oct. 30 episode of SmackDown!

 

“I’ve been getting little symptoms for a couple of months – not real bad, but just tingling down my arm, a little numbness,” Angle said. “Then I took a chair shot a couple of weeks ago, and that was pretty much the beginning of the end for me. So I went to the doctor.”

 

An MRI revealed that part of the disc between Angle’s C5 and C6 vertebrae was touching against his spinal cord, which was causing his problems. Surgery to shave off the bone spur was scheduled for Nov. 18, two days after Survivor Series.

 

But when Dr. Jho made the incision and actually got a look at the disc, he realized that it was worse that he originally thought.

 

“The doctor asked me if I got hit on top of the head, and I said, ‘Yeah I got hit in the head with a chair.’ He said, ‘Well, that’s the kind of thing you can’t do.’

“The disc basically exploded. A bunch of the inside just exploded out and went off in different directions. They found part of it in my spinal cord and that’s why I was feeling the symptoms.”

 

Since the surgery, Angle had also developed a large blood clot in his neck.

 

“I look like I have a golf ball stuck in the front of my neck,” he said. “The doctor said he doesn’t know how it happened, but he said it’ll go away in a few weeks.”

 

He said he’s currently having a hard time swallowing or looking up, and coughing is excruciatingly painful.

 

Angle had originally hoped to return to SmackDown! this week in a non-wrestling capacity, and then get back in the ring within a month. But now he says his recovery time will be more like six weeks.

 

“I’m not going to be able to appear on TV until after the holidays it looks like,” he said.

 

But he added, “My neck feels better already. It feels great. Another four or five weeks, I should be back in action. Strength in hand is coming back. I feel pretty good right now. When I come back, I won’t be skipping a beat. I’ve just got to get back in the swing of things.”

 

Angle wanted to have the surgery now so he’d be as healthy as possible for the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, and that goal is still intact for him.

 

In fact, he says his other nagging injuries are feeling great.

“I’m all healed up,” he said. “Everything else has been good. Just when I start feeling good everywhere, the neck went. So when I do come back, I’ll be 100 percent and ready to go in every aspect.

 

“I have a little soreness in both (my shoulder and my left hamstring), but my left hamstring is as strong as my right, although I’m missing part of it – one of the muscles. The other muscles have compensated.”

 

Angle said that he realizes that his current complications are going to make others believe that spinal fusion surgery is a better option. But Angle still believes that his procedure is superior.

 

“Guys with fusion – once you fuse that bone, it’s very tight,” he said. “So more stress is going to occur in other parts of your neck because you don’t have that flexibility in that one area. That’s why guys with fusion, down the road, tend to have more neck injuries. I don’t want tightness. I want more flexibility because I want to continue to work and do things guys with fusion can’t do.”

[Jobber of the Week 0]

I really, really hate to say this, but RETIRE ALREADY.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

As much as I love Angle giving the business his heart and determination, he should quit. Its not worth losing bodily functions over. I mean WM XIX was already close enough for him.

Edited November 25, 2003 by Rico Costantino

[Guest JMA]

Is there such a thing as too much workrate?

[Guest Anglesault]

“The doctor asked me if I got hit on top of the head, and I said, ‘Yeah I got hit in the head with a chair.’ He said, ‘Well, that’s the kind of thing you can’t do.’

“The disc basically exploded. A bunch of the inside just exploded out and went off in different directions. They found part of it in my spinal cord and that’s why I was feeling the symptoms.”

 

 

But he added, “My neck feels better already. It feels great. Another four or five weeks, I should be back in action.

He's gonna kill himself for a company that doesn't actually have any major plans for him at XX.

[Steviekick 0]

Kurt Angle should retire. It's not worth it. He should take over Lawler's spot as Raw's color commentater. He's damn funny and it would allow him the occassional match when he's healthy.

[Guest ligerbomb03]

Kurt should seriously consider retiring from in-ring action in WWE. His health is far more important.

[iliketurtles 0]

Oh my god...KURT FUCKING RETIRE FOR GODSAKE.

