By Richard Gardner, Torch specialist

The latest saga in the life of Kurt Angle was played out in the media over the past week. Accused of stalking his girlfriend, Angle was stopped by police, who discovered Human Growth Hormone in his car.

The lighter schedule that TNA offered was seen as a benefit for a man who was released from WWE for refusing to go to rehab. Yet he has exhibited bizarre behavior in the public eye throughout his tenure. From the ridiculous claims about going into MMA to his marital problems to his arrest last Saturday, Angle seems destined to let his personal life destroy his legacy as quickly as it is built in the ring. Despite this embarrassing escapade, Angle not only appeared on TNA's Hard Justice Pay-Per-View on Sunday, he also retained the Heavyweight title.

Then there are aspects of his personality that were considered virtues when winning the Olympic medal in 1996 but are pushing him towards self destruction in 2009. His drive and determination allowed him to become one of the best performers in the business at the turn of the century, has turned into an all-consuming desire to prove himself as the greatest wrestler of all time. That he needs to make up for coming to national prominence as a professional wrestler in his thirties, and that the latter years of his career have been overshadowed by injury.

Kurt Angle was the best wrestler in the world, but as he enters his forties he is struggling to recapture the form that led him to classic matches with Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, and others. He is past his peak athletically, but still the drive remains, allowing him to perform at levels that elude the majority of the wrestlers on the TNA and WWE rosters. This is why TNA persists with pushing a wrestler with such obvious health issues to the top of the card.

But who is to blame? Does Dixie Carter shoulder any of the responsibility after hiring a wrestler in 2006 who had recently left WWE under a cloud? Do we, as consumers, take responsibility for continuing to support the TNA product despite the well publicized personal problems of its champion?

There is no question that Kurt Angle let many people down when he was arrested last week. He let down his former employers, as Angle is still synonymous with WWE. He let down TNA and Dixie Carter, after they had invested so much time and money in pushing him. But while it is a huge benefit to have such a top worker with worldwide name value on TNA's roster, that does not mean that a blind eye should be turned to Kurt Angle's indiscretions. The company can survive without him as he - or indeed any of the name performers they have brought in - has had minimal affect upon the ratings of TNA Impact and Pay-Per-View buys.

There have been complaints leveled against aspects of the WWE Wellness Policy over the years, but compared to TNA's drug testing, it is practically a model of good practice. As soon as Congress's interest in the pro wrestling industry waned, so did TNA's interest in testing its performers for illegal substances. This is the kind of old-school mentality that is prevalent throughout TNA, limiting the growth of the company, and threatening to one day consume it as a whole.

Kurt Angle can no longer perform as he used to, and his appetite for self destruction should no longer be indulged by Dixie Carter or TNA fans. He needs to be sent home, just as Jeff Jarrett was last month. Not only for his health, but also for the long term health of TNA.

He won't be though. After all, Impact's ratings have grown by at least 0.3 since he signed with TNA.

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