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The 411 Wrestling Top 5 09.28.11: Week 143 – Kurt Angle Moments
Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. Most of our topics will be based on recent events in the Wrestling World, looking at those events that make us think of times past.
So, on to this week’s topic…
Robert S. Leighty Jr
HM – Hogan Taps: Always an accomplishment when you can make Hulk Hogan tap clean in the middle of the ring on PPV.
HM – Wins WCW Title in Pittsburgh: I was there to witness Angle win the WCW Title from Booker T on a July night in the Igloo.
HM – Milk-A-Mania: Hilarious play on Austin’s Beer Truck, as a red hot Kurt Angle hosed down the Alliance with ice cold milk.
5. Austin/Angle Skits – Angle and Austin where both banged up in the Summer of 2001, but the WWE kept them on TV in some of the funniest backstage segments ever seen. The way they fought over the attention of Vince McMahon got them over even more than what would have happened if they in the ring wrestling. It always added another layer onto their eventual feud at the end of the Summer and into Fall.
4. Joe/Angle I – Angle’s debut with TNA sent shock waves all through the wrestling world, and immediately everyone began drooling over the prospects of a meeting with Samoa Joe. TNA immediately gave us what we wanted with the Headbutt Heard Round the World. Their 1st meeting was dream match, and started one of the greatest rivalries in TNA history.
3. 1st WWF Title Win – There is nothing like winning your first World Title, and for Kurt Angle he was put over the Rock for his first run as champion. In a day in age with 2 Titles and guys being pushed to the Main Event months after debuting, it was extraordinary to see Kurt Angle win the title in less than a year and going over someone like The Rock.
2. WrestleMania 21 – For better or worse what happens at WrestleMania is often looked upon as bigger than any thing else. The 2 previous years Kurt lost the World and WWE Title in excellent matches to Eddie and Brock. In LA at WM 21 he faced Shawn Michaels in a match that didn’t need a title on the line to make it epic. This match may have had more unrealistic expectations on it than any other match in WM history, and these two delivered in spades. In his crowning WrestleMania moment Angle turned in a performance of a lifetime, and made Michaels tap clean.
1. Unforgiven 2001 – I am proud to say I was there for this show and still one of more emotional shows I have ever been to. This was the 1st PPV following 9/11 so the crowd was super patriotic for everything. Our Olympic Hero winning the WWF Title from Steve Austin in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA was one of the best moments I have experienced live. Sure it wasn’t Angle’s 1st reign as Champion, but I can’t see any other moment meaning so much to him.
TJ Hawke
HM – Putting over Samoa Joe in their “MMA” style match: at the time, it looked like TNA may be in the midst of a creative revival, while serenading a new main-eventer to carry the company for years to come…while a still great moment, the booking since then has made this moment less special
HM – The announcement of his arrival in TNA: It was a moment of limitless possibilities. It was a time before Dixie Carter cried wolf about a new beginning for TNA too many times. This is also the first time that I took TNA seriously as I just became a wrestling fan again that summer. Also, it lead to this classic off-air reaction from the Impact Zone
HM – Kissing Stephanie McMahon: This moment was one of the highlights of the HHH/Angle/Stephanie love triange, which was one of the better pure soap opera angles in recent WWE history
5. Headbutting Samoa Joe – Kurt’s first big “impact” in TNA, which lead to one of the more physical, mainstream (read: WWE or TNA) wrestling rivalries over the next 18 months. Watch that moment HERE
4. Losing the WWF Title to The Rock – Sure, losing the world title doesn’t seem that great, but Angle was terribly booked as champion, constantly looking like a lame-duck champion. Only in defeat, did Angle truly look like a WWF top tier main-eventer, as The Rock made Angle look like a killer in this match.
3. Beating Stone Cold for the WWF Title – Sure, the WWF was in a creative crisis with the Invasion fiasco, but Angle, the American hero, defeating the WWF traitor Steve Austin in his hometown, 12 days after 9/11 was a truly great moment.
