By SIMON ROTHSTEIN and ROB McNICHOL
Published: 16 Oct 2008
JEFF JARRETT has sensationally hit back at Kurt Angle, blasting: âI canât say enough good things about him as a professional wrestler. But Kurt the human being is a different story.â
Jeff, who co-owns TNA Wrestling, signed former WWE champion Angle to a big money contract two years ago.
But he went mad after reading comments the Olympic gold medallist made to SunSport slamming the company for an overreliance on gimmick matches and run-ins.
And their feud took a more personal turn when divorcee Kurt proclaimed he âwasnât the only one who has lost his wifeâ as part of TNAâs TV show Impact.
Jeffâs beloved Jill died last year of breast cancer last year, at the age of 37. They have three daughters together.
Although he writes and edits the TV shows, and a similar line was used the following week, Jarrett claims Kurt came up with it without his knowledge or approval.
He told us: âThe Kurt Angle we hired two years ago and the guy we have under contract today are two different individuals. Heâs gone through a lot of change, in and out of the ring.
âFor him to say that about Jill totally caught me by surprise.
âI found him afterwards and said: â~Kurt, you need to focus. Youâre not hurting me. Youâre not hurting my girls. Youâre hurting yourself.â
âAnd thatâs how I feel.
âI knew my wife better than anybody. If there were anybody on this earth who could speak for her itâd be me. It wouldnât bother her in the least.
âMy girls didnât watch it, they didnât see it. As they age, if I have to sit down and talk to them about it I will. Theyâre growing up in this business and they understand it takes all kinds to make this business thrive.
âIn reality it hurt only Kurt and the core of who he is. I feel sorry for the guy.â
HITTING BACK … Jarrett smashes Angle with a guitar
TNA / Lee South
Jeff added: âI did not know he was going to say that.
âPeople will say it was post-produced or that this is just a storyline.
âBut as a promotion, I let the post-production guys make the call. I told them: â~You can take that comment out or you can leave it in.â
âIâm not going to micro-manage, Iâll let those guys do what they do best.â
Jeff, who defeated Angle at last weekendâs excellent Bound For Glory PPV, also opened up about his thoughts when he read Kurtâs controversial interview with The Sun.
In comments that were picked up by wrestling websites around the globe and referenced on Impact, Angle claimed that the company are too dependent on swerves and trickery over wrestling.
But his boss replied: âI was terribly disappointed to read that.
âYou guys were there to interview him, about TNA coming to the UK, the video game, Bound For Glory all the positive things.
MAKING KURT HURT … pair at Bound For Glory
TNA / Lee South
âSo for him to say those things was shocking, to say the least.
âCreative business, as it pertains to wrestling, is subjective. I truly think, although there are extreme cases, there is no right and wrong.
âI was born and raised in this business, but I certainly donât have all the answers, Vince McMahon doesnât have all the answers, no one has all the answers.
âAs to what Kurt said, thereâs so many grey areas in what he discussed and to discuss it in that format was beyond my comprehension.â
Jeff added: âKurt is a talent. A very phenomenal talent. A guy like him doesnât need gimmick matches. Heâs a one of a kind.
âHe is the exact same guy sitting in this chair next to you having a cup of coffee as he is in the ring.
âBut there are guys in this business who, quite frankly, need help with their persona.
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âDating back to the 1960s and 1970s you see a guy in the dressing room, sitting over in the corner, not saying anything and three minutes later he walks through the curtain and heâs a completely different persona in order to succeed.
âSo for us to be cutting back on that? We are evolving, just like we did from the beginning of TNA. Weâre taking it one step at a time.â
As for his own career, the former WCW and TNA world champion says after a two-year break it is still touch and go.
He told us: âIâm definitely not coming back to the ring full time. I just have too many hats to wear with TNA.
âBound For Glory was great, but right now Iâm not even booked on the November PPV.
âI believe I am going to be wrestling on the UK tour, though. Youâll be blessed with my appearance once again!â
