The Contentious Ten 08.16.10: Top 10 Kurt Angle Matches

Honorable Mentions:
Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon, King of the Ring 2001; Kurt Angle vs. The Rock, No Way Out 2001; Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, Wrestlemania X-Seven; Kurt Angle vs. John Cena, No Mercy 2003; Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels, Vengeance 2005; Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles, Hard Justice 2008.

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Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfesize=6>
Turning Point 2009size=4>


Am I letting personal preference getting the way of better matches here? Eh, maybe, but that’s okay. For me, along with a lot of Ring of Honor fans, having the former Nigel McGuinness take on Kurt Angle in one of the top programs in TNA was a dream situation. I expected a lot from this match, both in terms of the potential quality, and the thought of Desmond Wolfe being made into a star. They didn’t disappoint on either front. The match was an amazing display of pure wrestling by two of the finest technicians in the world, with Wolfe getting a chance to show off everything that makes him great before Angle put him away with a new move. It’s a shame Wolfe hasn’t really been able to capitalize after this initial push, but there’s still potential for greatness in his TNA career.

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Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrerosize=6>
WWE Championship Match, Wrestlemania XXsize=4>


I was really looking forward to this match heading into Wrestlemania XX, as it was between my two favorite wrestlers at the time. I also expected them to kind of play off of their amateur backgrounds and have a very mat-based match-up, which I was really into at the time as part of the wrestling team. They ended up doing a more traditional wrestling match and I was disappointed with it. Looking back on it now, I find it to be really enjoyable, as there is a lot of subtle storytelling in the match that I didn’t notice when I was fourteen. I also have to give credit to what is, in my mind, one of the best finishes in Wrestlemania history. A babyface using a shoe to distract his enemy long enough to roll him up seems bizarre on paper, but they managed to pull it off in a way that was both logical and entertaining. I’m glad I gave it a second chance to impress me.

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Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joesize=6>
TNA World Championship Six Sides of Steel Match, Lockdown 2008size=4>

One of Angle’s more ambitious ideas, but also my second favorite TNA World Title Match (behind AJ-Joe-Daniels from last year). The MMA flavor was a natural choice given the styles of the participants, as Angle is an Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler and Joe uses the King’s Road style that is about as realistic as it gets in pro wrestling. Some people didn’t like it as they felt there was too much MMA in their pro wrestling, while others complain that the MMA isn’t real enough or as central to the match as it should have been. While I can see both sides, my reason for enjoying the match is simple. It is entertaining, familiar enough that I can compare it to other matches yet different enough that it stands out.

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Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Andersonsize=6>
Steel Cage Match, Lockdown 2010size=4>



The most recent match on this list, and probably the one that most people are going to disagree with, but I loved it. This is a cage match done right. In Mr. Kennedy, you have a heel that, through his actions before and in the match, made you want to see him get beat to a pulp. In Kurt Angle, you have a guy who can deliver said beating, and in the cage match you have an environment to deliver said beating. And deliver it Angle did. The match was well paced, told a great story, and had a finish that allowed Angle to get complete revenge on Kennedy, while looking like a badass. Is it the most innovative match on this list? No, but it is an example of blowing off a feud properly, which is something that doesn’t happen all that often. I also think it showcases a new direction for Angle as he starts to play the role of a grizzled veteran who is still proving that he can hang with younger talent. A great look at the modern Kurt Angle.

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Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnarsize=6>
WWE Championship Match, Wrestlemania XIXsize=4>



I think this match suffered from overhype at the time, since Angle had practically become a god to the IWC and Brock was just a freak in general. Injuries kept this from being the all-time great match it should have been, and the botched shooting star press made people forget the the twenty minutes that preceded it. But if you take away the expectations and just judge the match on its own merits, it is a great pro wrestling match. I don’t know if WWE ever showed more respect to athletes and credentials than they did by letting this match main event the biggest show of the year. Angle’s one Wrestlemania main event, and what of a Hell of a Match to have that honor.

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Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold Steve Austinsize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Summer Slam 2001size=4>




A few people wondered why this match didn’t make it on last week’s list, and the answer is that I knew it would be in this week’s list and I don’t have two back-to-back blurbs worth of opinion on it. This match showed Steve Austin in his outstanding 2001 sadistic heel form, and Angle’s first brief flirtation with being a top babyface. Angle was really breaking out from being “a really good prospect” to being “one of the most entertaining acts in the world” at this point, after a great series with Chris Benoit in the spring of the year. Both men had been competing for Vince McMahon’s affection in a somewhat goofy storyline, but there was nothing goofy about this match.

