Why Kurt Angle Was Scared Of Backstage Reaction After WrestleMania Match

Kurt Angle was worried about the backstage reaction after one of his greatest WWE matches. 

When wrestling fans think of Kurt Angle’s career in WWE and TNA, they justifiably remember him as one of the greatest all-around pro wrestlers of all time who had dozens (and dozens) of amazing matches over the years.

One of the best matches of Kurt Angle’s career took place at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 when he wrestled fellow WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels for the first time.

In a match with a lot of nearfalls and near submissions, Angle picked up the big win over Michaels by making him tap out to the Ankle Lock.

While speaking at an Inside the Ropes event, Kurt Angle recalled the WrestleMania 21 match with Michaels and said he was worried they would get in trouble for going over time.

“Shawn wanted to make sure [we stole the show that night.] You know what he did? He’s the only person that could get away with it. We went 10 minutes over at WrestleMania. We went for 35 minutes. We were slotted 25 minutes. But Shawn being the asshole he is, he went 10 minutes over. I’m scared to death that I’m going to have heat when I come back.

But there was no heat. Vince McMahon always let Shawn do what he wanted to do, and rightfully so. If anybody deserves it, it’s Shawn Michaels.” (h/T Fightful)

For what it’s worth, the actual match time for the Angle-Michaels WrestleMania 21 classic was 27:32, and when you factor in things like entrances and post-match, it does come close to the 35 minutes that Angle mentioned.

Kurt Angle Wants More Credit For TNA Run In Addition To WWE Career

The WWE and TNA Hall of Famer Kurt Angle had a great career in pro wrestling that saw him start on WWE TV in November 1999 until he left in the summer of 2006 due to refusing to go to rehab, which WWE wanted him to do. Angle signed with TNA and spent more than a decade there before returning to WWE for a final run in the late 2010s.

In a 2024 interview looking back on his career, Kurt Angle expressed frustration that people don’t view his TNA run as fondly as his WWE days.

“I always get, ‘You know, Kurt Angle would have been the best of all time if he would have stuck in the WWE and wrestled there for 20 years.’ That may be true, but what’s the difference?

I wrestled in TNA for 11 of my 20 years, and I think that should be added on. I had a better career in TNA. I was wrestling guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe and Sting. I had a lot better career in TNA because I came into my own.

When you’re a professional wrestler, it takes you about six or seven years to really master your craft. That’s when I left WWE after six years. I went to TNA and I was a man on a mission there. I just did incredibly well there.”

The difference was that far more people watched WWE than TNA, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Angle was great in TNA, as he said.