Dixie Carter & Jeff Jarrett have bent over backwards & sideways to make Kurt Angle as much of a happy camper as possible since arriving in TNA last fall. Never mind the fact that company morale reportedly is at its lowest point in the promotion's 5 year history. Carter & Jarrett spent plenty of money to bring Angle to Orlando, when he should've done the smart thing and taken time off to fully recover from the bazillion injuries he's had. Rightfully, his feud with Samoa Joe should've been milked carefully, creating ginormous anticipation among fans, and setting up a title showdown at this year's Bound For Glory PPV. Instead, they rushed right into the feud. They kept flipping Joe & Kurt between face & heel, based on that week's plot twist. Now, with talk of Joe possibly leaving TNA when his contract expires, Angle is clearly the company's top heel, and getting perks in that position that not even Jarrett could've imagined.

For all of his character flaws on-screen, Jarrett had the good sense to keep his late wife Jill out of the action. By that same token, Angle kept his wife Karen off-stage during his nearly 7 year run in WWE (1999-2006). Now, however, Karen is part of the TNA roster, for no other reason than perhaps because her husband wanted her to finally be involved. Her heel turn at Hard Justice had a familiar stench to it, and I dropped a few hints on other boards in the days leading up to the PPV. The Angles are in essence recreating the McMahon-Helmsley Era in WWE (1999-2001), but at this stage in his career, Angle isn't a poor man's Triple H. Jarrett had that act down to a science. Angle is just that desperate to stay in the spotlight, even though his body has dropped clues that he needed to either slow down or retire in the last couple of years. He wants Karen on the road with him, just in case the worst case scenario happens.

And, then, it was reported on newsboards everywhere, including here at 2xzone.com, that Angle was helping in negotiations to bring old nemesis Brock Lesnar, from whom he won the IWGP title a few weeks back, to TNA. If Jarrett & Carter grant Angle this wish, it's only going to worsen morale in the locker room. TNA's homegrown stars, such as Sonjay Dutt, Abyss, Chris Sabin, & Chris Harris, can't be too happy seeing more people coming down the pipeline from Stamford practically every other month.

There is, however, a solution, but it's tied into the inevitable expansion of Impact into a 2 hour show. It's the only way this storyline could conceivably work.

Remember the failed New Blood vs. Millionaires' Club feud in WCW? Jarrett can at least revisit that, but make it TNA vs. WWE alumni. This would allow for America's Most Wanted to reform on a temporary basis. You'd have Jarrett vs. Angle on top, of course, but then let's say Team 3D (Dudleyz) regains the tag titles. Pit them against a reformed AMW, with the roles reversed from their earlier feud. If 3D's leaving, as rumored, then they'd lose the titles in a loser leaves town match. Christy Hemme could switch boyfriends, dumping Lance Hoyt for, say, Christian Cage. There are possibilities, but the question, of course, is whether or not Jarrett will make it happen.

Angle knows he's living on borrowed time. That's why he's weaseled his way into having Karen be in his corner, and is trying to bring Lesnar in. He wants to cram what time he has left in his career into the here & now, and never mind the consequences. He's claimed he's ditched his addiction to painkillers, but he's still addicted. Addicted to the spotlight, that is. He can't walk away gracefully with class & dignity. Instead, he's becoming like Hulk Hogan, who never met a photo op he didn't like, either. Angle's addiction is hurting TNA where it counts the most, in terms of credibility. It won't be long before those numbers fall back to 0.9, because there will be people who won't stand for Angle's antics any more than they did Jarrett. And if Kurt can't see the problem staring him in the face every morning when he looks in the mirror, you'd have to be embarassed for him.