2. His Wrestlemania match with Shawn Michaels -Go back and re-watch this match. Did you finish? Good, now you remember how perfect this match is. One of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history is one of the Kurt’s greatest moments, but not quite as great as…
1. Main-eventing Wrestlemania 19 with a broken neck – While I don’t think this match against Brock Lesnar is as great as most people say, wrestling the main event of the biggest wrestling show of the year with a broken neck, is as clutch as it gets in this business. Getting through this match, to make Brock a star, is Kurt’s biggest accomplishment.
RC Sutton
5. Angle loses hair – I’m sure this one isn’t a big hit with a lot of people. The whole set up with Edge, to the feud with Hogan over his hairpiece was incredibly entertaining to me. It show cased Angle’s ability to work different facets of his persona and was all set up when he lost the hair v. hair match.
4. Moonsault off the Cage – One year before Angle was crazy enough to do it again against Jeff Jarrett, Angle went on top of the cage at Lockdown 2010 and did a moonsault onto Ken Anderson. Like most wrestling fans, you start to feel like you’ve seen it all before, or it’s all been done before. It was a moment where I thought “no” then “really?” then “No F’ing way he did it! That was awesome!!”
3. The headbutt heard round the ring – A lot has already been said about this, but the set up was so money. Angle was the superstar coming in to TNA. Joe was killing everything in his sight. It had an epic fight feel that was set off with that moment.
2. Wrestlemania 21 v. Shawn Michaels – The idea here was amazingly simple. Take 2 of the best in the world, put them on wrestling’s biggest stage and let them shine. They did. It was awesome.
1. Title Win at Unforgiven 2001 – This had everything you could cram into a special moment. Patriotic moment after 9/11? Got it. Title win in hometown? Yup. Making Stone Cold tap? Achieved. Celebrating in the ring with family and friends? Done. This is as good as it gets. THEE Kurt Angle moment.
Jack Bramma
HM – Angle makes Hogan tap out at KOTR 2002: One of the few clean losses ever for the Hulkster as a face and one of the even fewer losses by submission.
HM – Angle dresses up at Shawn Michaels and wrestles Marty Jannetty on Smackdown and the next week rewrites HBK’s “Sexy Boy” during 2005: “I think I’m cute, I got Gold medals, I got the moves, that makes them all tap out, The Angle Slam, the Ankle Lock, Marty Jannetty – he still can’t walk.” What more needs to be said?
HM – Kurt Angle dresses up as John Cena to battle rap himself: “I hear your chants, I hear your catcalls, Yes it’s true, I’m obsessed with other men’s balls, WORD!”
5. Angle’s interrogation of The Rock for possibly running down Stone Cold Steve Austin using spliced promos in 2000/1 – This is one of the funniest videos the WWE has ever done with Angle questioning Rock and then using cuts from two different interviews where the Rock is wearing different clothes in each one. My personal highlight is Angle finally revealing that Rock was behind Rikishi’s attack and he asks him what he thought when it happened. Rock: “Well the Rock thought, ‘Hmm, he might be hurt. Rock better go take a shower now.'”
4. Kurt Angle gives Stone Cold and the rest of the Alliance a milk bath during the Invasion 2001 – This is obviously a ripoff/homage to Stone Cold doing the same thing to Vince, Rock, and Shane during the Corporation but it’s one of those signature visuals of the past decade topped off by Angle dousing himself in milk like Stone Cold does with beer to celebrate.
3. Angle vs. HBK at WM 2005, Angle vs UT at NWO 2006, Angle vs Benoit at RR 2003 – I’m putting all of these down as a tie because it’s too hard to pick between them and you could make an argument for any one of them being Angle’s greatest match of his career. Each one of these matches involved Angle at the peak of his abilities working different opponents and styles. You could probably throw in a match against Brock, Nigel, Joe, etc. to complete the list.
