Interesting line from the torch

[Guest Leelee]

Why was this even written?

 

Oh, let's all talk about a rumor of a potential death!!!

 

Fucking stupid... further shows why wrestling fans will never be taken seriously.

[chaosrage 0]

How can they just say something like that without giving a name? Now I'm wondering if Angle is next. Fuck the torch.

 

It's not Benoit. Benoit didn't have much more credentials than Eddie.

 

Probably HHH.

[GreatWhiteNope 0]

After watching "Breaking Bonaduce" on VH-1, I'll say its Angle because he has that roid rage look and his wife left him.

[Guest Super Pissed Smark]

Angle is the only one with "credentials" as far as the media is concerned.

 

There is a top wrestler in WWE today who is considered to be on the unofficial death watch

 

Does this mean there's an official death watch? Do the boys have some sort of pool going on?

[Dangerous A 0]

Angle is an olympic gold medalist - so that puts him above Eddie and 99.9% of wrestling stars when it comes to national media.  Angle is a big star.  And Angle sure as shit is the most fucked up wrestler they have.  His body is deteriorating and he has to be on every drug known to man to just be able to walk.  And given his nature, he won't stop till he's dead.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Angle potentially dying could be the one that opens the flood gates about drugs in the wrestling industry. You have an olympic gold medalist who enters pro wrestling and dies young.

 

Yeah, that one would be pretty big.

[snuffbox 0]

Why was this even written?

 

Oh, let's all talk about a rumor of a potential death!!!

 

Fucking stupid... further shows why wrestling fans will never be taken seriously.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Just like the 'death watches' for Bob Hope, George Burns, Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Marlon Brando, etc etc...nobody takes movies or television seriously.

 

[iliketurtles 0]

The wrestling industry cannot handle two huge deaths within the same year of two major superstars on the roster.

 

That's like saying if Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi both died of roids in one year.

[King Cucaracha 0]

I would think the American media would give more courage to 'that guy who does the wrasslin and won an Olympic Gold Medal for his country' than 'that Latino guy who does the wrasslin'.

 

I instantly thought Angle too.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

HHH is family, so he isn't seen as a regular wrestler by the McMahons. If he had health conditions, they'd care and get involved. As is, aside from the steroids, there really isn't anything to worry about with HHH.

 

If Kurt Angle died, and the reasons why he died got out to the national press, there could be a potential firestorm. Angle was a legit athlete, not a sideshow freak. He was a top athlete, and if pro wrestling drove him to use drugs and put him in such bad physical condition, then maybe the underbelly of professional wrestling will get explored. What turned this top athlete into a mess of a human being? With Eddie Guerrero it was "his past coming up to haunt him", with Angle, this is very much the way he is today.

[Failed Bridge 0]

obviously its Funaki

[Carnival 0]

Why was this even written?

 

Oh, let's all talk about a rumor of a potential death!!!

 

Fucking stupid...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I was going to complain about Leelee posting 37 times in one day, until I saw this.

 

Amen!

[geniusMoment 0]

They cannot name a specific name, alleging drug use, because of libel laws. If this were not true, and was printed a few days after Eddy's death, then Keller would lose every source he had. So I tend to believe it.

[Guest Super Pissed Smark]

The entire WWE is on the verge of becoming one giant Last Man Standing match. Excellent job, Vince.

[snuffbox 0]

Despite the family connection, I honestly believe that the lockerroom would be more knowledgable of HHH's health than most. I doubt he would tell his wife or dad that his heart was on the verge of explosion.

 

Im seeing the point about Angle. But Im not certain that the American press would really jump into it as much as some here...if they wanted to investigate this, they could easilly show before/after photos of Eddie's career, but instead most just make lame jokes. Remember, the point of American news is to sell copies or put eyes on the television...a wrestling scandal might not be a viable selling controversy in their eyes. HHH has been on numerous talk shows and such far removed from wrestling, so alot of non-wrestling-followers know of him..thus making his death a more 'notable' event from that point of view.

 

Basically, the question here is, what would be more important to the media...Kurt Angle's death exposing wrestlings dirty lifestyle? or HHH the superstar dying of steroid-realted heart problems? Because, only going by the torch's blurb, this would be something to make Eddie seem "minor".

 

What a depressing, but very important, subject.

[naiwf 0]

It would have to be Angle because he is an Olympic Gold medalist, which instantly makes him a national story. Flair dying tomorrow wouldn't suprise anyone since he'd in his mid to late 50's, and has been a pro for over 30 years. Add Hogan into that mix, even though he's a little bit younger. Austin doesn't wrestle anymore, and I think it's pretty obvious that Angle is the only one who makes sense here. I fail to see how HHH would garner enough national significance to dwarf the coverage Eddie got.

[Downhome 0]

Flair dying would shock me, and most others. I've never heard of too many seriously health issues with him, he's in good shape for someone of his age, and it isn't like mid-50's is old. That's still a very young age to die.

 

When Flair and Hogan pass, it'll be a huge news story and will be everywhere.

[tominator89 0]

If the only major clue here is the word "credentials" then it has to be Angle.

