15 Things We Just Learned From Kurt Angle About WWE & His Career

8. On Why Raw Is Better Than SmackDown?

Jokingly answering that the reason Raw is better is because he's the GM, Angle quickly changed track to a more diplomatic footing on the brand rivalry. It definitely doesn't sound like the management are encouraging brand competition in a cheap way, despite the inevitable temptation:

"The thing is, they both have their assets. You look at the talent on Raw, you look at the talent on SmackDown and I think it's very evenly dispersed. You look at guys like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman who's come on strongly... Bray Wyatt... But then you look at SmackDown you have AJ Styles and Randy Orton... Jinder Mahal - he has surprised everybody."

He reserved special praise for Jinder, whose surprising impact he says is "good for the company":

"I don't think anyone expected it and every once in a while you need a good shock factor and I think he's it. I love his character, I love the heat he draws and he's going to continue to be one of the key guys on SmackDown, there's no doubt about it. He's carrying a title the way he should and he's turned out to be an incredibly successful heel."