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Kurt Angle, WWE.com
Breaking down future legend Kurt Angle’s best WWE matches.
On January 16th news broke that Kurt Angle would headline the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class. Angle as a member of the Hall is a no-brainer. He’s a 6-time WWE world champion as well as the fifth ever Grand Slam champion, having captured the Intercontinental title, United States title, the tag team title, and the European title. He’s won a King of The Ring, he’s headlined a Wrestlemania, and he was without question one of the very best workers and personalities in the company for the better part of a decade. If anyone screams first ballot Hall of Famer, it’s “The Olympic Hero”.
But in 2006 when Angle asked for his release from the WWE, it wasn’t on the best terms and made it seem that a future reunion might never happen. For the 8 years that he was in the WWE, Angle churned out classic match after classic match and he kept that going when he signed with TNA. At 48 years old, the guy can still absolutely bring it and now that he’s reunited with the WWE would they dare run him out there again? The dream matches that he could participate in are mouth-watering to wrestling fans. While we ponder that idea, let’s take a look at the past.
Ahead we break down Kurt Angle’s top 10 WWE matches.
10. vs Rey Misterio – SummerSlam 2002
Undoubtedly the best sub-10 minute match in WWE pay per view history, Angle and Misterio went after it in this 9-minute track meet that opened the 02′ SummerSlam. The sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum had barely a chance to catch their breath before Angle had Rey trapped in the Ankle Lock tapping the mat. It’s the kind of start that any show is ever looking for.
It started off hot as Misterio, looking for the edge, came out of the crowd and surprised Angle with a springboard dropkick. From there it turned into a high-octane sprint that saw both men score with all of their best stuff while infusing their own blends of power and speed. It’s never easy opening a pay per view, not to mention the second biggest one of the year after not really having a large feud built up. But Angle and Misterio, the consummate pros took the opportunity and made the most of it.
This match laid the groundwork for the rest of the show, which turned out to be one the most critically acclaimed SummerSlam’s of all time. The following seven matches had their work cut out for them and although one of them was up to the task (Michaels vs Triple H), no one can deny what these two started that night. Outside of the Bret Hart/Owen Hart Wrestlemania X opener, this was the best of it’s kind and Angle and Misterio set the bar for any future opening bout.
Credit: wwe.com
9. vs. Eddie Guerrero (Wrestlemania XX)
Known as one the most emotional Wrestlemania’s of all time, Angle and Guerrero went to war in a classic that had it not been for the main event, would’ve stolen the show. Angle and Guerrero were no strangers to each other, having waged war in the past on a number of different platforms. You could tell their familiarity well on this night at Madison Square Garden when the two warriors weaved a perfectly told story of a desperate champion willing to do anything to win against a buzz-saw contender hell-bent on capturing another world title.
Guerrero, champion for the first time in his career took massive punishment from Angle, who was surgical in his attack on Latino Heat’s ankle from the outset and dominated the majority of the match. Guerrero took the abuse and in a show of genius, slowly but surely loosened his boot so when Angle re-applied his famous Ankle Lock, Eddie slipped out and rolled up his foe for the victory.
This match proved why Angle made such a great heel. Guerrero was beloved by the fans while champion and Kurt made him earn every inch of his win. He put Guerrero through the ringer, angering the crowd in the process and making all of his opponents come back attempts moot right up until the very end. Easily main event worthy, these two combatants produced a beautiful Mania moment.
WWE.com
8. vs. Steve Austin – SummerSlam 2001
One good word to describe this tilt from the 01′ Summerslam: heat. After turning on Angle at the Invasion pay per view a month earlier, Austin spent the next few weeks being stalked by his opponent from city to city trying to wrest the belt away from The Rattlesnake. All the back and forth finally came to a head this night in San Jose as the two legends tore into each other with reckless abandon.
Austin played his role perfectly. He was the vicious, yet cunning heel, cutting every corner he could so he could retain his title. Angle fought valiantly wearing the crimson mask throughout most of the second half of the match. The emotions were intense as Austin pounded the mat and screamed in frustration as he couldn’t put Angle away. Finally, when he realized that he couldn’t defeat the challenger, Austin did what he had to do: got disqualified. And he didn’t just get disqualified, he punched one ref, stunned another, hit Angle between the legs, and then assaulted a third referee with the world title belt. That’s how dire the situation had become.
Angle’s hard work this night paid off in spades as just a month later he would capture the belt for the second time from Austin at Unforgiven. That night was a crowning moment for Kurt as he became the champion in front of a sold-out hometown crowd in Pittsburgh. But it was this main event at SummerSlam that opened that door for him and firmly entrenched him as a top flight, main event type player.