[naiwf 0]

The point is that Angle won't be 37 until December 9th and won a Gold Medal less than a decade ago. For him to go from world class athlete potentially to the grave in less than 10 years would be far more stunning than a man in his 50's passing away suddenly, regardless of how famous he is.

[snuffbox 0]

There was a story back in the day that Flair got more phone calls/higher rating on the Larry King show than Al Gore (veep at the time)...he is really popular in every market in America and especially so in the SouthEast and Midwest. His death will be pretty big news.

 

Again, HHH is on several mainstream programs giving interviews quite regularly. With no Rock or Austin still active in the wwe, HHH has done almost all the mainstream promo work. He is widely recognixed (by fans and not) as the top guy in wrestling for that past 3 years or so. His death would be both shocking (to the mainstream) and huge news.

 

Angle isnt nearly as recognizable as either Flair or HHH. The only reason his death would be a big sensation with the media is if they do use it as a catalyst to expose pro wrestling. Which is possible.

 

By the way...if an Olympic gold medalist falling off the wagon, falling apart physically, and dying young were the deathkneel to a sport or business then boxing would be long gone. Meldrick Taylor was very popular and is now a wreck, Pernell Whitaker went from a gold, to being among the best fighters ever born, to a sad coke addict, David Reid has vanished.

 

Also, a couple NFL players have dropped dead lately...and the scandal hasnt harmed them just yet.

 

I can see the point about Angle...but the impression that the media will dig deep and make it a big story isnt quite as believable.

[Guest JMA]

I'm hoping that the Torch actually has legitimate sources for this. They'd look badly if this turned out to just be a rumor.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

It wouldn't matter who it is if WWE has two wrestlers die this close together the media would say something and it would probably be very negative.

[Guest Brian]

It's definately Angle, if anyone. The words "top wrestlers" and "credentials" is the give away. Angina, coupled with whatever he's taking to keep him going, the grind of working the way he does (which is part of what they're talking about when they say changing the "system", in that if it were Triple H, he is basically already independent of said system of working), and whatever his track record is with steroids (count me out of speculating, but given the pressures of this thing), he's the obvious candidate.

[tominator89 0]

I don't want to turn this into an Angle Vs. Flair thread, but Angle won a gold medal in a legitimate athletic competition. It doesn't matter if Flair won the title 900 times. It's a fixed sport and the title is basically a prop.

 

At this point, I'd say that the only other big names that would really get any sort of major media coverage would be Hogan, Austin, Rock. Even someone well-known like Undertaker or Sting wouldn't get nearly the coverage that Kurt Angle would.

[naiwf 0]

That's all well and good, but there's nothing about Flair's lifestyle that would indicate that he's at risk for dying and needs to be watched over. Angle opted to have that alternative neck surgery so he wouldn't miss time. We already know he has some nerve damage because you can see it when he starts trying to feel his hands after taking big bumps. It's more than likely he's juiced up since turning pro, and again he is a legitimate athlete who was winning a gold medal less than 10 years ago.

 

I really don't see why anyone would think it could be anyone else. Don't think in terms of a wrestling fan, but as a news reporter and you'll see if Angle drops dead anytime soon with an enlarged heart and/or any other obvious signs of recent steroid (ab)use that that would be an IMMENSE news story, so much so that it would easily be bigger than the steroid scandal in baseball.

[Guest Samantha]

The first person I thought of was The Undertaker as he's pretty well known.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

so much so that it would easily be bigger than the steroid scandal in baseball.

 

It would be a big story, but lets not go nuts.

 

It is obviously Angle that they are talking about, but I'm not sure how much to believe in this story. Lets face it, there are probably several at-risk wrestlers in the company right now. Michaels & Regal in particular should be quite worried because their lives haven't been that much different than Guerrero and both are in the same age range.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

If it is Angle should we be so quick to blame Pro Wrestling? The man wrestled in the Olympics with a broken neck. He's already shown himself to put his work above his well being. Which means he's probably already had problems with drugs and whatnot to shield the pain since his Amateur days. This doesn't sound like a problem that just cropped up since turning pro.

[tominator89 0]

It's sad that they're aren't many top guys to even narrow it down from.

[Guest Brian]

BTW, I have a hard time imagining HHH as bigger star than Angle. In wrestling terms, they're near equal, and Angle would get a lot more response from mainstream journalists (two-time NCAA champion, world champion, gold medalist). His gold medal win did get some coverage at the time, and he's still considered one of the best heavyweights to come up in the NCAA. That alone will get him coverage in the sports pages, especially if he drops dead suddenly. Eddie's coverage got picked up by many papers through the AP, but if Angle died, it would be a huge newstory and would garner significant coverage in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and all over Iowa and Minnesota to say the least. And he'll be seen as a legitimate sports star, which is more than any in the business can say.

[snuffbox 0]

Ask 20 people who dont know any wrestling about 'Kurt Angle' and you will probably get alot of confused looks. He has not been active in the mainstream and his olympic gold didnt get much recognition in 1996. If this is about him, it will not make the Eddie story look 'minor'. Either that assumption by the torch is wrong or it is not Kurt Angle.

 

Angle dying would be really bad for the wwe...but dont expect espn, nbc, and fox news to change their schedule for it too much.