The Philidelphia Inquirer has an recent article on Kurt Angle promoting TNA’s Wrestling Lockdown pay-per-view on April 19, 2009. David Hiltbrand asks Angle about his recent struggles in wrestling, drug abuses and more. Here are a few highlights:

TNA Wrestling Tour Schedule: “It’s very grueling,” he says. “There’s no time off. We don’t have an off-season. That’s why it’s so difficult on wrestlers. That’s why they break down physically.

“They try to rotate them in and out so nobody gets burned out,” he says. “Except for me.”
Kurt talks about getting older with wrestling: “I’m getting too old for this,” he concedes. “I’m 40 and I’ve got 32 years of wrestling, quote unquote, amateur and pro, under my belt,” he says, giving his victory digits a workout.

Kurt talks about his passed use of steriods: “Have I used steroids before? Yes, I have, after I broke my neck and lost three inches in this arm and 21/2 in the other from loss of circulation,” says the wrestler, who has battled through a number of serious neck injuries.

“But I paid the price, both financially – I got fined $125,000 – and reputation-wise,” he says. “I was a pure athlete, an Olympic champion. And all of a sudden, I’m like Kurt Angle the cheater? It really sucked.

“You can test me right now,” he adds defiantly. “I’ll come up clean. But there was a time when I did it.” Read the complete interview here.