10 Things We Learned From Kurt Angle: Homecoming
2. His Dedication To WWE Cause Cost Him
Due to both his strong wrestling style and desire to constantly push himself beyond his limits, Angle would often sustain injuries, having broken his neck several times during his career. This, unfortunately, led to continued use of medication to counter the pain, eventually leading to dangerous levels of addiction.
In Kurt's later WWE career he was hiding his pill addiction from Vince McMahon. In the documentary, Big Show recalls the Olympian would always come back from injury much too quickly, not giving his mind, body and soul enough time to heal. This was par for the course for someone so driven as to win an Olympic Gold medal with a life threatening injury.
Angle reveals onscreen that his reliance on painkillers became self-destructive and sometimes he'd take so many he'd hope he wouldn't wake up the following morning. In his last few months at WWE, Kurt admits lashing out against people close to him, including Vince McMahon himself. The boss told Kurt he needed to go to rehab. Angle declined, deciding to leave the company in 2006 instead and wrestle for the fledgling TNA. He wouldn't return for eleven years.