The match is one of the most intense I’ve ever seen, both in terms of the wrestling and the drama. In my opinion, this was well on it’s way to becoming an all-time classic before the disqualification ending. The anti-climactic finish and the fact that most people (including WWE) like to pretend the Alliance storyline never happened have contributed to this match being something of a lost classic, but I’m glad more people are remembering it. What stands out to me is that this is one of the few times I cheered Angle, not out of respect for his talent, but because the story of the match was so well crafted I couldn’t help it.

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Kurt Angle vs. The Undertakersize=6>
World Heavyweight Championship Match, No Way Out 2006size=4>





Angle and Undertaker had a great match on Smackdown in 2002, and another fantastic match on Smackdown in 2003. And even a few weeks after this, they would have another tremendous contest. But all three of those were marred by non-finishes that left the viewer remembering the sad endings and not the amazing matches that preceded them. They even tried to make controversy where there wasn’t any in this match, since Undertaker can never just be beaten, even by an Olympic Gold Medalist using his wrestling skill. Fortunately, this match was so outstanding that not even faulty booking could mar it.

This match is reminiscent of Taker’s best matches with Bret Hart, but with new age Angle-style counters at the end, where Angle counters all of Taker’s big moves into the Ankle Lock as he desperately tries to get him to tap out and the Deadman responded with the triangle choke. In the end, Angle was able to surprise Taker with a jackknife roll out of that move and pin his shoulders, a very rare clean loss from the Deadman (no matter what Tazz said, we know it was clean). One of the best World Heavyweight Championship matches in WWE, and the 2006 match of the year in many people’s book.

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Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs.
Edge & Rey Mysteriosize=6>
WWE Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals, No Mercy 2002size=4>



The peak of the Smackdown! Six era. The fall of 2002 was filled with great match after great match from these four men (as well as Eddie and Chavo Guerrero), but this is the match that stands head and shoulders above the rest. The finals of the tournament to crown the first ever WWE Tag Team Champions (a title created by Stephanie McMahon to counteract the original WWF Tag Team Titles being on RAW) featured two makeshift teams, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching this match. On this night, they were on, and the result is one of the best tag team matches ever, and in my opinion, one of the best matches in WWE history. Angle and Benoit were able to put aside their differences and work well against the much more cohesive team of Mysterio and Edge, with Angle making Edge tap to the Ankle Lock to secure the belts. The match speaks for itself, so I’m done talking about it.

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Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoitsize=6>
WWE Championship Match, Royal Rumble 2003size=4>



If some hypothetical person asked me who Kurt Angle was, this is the match I would show them, because it is quite possibly the best example of Kurt Angle’s style. I’ve probably watched the match well over two dozen times and I still enjoy the heck out of it. This is professional wrestling the way it was MEANT to be. No outside shenanigans. No complicated stipulations. No controversy over who won. Just two world class athletes, one the champion and one wanting to prove that he deserves it, giving everything they have in order to beat their opponent through their own ability, toughness and determination. It might not be to everybody’s taste, and of course some will never accept that it was a great match simply because of one of the participants, but it is to my taste and I love it.

Not putting this at the number one position was tough for me to do, because it is my favorite Kurt Angle match. However, even before everyone tried to forget about Chris Benoit, this match was little more than a footnote in terms of WWE’s history. If it hadn’t been such a tremendous athletic contest that won the crowd over, it wouldn’t have amounted to more than a routine title defense before Wrestlemania. It did prove that both Angle and Benoit were world class pro wrestlers, but the #1 match is more important to Kurt’s career, and arguably as good as this one, so this is stuck at #2.

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Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaelssize=6>
Wrestlemania 21size=4>

This is not my favorite Kurt Angle match, by a long shot, but it is, in my opinion, the biggest win of his career. If nothing else, it was his biggest Wrestlemania Moment. When Angle and Shawn Michaels started feuding in the early months of 2005, fans were salivating for the eventual one-on-one encounter. There was no place more fitting for this dream match than Wrestlemania, and it delivered. Whether it was the brilliantly old-school approach of the opening minutes, Angle’s extended heat segment on Michaels back, or the dramatic series of false finishes as the match reached its conclusion, the match delivered something for everyone. Angle was able to secure a very rare submission victory over Shawn Michaels, which was the right decision at the time, although Angle would soon find himself competing in another company.

The match was met with immediate and overwhelming critical acclaim, with many fans lauding it as the best match ever. Regardless of whether it deserves that accolade, anytime you connect with fans and convince them, even for one night, that they have experienced the best pro wrestling match of all time, you have done something right. In my view, it also ended what was something of a dark period for Angle in 2004, where injuries and a lack of quality opponents kept him from being as good as he was in 2002-2003. One of Angle’s best performances, and certainly the match he will be most remembered for.