Kurt Angle Says He Joined WWE Thanks To One Hall Of Famer
Kurt Angle has credited a WWE Hall of Famer with getting into wrestling.
After turning down an incredible 10-year contract with WWE in 1996, Kurt Angle finally put pen to paper with the company in 1998. From there, he made incredible progress and was on the main roster by the end of the following year.
Once a regular on WWE television, Angle tangled with the biggest names that the company had to offer, and quickly became World Champion.
Speaking on his podcast, The Kurt Angle Show, the legend recalled working with Steve Austin in late 2000, shortly after he came back from a serious neck injury. Angle reflected fondly on working with Austin, explaining how and why he learned so much from the Texas Rattlesnake.
“He didn’t act like it. When he was structuring the match, he was really cool with me because he was like, ‘What do you want to do?’ I was like, ‘You’re Stone Cold Steve Austin. We’ll do what you want to do.’ And he was like, ‘No, no, no. Well, let’s talk about this together. Let’s come up with some, some good stuff together.’
So he enabled me to help start like, letting my mind start the motor in my head started moving. So this was good, because Steve was teaching me to learn how to structure matches and put matches together. Because he could have done it all on his own, but he wanted me to do it, too. And what he was doing was helping me learn. And that was a big asset. That’s why I loved working with Stone Cold and knowing that — but Steve was so good in the ring.
Whenever, you know, we would be wrestling the match, and the next spot would be coming up and he’d call an audible I’d be like, ‘Well, what are we doing?’ He’s like, ‘Just stay with me.’ And he’d call the audible and do that, and then he’d go back to the spot that we were supposed to do. He was just so good at that. He was really good at improvising.”
Angle also looked back on his decision to sign with WWE in 1998. The Olympic gold medalist explained that Austin was the reason he decided to work with WWE in the first place, so it was an honour to work with him in person.
“It was a complete honor, again, to be in the ring with Stone Cold Steve Austin. I was so mesmerized when I got in the ring with the Rock, but when I got in the ring with Stone Cold — don’t forget, he’s the reason why I actually joined WWE, right? So I was like a super fan of Stone Cold. So it was a huge honor to be inside that ring with him.”
Kurt Angle Set For More Surgery In 2024
During a different episode of his podcast, Kurt Angle revealed he’ll be undergoing more surgery in early 2024. The star admitted he’s got a “lot of motor skill problems” and will undergo more neck surgery in an effort to improve his quality of life.
H/t to Wrestling Headlines