Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

well, one taping down and no Kurt Angle. it has been announced that he will show up on the following TNA taping. in what capacity, most likely he'll come in for some mic time. and it's already been announced he'll be the special referee for Bound for Glory between Sting and Jarrett. you can easily infer for the current month that TNA will be giving him practically the entire time off physically while they let the fans mostly promote him through discourse. next time i come into a company, i wish i had as much fanfare with the same schedule and paycheck. with all the concern for Kurt's health and his status as a superstar, the real reality to me is sinking in - more than likely he'll get to sit on the sideline and recuperate. look at Sting or Christian. these guys barely have any matches. In Christian's case, he's younger than Angle yet he hardly wrestles on Impact. the other thing is that the little statement that Kurt Angle sent out the other day, which got fans clamouring, was just a PR statement to show his enthusiasm. with TNA's track record, most likely they won't use him much....which seems equally detrimental. if anything though, he'll get the forum he needs to wrestle once in a while as his body recuperates somewhat (er....hopefully). yet no matter what you really need 2-3 months of history before you can judge whether or not TNA's actions are truly accountable or whether they actually realize what they're dealing with. my bet is something in the middle. i'm dead certain TNA is aware of what they're getting in someone who has his share of personal problems. in that sense, i think they're willing to help him out by reaching a compromise. the other thing is that the wrestlers can control what goes on in the ring. unless someone has it out for Kurt Angle, more than likely they'll control what he does and doesn't do. maybe he'll reinvent himself and do a purely mat based style where the TNA fans would appreciate it more (not only that but differentiate himself from his WWE persona). at any rate, people can control what goes on; it's a matter then of whether the management, Kurt and the wrestlers choose what to do. given TNA's track record though, i'd be more worried that Kurt will become like Christian. people might get so worried about Angle's health that he might just become a second character to Jarrett. or equally horrible might be him messing up their booking plans (which seemed like the inevitable Sting-Jarrett-Samoa Joe-Christian title picture). i think the best solution right there is to continue with their current booking plans, do a slow burn build to Kurt wrestling for about 2 months and have him take on some lower card people in a mat based style that last 1-2 minutes on TV. the thing with Kurt, unlike most wrestlers around, is that he can make it real. with the UFC next to them, TNA has an opportunity to do what few companies have done: move towards more shoot style wrestling. Kurt has that ability and credibility to change how wrestling is handled in TNA and around. there's no reason for him to do german suplexes, moonsaults, etc. anymore. it just makes him the same as the X-division. instead, if he handled it on the ground and beat someone in a quick 1-2 minute match, he would seem like a legitimate badass. forget the stupid bumps and the high impact moves. if he and TNA does this, people are going to take notice. then TNA can safely say that their newest acquisition has changed the wrestling world. this is what Kurt Angle really does best. he did the soap operatic style already. now, if he wants to be unleashed, give the audience the Kurt Angle who won the olympics.