By Jeremy Maes, DEJ Experience Member

TNA has the chance to take a major step in treating wrestlers’ injuries as a real problem with real consequences. At TNA’s “Sacrifice” PPV they began the evening stating that Kurt Angle injured his neck and would not be available to wrestle. It really isn’t a shocking situation based on Kurt’s history of neck calamities. It was a surprise though since it came after weeks of build up and even a heavy push on Thursday on Impact.

Kurt supposedly hurt his neck in Korea, Bulgaria, Albania or some other mystical country where neck ailments befall wrestlers. His newest neck injury clearly has nothing to do with the constant punishment he has taken, the medical treatment he refuses to accept, oh, and the previous injuries that have never healed properly.

TNA has done the correct thing and admitted the injury and has only featured Kurt, in the one episode of Impact after Sacrifice, in a lesser role. They featured him in street clothes begging for his wife. What was odd, though, was Jeremy Borash glossing over the exact nature of Kurt’s injury after asking him about it. Why ask a question about someone’s health if it is not going to be treated with the same importance of a love triangle angle? It could be an angle unto itself. It could also be that they do not want to place importance on the injury even though they should.

TNA had the obligation to follow up on the injury due to promoting a match that they never intended to place on PPV. They knew far enough ahead to change up the final episode of Impact leading in to Sacrifice. They could have spliced in a somber and serious Mike Tenay and Don West exclaiming that due to recent events Kurt cannot wrestle at Sacrifice after all. They could have sincerely apologized and left it at that. Yes, it would have affected the buyrate for the event but it would have been an honest act on TNA’s part.

What TNA needs to do from here for the benefit of their talent and in a small way their audience is to finally put Kurt out to pasture. He is a liability for their company and is not reliable any longer. They need to build up an angle promoting Kurt as a special wrestler and then pull the rug out from under him. This would serve a dual purpose. TNA can use Kurt’s injury as a television angle, while at the same time promoting the fact that they take care of their own as well as their fans.

TNA should build up the fact that Kurt is doing all he can to get back in the ring and wrestle again. Play it up that he is battling a life threatening/altering injury in the quest to get back to the ring and regain his championship. Then, at the end, pull the rug out from people and have him announce that it is just too much strain for his body to take. This should be done weeks before whatever scheduled PPV Kurt was supposed to return. This way the fans will not be deceived once again. Today’s technology eliminates the idea that anyone orders PPV ahead of time. In the era of On Demand products offered by both dish and cable, no one orders weeks ahead of time.

Could such a move be taken as crass or exploitative? Sure, it could but it could serve to put people on notice that injuries are real and the wrestlers suffer real consequences of their trade. Injury angles are used to get over wrestlers but they rarely turn in to career ending. It is new ground to tread and can be done effectively.

At the same time, wrestling is a crass and exploitative industry so it would not be out of the norm.

For such an angle to actually work it needs to feel, appear and actually be genuine.

Make the moment as real as possible. Do not allow the moment to be scripted. Kill Tenay’s and West’s mics. All production and management need to step back, making the moment play out as naturally as a legitimate retirement ceremony. Solidify what is said to serve as a confession or a soul cleansing experience for Kurt. It can even be kept in the realm of storylines and angles if need be but even that is not necessary. The supreme amount of realism needs to be utilized to get over the fact that a man is not going to be able to ever do this again for fear of his own physical well being.

Once Kurt is done in the ring, for his own benefit, keep him away from the wrestlers and management. Certainly this would be a case of blackballing Kurt from TNA and to a degree, well, ok, it is blackballing. It would be done for his own mental and physical benefit. After good two or three years invite him back in the fold in some sort of official capacity, preferably a member of the booking committee. He could also be used in the Ric Flair role as he can go out and tout TNA in public appearances.

Keeping him off of television is a must in this scenario. Placing Angle in any sort of on- air role will certainly lead to his desire to return to the ring as a performer. The commissioner role always leads to some sort of in-ring involvement, unless you are Jack Tunney, so that idea must be scrapped. The announcer position always leads to some sort of run in with the talent. Tazz, JBL, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, the list goes on of wrestlers turned announcers returning to the ring once again. He cannot be a manager as they inevitably get brought into the ring and physically assaulted.

The only place for Kurt is in a booking role or as an ambassador for TNA. How many interviews have you read where a wrestler talks about being addicted to the rush a crowd provides? How many times does a wrestler talk about how there is nothing that compares to performing in front of a live audience. Once it is gone the void cannot be filled by acting or other pursuits. Wrestlers always seem to come back despite their vices, physical well being, and mental well being.

TNA has the opportunity to show that a wrestler is above their business plans. Dixie Carter needs to step in and set a precedent in regards to talent working through injury and especially a life threatening injury. If she, along with the rest of the TNA management, allows Kurt to continue in their promotion then the blame for his well being is on their conscious as well. As his employer, they need to step in and tell him when enough is enough.

A proud athlete like Kurt Angle will likely never call it quits. Dixie and the gang can make some positive change though by telling him he is done. He may still seek employment somewhere else and actually land it. It is wrestling after all and the dollar speaks above all else. At least TNA would be absolved of any misfortunes as they clearly tried helping a man who will not help himself.

Jeremy Maes is the “J” of the DEJ Audio Experience. You can listen to that group of organized crime perpetrators every Wednesday night on the member’s portion of PWTorch.com. You can read Jeremy’s thoughts every Sunday on PWTorch.com. You can even contact Jeremy or any member of the DEJ faction on the PWTorch VIP Forum, or by email at theaudioexperience@gmail.com.