Kurt Angle On Being A Top Star In WWE – “There Is A Lot Of Pressure”

Kurt Angle opened up on his podcast about what it takes to be a top star in WWE. The 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist knows what it was like to be at the top since he was a main event talent for most of his run in the company.

During his Kurt Angle Show podcast [available early and ad-free at AdFreeShows.com], the WWE Hall of Famer talked about some of the challenges that top WWE stars face. In Angle’s opinion, the biggest challenge is when you are elevated to World Champion status and you have to be at the top of your game:

“Yeah, you have to be on every night. You’re gonna wrestle between 20 to 30 minutes, whether it’s a house show, TV, a pay-per-view, you’re gonna stay busy. And you’re carrying the company on your shoulders. So it’s a big responsibility, and you have to be ready for it.”

“There is a lot of pressure because you’re expected to draw now. You’re the one that’s selling the tickets. The main one that’s selling the tickets in the pay-per-view buys. So you know, you know that in your mind. And you have other talent that’s up there upper-tier talent, it also, you know, help sell tickets. But, you know, from a champion standpoint, that’s your job.”

The 52-year-old Kurt Angle is one of the greatest WWE superstars ever. He went on to win six World Championships in his WWE career (WWE Title, World Title, WCW Title) and after he left WWE in 2006, he became a six-time TNA World Champion as well.

Angle’s first WWE Championship victory came at No Mercy 2000 when he defeated The Rock. Angle famously cried after the title win, just like he did after he won his Olympic Gold Medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Angle retired as a wrestler in 2019 when he lost to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017.