The ECW Legend Who Had Heat With Kurt Angle Over Infamous Segment

Former ECW Champion The Sandman revisited his frustration with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle over a controversial ECW segment from October 26, 1996.

The moment, which saw The Sandman “crucified” by Raven and his stable using barbed wire, shocked audiences and remains one of the most infamous incidents in ECW history.

At the time, Kurt Angle, fresh off his 1996 Olympic gold medal win, was exploring a transition into professional wrestling and attended the event. However, the shocking imagery enraged Angle, prompting him to immediately distance himself from ECW. His disgust with the segment delayed his entry into wrestling, which ultimately came in 1998 when he signed with WWE. In a 2016 interview with The Whig, The Sandman expressed his frustration with Angle’s reaction, believing it was an overreaction due to Angle’s lack of familiarity with the wrestling world.

“That whole thing got blown out of proportion by Kurt fu**ing Angle. It wasn’t Kurt’s fault because Kurt didn’t know wrestling back then. He was a fu**ing gold medallist. Everything to him was a shoot, you know what I’m saying?”

The Sandman also criticised what he saw as hypocrisy, pointing to a WWE segment in which The Undertaker hung Stone Cold Steve Austin on a cross-like symbol.

“I guarantee you (Angle) didn’t go into Vince’s office and complain that night.”

Although he respected Angle in hindsight, The Sandman admitted he was furious at the time. He also revealed he advised Raven against apologising for the segment.

“I told Raven, ‘Do not go out there, do not apologize, you’re fu**ing crazy if you do.’”

The incident remains a defining example of ECW’s unapologetically extreme style, highlighting the polarising reactions it often elicited.

Which Prop Did Kurt Angle Say WWE Offered To Buy For $60,000?

Kurt Angle spoke about how WWE offered to buy the milk truck, that was used in the segment where he blasted Steve Austin with milk, for $60,000. Angle said that the owner of the truck, despite being offered over eight times more than the truck’s worth, refused to sell it to WWE as he and the community he lived in used it for parades.