WWE
7. vs. Brock Lesnar – Wrestlemania XIX
When Brock Lesnar entered the WWE in 2002 it seemed like only a matter of time before he’d cross paths with Angle. A feud between the two had the potential for serious in-ring fireworks. Both 2-time National Collegiate Amateur Wrestling champions, both physical specimens, and both technical masters in the ring. A pairing between the two made perfect sense. So it was no shock to see that that once they got together at the beginning of 2003, their chemistry was undeniable.
It was an absolute pleasure to see these two men get the main event at Wrestlemania XIX. They had carried the Smackdown brand for the previous 12 months or so and deserved to spotlight such a star-studded show. Want to know some of the names who wrestled before them in Seattle that night? The Rock, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and Triple H. All former main eventers, all took a backseat to these 2 workhorses.
And they did not disappoint. It was everything you’d expect out of a match between these two. It was hard-hitting, physical, bruising, and the suplexes were just glorious. Even Lesnar’s botched Shooting Star Press added to the realism of the fight as the two took it to each other and then some. Like the true professional Angle had become, he put Lesnar over and made him look like a god in doing so. It was a scintillating main event to what was one of the greatest Wrestlemania’s in history and it furthered both men’s careers in the best of ways. Now as good as it was, it was actually only their second best match. But we’ll get to that.
6. vs. Shane McMahon – King of the Ring 2001
On a night that Angle pulled triple duty, he sure saved his best for last. All in one night, Kurt manged to make it to the finals of the King of the Ring tournament and go to war with Shane McMahon as well. His first two matches of the night were against Christian, in which he was victorious, and then against Edge in which he wasn’t. In losing to Edge, Angle missed out on being the first ever 2-time and back to back King of the Ring winner having capture the 2000 version but it was Shane McMahon’s distraction on this night that made the difference.
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So by the time their street fight went down later in the show, Kurt was a tad bit upset and he showed Shane the consequences of crossing him. It started off in the ring but quickly went outside and that’s when the violence level ramped up. Angle sent Shane through the King of the Ring Commemorative glass not once but twice and by the time they got back to the ring, they were both busted open.
Angle finished his foe off with a highlight reel Angle Slam off of a table positioned on the top rope and the 26 minutes of mayhem was over. And when it was all hats were off to “Shane-O-Mac” but all jaws were dropped for Angle. This was the first the wrestling world had really seen of his mean streak and he’d keep that level of rage up for a long time. Just when you thought he was just a technical mat wizard, out came the other side of “The Olympic Hero” and it was a joy to see.
5. vs. The Undertaker – No Way Out 2006
My 2006 match of the year, Angle and Taker tore the house down in this 30-minute classic at the No Way Out pay per view. For Angle, the match took place during his 6th and final run as World champion in the WWE as he’d be out of the company 6 months later. He had at least one trick left in his basket and proved why he was and will always be one of the most cerebral wrestlers of all time.
Taking on The Deadman is always a daunting task but Angle was more than up for the challenge. He went at his opponent with his normal ferocity, targeting Taker’s legs in anticipation of the Ankle Lock. But Angle had his hands full as Taker went at him with reckless abandon in pursuit of his fifth world title. Like the ending or hate it with Angle pinning Taker while trapped in the Hell’s Gate submission, Undertaker lost nothing in defeat, and Angle cemented himself among the best of all time.
At 38 years old and with 8 years of high-quality pro wrestling under his belt, Angle clearly showed that he had plenty left in the tank and proved the WWE’s decision to let him walk away was a terrible one.
4. Angle and Chris Benoit vs. Edge and Rey Misterio – No Mercy 2002
On November 19th at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano defeated The Revival in what I truthfully believe to the greatest tag team match that has ever happened. However, up until that night, this masterpiece from No Mercy 2002 held that distinction. In the finals of one of the best tag team tournaments of all time in the WWE, Benoit, Angle, Edge, and Rey Misterio put on what could be characterized as the perfect match.
Much like the Angle/Misterio match at No. 10 on this list, this match was a track meet, but a 22 minute one. There were no rest spots or powders, just back and forth action that had the fans in Little Rock salivating for more. 22 minutes felt like 2 and all four competitors shined in their own way. The unlikely and unhappy alliance of Angle and Benoit bullied their way through the tournament and battered Edge and Rey relentlessly throughout the encounter. But the baby faces seemed to always have an answer and came close to snatching the belts on numerous occasions. But it was the heels who reigned supreme this night as Edge became yet another tap-out victim of Angle’s.
