Kurt Angle Hospitalized: Updates on TNA Star's Recovery from Surgery

Just one week after undergoing a successful operation to remove a benign tumor from his neck, TNA star Kurt Angle was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove fluid buildup on his spinal cord.

The six-time TNA world heavyweight champion's condition and the events leading up to the procedure were described by his management via his Twitter account:

Following last week's neck surgery, Angle posted an update on Instagram and seemed upbeat about his health:

The 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling re-signed with the company in December after talk of a potential return to WWE, where he spent the first eight years of his professional wrestling career.

Per Justin Barrasso of SI.com, the 46-year-old veteran attempted to negotiate a potential contract with WWE, but Paul "Triple H" Levesque decided against bringing him in:

"

Paul [Levesque] is in charge. I found that out when I contacted Vince [McMahon]. I've always had a good relationship with Paul, so I didn't consider that a problem. But he decided they had enough talent. For the Vince McMahon who I knew, enough was never enough. He always wanted more. I don't know what was going on over there, but they even canceled our meeting. I never went to see them. They didn't even sit me down and talk to me.

"

WWE's lack of interest led to Angle returning to TNA, where he continues to be one of the company's main attractions.

Angle recently lost the world title to Ethan Carter III, likely in part because he needed time off for neck surgery, but his future is now far more uncertain after the spinal cord scare.

Although his management made mention of the doctors' confidence that Angle will make a full recovery, bouncing back from something so serious at the age of 46 could prove very difficult.

Angle's health moving forward should be the primary focus, and regardless of whether the end of his wrestling career is on the horizon, he will always be viewed as one of the all-time greats.  

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