 

He's literally gunna kill himself (VERY slowly and painfully) if he keeps this up. This is horrible.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

Angle just needs to QUIT TAKING FUCKING CHAIRSHOTS!!!!

 

Vince needs to realise:

 

No one in the 80's was getting injured this badly from Piledrivers, German Suplexes, and Belly to Bell Suplexes. Y'wanna know when the trend started? When people were baning each other's faces in with chairs. Its a pointless and extremely harmful action.

[Guest BionicRedneck]

If he was smart he would change his style and thus suffer less injuries. Unfortunately, due to the lack of smarts in his work and the crappy style which he was educated in, he will just continue his heavy-bumping style right into a wheelchair.

[Eclipse 0]

This is insane! Everytime Kurt gets an injury, it is a MAJOR one! Ever since that neck surgery he got this year, I had some bad feelings of Angle hurting himself again. I go with the majority and say, "Kurt, it isn't worth hurting yourself over the horrible wrestling product over at SD. RETIRE!"

[Invictus 0]

Lesnar should be more careful when he's dishing out chairshots too, especially to a guy who already had major neck surgery. I swear, that big ape is gonna bumble Angle into a coffin.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

How's about this: Fire Mike Cole, who doesn't even belong on a B movie cast, let alone doing commentary for the biggest wrestling organization in the States and let Angle do the commentary. Someone said Al Snow did a good job on RAW. If he doesn't want to wrestle, put him on RAW for Lawler

[Guest RollingSambos]

He just needs to stop taking chairshots to the head. Period. He doesn't need to take chairshots to the head to sell a feud.

[Guest RollingSambos]

Hmm...the Tree of Toe.

[Guest Choken One]

He needs to be shown a video of Dynamite taking all those bumps and then show Dynmite for what he is today...A pathetic miserable cripple.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

He should come back for one more match at Wrestlemania, put over Shelton Benjamin clean as his replacement, then ride off into the sunset.

 

One match isn't going to hurt Angle (provided he doesn't do anything stupid), it is the daily wear and tear that is doing him in.

 

On the bright side, with the rise of John Cena and Eddy Guerrero, Angle is not needed nearly as much as he was at this time last year. Retirement should be in his future. Maybe he could hang on as a manager or something, but not take bumps, like Ted Dibiase did.

[Guest The Winter Of My Discontent]

He needs to be shown a video of Dynamite taking all those bumps and then show Dynmite for what he is today...A pathetic miserable cripple.

Dynamite was pathetic and miserable far before he was crippled.

[Guest Choken One]

He should come back for one more match at Wrestlemania, put over Shelton Benjamin clean as his replacement, then ride off into the sunset.

 

One match isn't going to hurt Angle (provided he doesn't do anything stupid), it is the daily wear and tear that is doing him in.

 

On the bright side, with the rise of John Cena and Eddy Guerrero, Angle is not needed nearly as much as he was at this time last year. Retirement should be in his future. Maybe he could hang on as a manager or something, but not take bumps, like Ted Dibiase did.

I'd be all for that...

 

But I'd like to get that Angle/HBK match out of the way first...If only for a Special TV match.

 

 

I don't think Angle's Ego would let him just be a manager...

[Vyce 0]

This just depresses me.

[Guest Choken One]

It's funny...

 

Kurt's only been in the game for What 5 years? He has shown more desire and devotion to his sport than many others ever have in 10-15 year careers.

 

However, it speaks of how selfish and conceited Angle is...

 

Notice he keeps saying everything he does will be the GREATEST match ever...(He had an obvious out for the WM match but he didn't deliver for the Slam or Iron Man)...

 

He actually thinks he can carry a "crippled" Bret hart to a ***** because he watched his matches on Videos a couple times.

 

Why does Kurt do this? He KNOWS Bret can't do this, Bret has even told him face to face that...Yet he keeps pressuring Bret like he's a little boy that doesn't want to play little League.

 

Sorry, Kurt that your career will end because you took bump after bump that you knew well enough that you're neck couldn't support...but don't cocktease not only the fans but Bret himself.

 

He should know Bret would give ANYTHING to go one more time in that ring, esp at WMXX with Kurt Angle...But He can't.