Want to talk about a match elevating the careers of all involved? After this match, it’s four competitors captured 18 world championships between them and were involved in the main event scene throughout. The match was so good that it elevated 4 main event ready stars and set the bar that every tag team match would try to accomplish for years to come.
credit: WWE.com
3. vs. Brock Lesnar – Iron Man Match – Smackdown
60-minute Ironman matches can be tricky sometimes. Trying to keep fans interested and compelled for an entire hour is a daunting task that doesn’t always work. But not only did Lesnar and Angle keep the fans glued to their seats in this WWE Championship match on SmackDown, they made the match into an art form. The Angle/Lesnar feud carried SmackDown for the better part of 2003 beginning with their aforementioned Wrestlemania XIX match. But at the 2003 SummerSlam, Angle reclaimed the belt and this ironman match was the blow-off to this amazing rivalry.
Without question the best match in their program, these two monsters brought the big fight feel and had one of the best matches ever recorded on cable television. The match had it all. Pinfalls, submissions, a count out, a disqualification, an unconscious ref, a chair shot, you name it, they did it. And wow, these guys played their roles so well. Lesnar, now the heel showed that there was no limit to what he’d do to be champion and Angle was the valiant, fighting titlist who stuck to his guns. Just magnificent stuff.
On this night it was Lesnar who managed to pick up the win 5-4 after refusing to tap out to the ankle lock in the closing seconds. It was his 3rd world title win and his last for over a decade and Angle made him earn every ounce of it. Six months later Lesnar was out of the WWE and foraying into the world of professional football and it’s a shame. Had he stuck around these two undoubtedly would’ve had made more magic like this. Either way, 14 years later this still holds up as the best ironman match of all time.
2. vs. Chris Benoit – Royal Rumble 2003
Just 4 months after his ironman classic with Lesnar, Angle was at it again this time with another familiar foe in Benoit. Like Lesnar, Benoit was a perfect pairing for Angle and it didn’t take long after coming to the WWE in 2000 before they met up. All in all the two met in singles matches on pay per view seven times with Angle holding a 4-3 advantage. To say these guys were evenly matched is an understatement and that was no more apparent during their final pay per view encounter at the 03 Rumble for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Going into the match with their career win/loss record knotted at 3-3, the two seemed to not only be battling for a world championship but also for that elusive 4th win in their rivalry. The match was everything the fans came to expect from a scrap between these two. It was suplex after suplex and submission attempt after submission attempt. Everything was done with absolutely precise detail and impeccable execution that it turned out to be a thing of beauty. An argument can be made that this was the best technical wrestling match of all time. And the end was just indicative of this program, with Angle never giving up on going after Benoit’s ankle and finally after it seemed like eternity eliciting the tap from The Crippler.
For a crowd that started off the match a bit quiet, halfway through they perked up and by the end were full out ecstatic about what they had just witnessed as evidenced by the standing ovation. This was a coming out party of sorts for Benoit as just one year later he’d win the 04′ Rumble and go on to Mania to win his first and only world title. Angle would go on to drop the belt to Lesnar at Wrestlemania XIX (see No. 7) but would remain a top draw in the company for the remainder of his tenure. Once you produce brilliance like this, there’s no going back to the mid-card.
credit: wwe.com
1. vs. Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 21
When you buy a ticket to see a pro wrestling show one always wonders if they’ll get their money’s worth. Will the matches be compelling? Will the performers pull out all the stops? Will I be jumping out of my seat? These are all valid questions when spending a lot of money to watch a show. Well for the 20,000 people in attendance at the Staples Center at Wrestlemania 21, they needed to look no further than this Michaels/Angle classic. After over 27 minutes of back and forth battling it was clear that their money was very, very well spent.
Going into the event the two legends didn’t have much history with together. In fact, they’d never even wrestled a match against each other. But they clashed at that year’s Royal Rumble which thankfully spawned this match. It was PWI’s match of the year for 2005 and should be considered on every Wrestlemania top 10 list that exists. And what made it so incredible? Well, in a word, everything.
When you talk big fight feel, this match was the epitome. The sell-out crowd seethed as they watched two multiple time world champions try to master each other’s technique only to come up short time after time. They seemed in awe of each other as they both kicked out of multiple match-ending moves and left the fans groaning time after time. And that Ankle Lock at the end? Breathtaking. For minutes The Heartbreak Kid was locked in it and screamed and writhed in pain before eventually having no choice but surrender.
It really was the perfect match. Two icons of the sport going to war on it’s biggest stage in front of a beloved audience obviously had the potential for greatness. But it was what the duo produced that made everyone remember what it was like to watch brilliance unfold inside the squared circle.
