Kurt Angle breaks down the misconceptions of his 'Perc Angle' era
01/22/2025 07:03 PM
Once upon a time, Kurt Angle was considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, but only because of one thing: his addiction to Percocet.
I know, crazy, right? But it’s true; after taking on an addition to the painkiller in 2003, Angle did some of the best work of his career, and naturally, fans made the correlation.
Fortunately or not, depending on your take, it simply isn’t true, as Angle broke down on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
“I know that fans, it’s almost like they want me to feel good about it. The fans are having fun with it. Because I was the best wrestler in the business, so they want to say that Kurt Angle was Perc Angle. That’s why he was doing it, because he was all perked up,” Angle noted via Fightful. “The thing is, I didn’t use painkillers while I was wrestling. I did them in the morning, and then at night, I would wrestle, and then I did painkillers after I got done wrestling. So I never wrestled high. Yeah, I was in a lot of pain. I got introduced to painkillers in 2003 after I broke my neck the second time. Not only did they mask the pain, but for me, they made me feel really good. I knew I liked it. I was drawn to it, like wow, this makes me feel energetic. So I know that’s kind of the euphoric feeling you get with that, but I loved it, and I knew right away that I’m gonna have a problem with these.”
Contrary to popular belief, Angle noted that he never wrestled high, even if he would take the painkillers in the morning and after the match because it would impact his ability to work in the ring. But does that misconception make him upset? That answer is complicated.
“I stayed clean for 14 years. Time always helps. When you’re not in trouble and you’re out of going against the law, you show that you’ve got your shit together, people start to forget it. The only time they remember is when they say, ‘Hey, remember Perc Angle.’ So that’s one of the things that I still have to deal with, but I understand it,” Angle noted. “For the fans, it’s more of a term of endearment. ‘How great was Perc Angle? He was awesome.’ So I know they’re not saying it to try to hurt my feelings. [Asked if it hurts his feelings]. Yeah, but I know they don’t mean it, and for that, I’m okay with if they say it. I don’t want them to say it to my face, but it is what it is. It’s a time when I was in a dark situation in my life, and that is the part I don’t want to remember, all the trouble I got into, the divorce I had, and a lot of things that were going on in my life that I don’t want to remember anymore.”
Major takeaway: if you see Angle in person, just say, “You Suck;” he will appreciate it more than a Perc Angle reference.
The post Kurt Angle breaks down the misconceptions of his ‘Perc Angle’ era appeared first on ClutchPoints.