2. Kurt Angle’s debut in TNA to confront Samoa Joe and take back the NWA belt in 2006 – Still one of the most legitimately electric confrontations of modern wrestling and probably one of the best things TNA’s ever done. This has everything from Joe being red hot after decimating the X-Division and stealing the belt from Jarrett to be symbolic champ for this segment. Angle’s debut with the badass subterranean entrance while draped in the American flag. Angle headbutts the hell out of him and gets the belt and the iconic image of Joe standing behind Angle with the belt while the blood drips down his face is phenomenal. After Angle won the first match, he also gave one of the best promos I can ever remember to explain why a rematch was taking place. So much good came of this segment and it’s great all on its own.
1. Kurt Angle wants the US to lose the war in Iraq, is not a fan of “the black people,” and if he could go back in time would make Jesus tapout AKA the pre-EC promo at New Year’s Revolution 2006 – Angle was perhaps at the peak of his popularity here. His gimmick was as the unstoppable wrestling machine, “best in the world,” etc. He had the great shirt to go along with the regained intensity that had a blood red Angle on the front and on the back it said, “ANYONE. ANY PLACE. ANY TIME.” The problem was that Angle was booked as a heel against a polarizing Cena. Fans booed Cena and backed Angle for the most part. To TRY and get some heel heat, Angle cut one of the most blasphemous, iconoclastic promos of all time and the fans STILL cheered every word of it. Just one of my favorite moments as a fan when Angle was just so on in everything he was doing that he couldn’t be face. WWE wised up and quickly moved him to Smackdown to win the World Belt after Batista was injured.
Wes Kirk
HM – 1996 Gold Medal Victory: Kurt Angle’s greatest historical accomplishment, period.
HM – Survivor Series 1999 Debut Against Shawn Stasiak: Angle’s first victory in the WWF.
HM – Tapping Out Hulk Hogan: SmackDown in late 2002 saw the unthinkable occur via ankle-lock.
5. Making The Undertaker Tap Out – Although this was a situation that ended up pretty much buried when Angle left the WWE, during one match with The Undertaker Angle was able to do what nobody ever had or ever since has been able to accomplish and had Undertaker submit! As it happened, a screwy MMA finish at the time resulted in a guy who was locked in a triangle choke slam his opponent down, knocking him out while tapping at the same time to the chokehold. UT wanted to try a finish with Angle that resulted with Angle hooking the choke and as the ref counted to three when UT stacked him up on his shoulders, Undertaker tapped on the mat. It had to be shot several times to get the timing correctly and it doesn’t count as a win since the finish made it a draw, but the only man to make UT give it up was Kurt Angle!
4. “I’m Just A Sexy Kurt” – During his early 2005 feud with Shawn Michaels, Angle went out to claim he could do anything Shawn could do and even better at that. One week he beat Marty Jannetty, another time he won a ladder match against some jobber, and then he brought back Sensational Sherri for a special rendition of HBK’s theme song, which ended up being a riot as Kurt sang the immortal lyrics of, “I’m just a sexy Kurt, I’ll make your ankle hurt!” with Sherri shrieking the chorus. This was another entertaining skit from the Olympic Hero that showcased his entertaining characteristics as well as his ability inside the ring.
3. Kurt Wants Beastiality Sex With Sharmell – One of the more insane moments of Kurt Angle was the time he feuded with Booker over the sexual interest in his wife Sharmell. Angle was obviously playing the part of a complete novice to the more deviant sexual activities and claimed Sharmell was really a cheap gutterslut who wanted him. The insane antics led to Angle getting beaten by Booker but the real star of the feud was Angle with his handcuffs and wacked out sayings about Sharmell that proved he would go the extra mile for his company.
2. Angle vs. Jarrett – The feud between these two men stemmed from the real life scandal of Jarrett having an affair with Karen Angle, and eventually Karen would divorce Kurt and marry Jeff. The two men, despite having absolute hatred for one another, managed to work a feud that saw both men put on some of the best matches of their careers throughout a period of years. The end finally came when Angle was able to solicit the assistance of Chyna to fight off Karen and then finally defeat Jarrett before tapping him in a street fight on Impact to send him out of the country to Mexico for months.