 

Kurt is willing to die for his own slefish reasons...He shouldn't drag Bret with him.

 

If Kurt wants a fucking High Profile match...Push for a Match with Shawn or Rock...

 

He's not gonna get a high profile match like he wants because Vince can't trust him to NOT get injuried again.

[Guest wrestlingbs]

How's about this: Fire Mike Cole, who doesn't even belong on a B movie cast, let alone doing commentary for the biggest wrestling organization in the States and let Angle do the commentary. Someone said Al Snow did a good job on RAW. If he doesn't want to wrestle, put him on RAW for Lawler

Actually, Cole has improved dramatically over the past few months. he doesn't need replacing.

 

I don't think it's an issue anymore as to if Angle should retire. It sounds like it's more a matter of how long will it be before he has to.

[Guest RollingSambos]

Why exactly are you guys panicking? If he stops taking chair shots on the top of the head, who is to say that he is going to end up in a wheelchair. I think that if he was in danger of having to retire, they would have mentioned it (like in the Nash article).

[Invictus 0]

It's funny...

 

Kurt's only been in the game for What 5 years? He has shown more desire and devotion to his sport than many others ever have in 10-15 year careers.

 

However, it speaks of how selfish and conceited Angle is...

 

Notice he keeps saying everything he does will be the GREATEST match ever...(He had an obvious out for the WM match but he didn't deliver for the Slam or Iron Man)...

 

He actually thinks he can carry a "crippled" Bret hart to a ***** because he watched his matches on Videos a couple times.

 

Why does Kurt do this? He KNOWS Bret can't do this, Bret has even told him face to face that...Yet he keeps pressuring Bret like he's a little boy that doesn't want to play little League.

 

Sorry, Kurt that your career will end because you took bump after bump that you knew well enough that you're neck couldn't support...but don't cocktease not only the fans but Bret himself.

 

He should know Bret would give ANYTHING to go one more time in that ring, esp at WMXX with Kurt Angle...But He can't.

 

Kurt is willing to die for his own slefish reasons...He shouldn't drag Bret with him.

 

If Kurt wants a fucking High Profile match...Push for a Match with Shawn or Rock...

 

He's not gonna get a high profile match like he wants because Vince can't trust him to NOT get injuried again.

There's a difference between being confident and being conceited. I'd rather Angle think every match he will have will be the greatest of all time, because then he is gonna work hard to deliver such a match.

 

Would you rather he be apathetic towards every match?

 

"Oh yeah, if Bret Hart and I wrestled, it would be okay at best, I don't really care either way."

 

He's basically gotten to the point where he's damned if he does and damned if he don't. Damn him for wanting to have a high profile match! Damn him for wanting it to be good! Sure, I don't agree with him trying to get Hart back in the ring like he is, but you never know. Maybe he knows something we don't.

 

Maybe if other wrestlers were as enthusiastic about having great matches, we wouldn't be seeing such a crappy product right now.

[Guest Choken One]

There's a difference between WANTING A good match and PROMISING A GOOD MATCH.

 

 

Angle never delivers yet that doesn't seem to stop him.

[Guest RollingSambos]

Maybe he should stop promising because his best matches seem to just come out of the blue.

[Guest Choken One]

Exactly.

 

His best match of his career, he never really said he was gonna have a classic.

 

This of course is Slam 2001 with Austin.

 

and his greatest performence was a total shocker with Kane...The only match that he has ever shown the ability to carry a lesser wrestler.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Michael Cole is better than JR these days.

[Invictus 0]

Angle never delivers good matches? That's news to me. I could have sworn he's had dozens of good/excellent matches.

 

People point out WM with Lesnar and how Angle promised it was gonna be the best ever. Well, that feud wasn't exactly booked very well, and I hate to break it to you, but Lesnar isn't the workrate dream everyone seems to make him out to be. The fact is, Lesnar was still greener than grass when he had that big WM program and still has a long way to go.

 

If anyone dragged those matches down, it was Lesnar.

[2GOLD 0]

He needs to retire cause this is getting too damn risky. Period.

 

There is no point for him to continue on with this. None at all. I didn't see a point in him wrestling that damn WM match with Lesnar.