FOXSports.com: Can you describe the transition from Olympic superstar to WWF superstar? How was the initial contact made? How long did your training take, etc?

Kurt Angle: Vince and Linda McMahon contacted me right after the Olympic Games. Immediately after I won, they flew me out and offered me a very nice, very sweet contract. I never took it seriously because I was always told not to watch it and not to do it, since I was doing the legit wrestling, the amateur wrestling. I was told to turn my back on that. I didn’t understand at the time that these athletes here in the WWF are entertainers — this isn’t wrestling, this is sports entertainment which is far from legit amateur wrestling. What the amateur wrestlers and the amateur wrestling world need to understand is that I'm not wrestling anymore. I have turned myself from an athlete to a sports entertainer, and now I am entertaining people athletically. And once they understand that, you’ll see more amateur wrestlers getting involved. I was the breakthrough because we’ve already signed four more amateur wrestlers, and you’re gonna see a lot more.

FOXSports.com: USA Wrestling basically turned their back on you when you decided to turn pro. How do you feel about their reaction towards your decision to join the World Wrestling Federation?

Kurt Angle: I think they started to understand what I’m doing. They appreciated that I won a gold medal and that I'm in the WWF representing amateur wrestling. As a matter of fact, they’re using me in a lot of their commercials and ads even though they’ve had a few world champions since me. Why? Because more people have identified me as the Olympic champion amateur wrestler. So they’re not stupid. You’re going to see them start to support the WWF more and more.

FOXSports.com: There’s obviously a lot of preparation for an Olympic match as well as for a big match in the World Wrestling Federation. Can you describe the differences and similarities of the two?

Kurt Angle: Sure, with the Olympic Games there’s nothing I could do to prepare more for. I had to train eight hours a day everyday, and I rarely took a day off. It was real important for me to be over-prepared. I did all my training at such an intense level that once I got in there, I’d wear these guys down and beat them. I trained so much and drilled so many different moves by wrestling live all the time that when I went out there to wrestle it was all on instinct. I didn’t even have to think. To me that’s a lot easier than what I do now. Now I have to know exactly what I’m doing at all times, how to get the crowd involved, how to sell a move, how to show people I’m hurt, how to show that I’m kicking this guy’s butt. It’s important to always know what you’re doing because if you’re not careful, someone can get hurt. In a way, as far as training goes, I’m not training as hard and probably never will again. But there’s definitely more of a mental approach to professional wrestling.

FOXSports.com: About how long did the training take for you to make the transition from amateur wrestler to professional wrestler?

Kurt Angle: It took me about nine months to a year to get the moves down. As far as the persona, I was definitely a natural. I’ve always wanted to do something like this. I’m enjoying this more than anything I’ve done in my entire life, so I know I’m doing the right thing. As far as getting the persona and charisma, a lot of it has to come naturally. You need to be an outgoing person (who) can perform in front of people and enjoy it. People were telling me how much I was improving from week to week, and I didn’t really see it . But I kept working hard and refining my skills.

FOXSports.com: Your character has definitely skyrocketed. You’ve only been in the WWF for nine months, yet you are main eventing at one of the World Wrestling Federation "majors, " SummerSlam on August 27. Why do you think your character has taken off so much?

Kurt Angle: I think it’s because I’ve gotten the right reaction out of these people. I came in and kind of tricked them by acting like a babyface (good guy). I was the Olympic hero that saved the nation. Then the fans started booing me because I was coming off like a square. So I started feeding off of that and started to act like more of a square and started preaching to people about my three I's (intensity, integrity and intelligence), and they didn’t want to hear it. So I started grinding them about their town and how bad their athletic team sucked and I wasn’t lying. That’s how I came up with the line "It’s true." I would say, "Your team stinks" and they would boo, and I'd say, "No it’s true, it’s true." Before I knew it, I was one of the biggest heels (bad guy) in the business whereas 15 years ago I would have been a huge babyface. The business has been changing, and you have to change with it.