1. Kurt Angle, WWF Champion – Perhaps his best moment came in the year 2000 when Angle accomplished what many dreamt of achieving and became the WWF Heavyweight Champion by defeating The Rock at No Mercy that year. Despite the goofball nerdy gimmick he was working, Angle was one hell of a great wrestler and proved he had enough to be in the main events almost immediately and also to be the champion. Angle would go on to hold the title repeatedly in the years to come but it all began with one victory over The Rock that catapulted him to the top status in the company and assured his career would be Hall of Fame worthy when he retired.
Ryan Byers
5. Double Title Match at Wrestlemania 2000 – I fully admit that I might have a bit of a personal bias towards this match because, not only did I see the real deal at WM2000, but I also got to see an AWESOME free preview of it when the WWF came through my hometown for a house show a couple of weeks before Mania. It is true that this match, featuring Angle against Chris Jericho, wasn’t as epic as some of Angle’s later matches. However, it was the first time during his career that we got some idea of the fact that he was more than just a competent midcard wrestler and that he really could hang with world-class talent like Jericho. It was the first in a long string of memorable matches on major shows for Angle.
4. The “Clocks” Video – Kurt Angle seriously injured his neck leading into his match with Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XIX, to the point that many feared that one bad bump in the bout would lead to Kurt being paralyzed. However, he gutted it through the match, deciding to take time off for surgery immediately thereafter. Angle opted for a somewhat experimental (and ultimately ineffective) minimally invasive operation that allowed him to return after several weeks instead of several months. When he did return, it was preceded by what I consider one of the goddamn best video packages of the last ten years with Coldplay’s “Clocks” playing over beautifully shot black and white footage of Angle training. The production, combined with the very real emotion surrounding the story of Kurt’s return, literally sent chills up my spine.
3. 2004 Attack on Eddie Guerrero – Not a lot of people seem to remember this one, but it’s burned into my mind. Angle was headed into his Wrestlemania XX WWE Title match with Eddie Guerrero. Paul Heyman, who acted as Angle’s agent, goaded Guerrero into wrestling him on an episode of Smackdown, with the stipulation being that Eddie would be handcuffed during the bout. It was all a setup as, before the match could really get underway, Kurt Angle appeared and put a hurting on Guerrero. The angle sounds really basic on paper, but it was AWESOME, and it was awesome entirely because of how Kurt sold it. His face was emotionless, his blue eyes were piercing, he didn’t blink once during the entire segment, and he looked like an absolute psychopathic killer. He acted the part too, with Guerrero being destroyed in an angle that lead me to really want to see their pay per view encounter.
2. Murdering Shane McMahon – Speaking about Angle being a killer, how about that King of the Ring 2001? In addition to competing in the tournament, Kurt was put into a street fight against Shane McMahon. There was an awesome Angle Slam from the top rope in the match, but even more memorable than that was a series of spots that involved some glass panels built into that year’s KOTR set. Angle tried to suplex McMahon through the glass and, well, it failed. A couple of times . . . and poor Shane-o wound up splattering headfirst on the concrete floor at the hands of the Olympic gold medalist. They eventually managed to get Shane to bust through the panel, but the failed attempts made the spot all the more memorable.
1. vs. Shawn Michaels at Mania 21 – This is the definitive Kurt Angle match. Period. Point. Blank. I don’t think that I have to explain myself much more than that. These are two men who everybody knew would bring out the best in one another and, lo and behold, they did just that when they locked it up in the ring. If not for the fact that Angle burned his bridges with WWE as a result of how he departed major league professional wrestling, this would be something that Jim Ross and Josh Matthews would talk about with great reverence every year when trying to build up just how amazing of an event Wrestlemania is. It essentially defines everything that is right about this era of pro wrestling.
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