SUMMARY
- Kurt Angle is an Olympic Gold Medalist and a WWE Hall of Famer.
- However, according to Angle, some of the best moments of his pro-wrestling career came during his time in TNA.
The Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle is one of the most skilled professional wrestlers ever. He has traveled around the world and engaged in some of the most brutal professional wrestling matches ever. His influence inside the squared circle is truly unmatched and might never be replicated again by any superstar.
He debuted for the WWE during the Attitude Era and was instantly successful. Angle had an entertaining run during the Attitude Era alongside The Rock, The Undertaker, and many more legendary superstars. He then transitioned into a more experienced veteran during the Ruthless Aggression Era which also saw Angle’s departure from the WWE.
Kurt made his way into TNA in 2006 and was on another level during his time in the company. He gave unforgettable matches and showed extreme levels of athleticism. Recently, talking about his TNA run, Angle remembered how good it was and also ranked it above his run in the WWE. During the Busted Open Radio podcast, Kurt stated how he became better while working in TNA.
“I consider my work in TNA better than my work in WWE as well. And the reason is I kind of came into my own.”, stated Angle. He then further talked about how he had several good matches with talents like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Sting, and many more. “A lot of great talents that I got to work with that I was very honoured to go up against them in TNA. And I’m very proud of the career I had.”, said Angle.
Several fans and admirers believe that Angle had an unforgettable run in TNA during his initial years. He was unstoppable during this time in terms of wrestling and held several championships outside of TNA including the IWJP Heavyweight Championship.
A look at some of Kurt Angle’s instant classics from TNA Wrestling
The Wrestling Machine wrestled some of the best matches in the history of TNA Wrestling during 2006-2016. During his decade-long dominance, Angle held the TNA Heavyweight Championship 6 times and had majestic title reigns. Looking back at some of his career highlights, Angle gave over-the-top matches with the likes of Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Sting, and many more superstars.
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles from Genesis 2010 is one of the matches that every wrestling fan must watch. It displayed how good professional wrestling can be and had fans on the edge of their seats. Their Genesis bout was nothing short of Phenomenal, but their Hard Justice 2008 match tops the list. It was a Last Man Standing match with Texas Death style rules which made it even more memorable.
sting vs kurt angle 🎰 tna bound for glory 2007
for today’s sting flashback we go back to one of his best tna bouts @sting @RealKurtAngle #AEWRevolution
🎶 roc marciano + nicholas craven – 1000 mile starepic.twitter.com/jptIZhYpC6
— reelgraps 📀 (@reel_graps) March 1, 2024
Angle also had a long-storied rivalry with Jeff Jarrett during his time in TNA. They wrestled several times during their rivalry and had some epic encounters. Their peak encounter came at Genesis 2009 which involved extreme levels of athleticism and brutality at its best. His bouts against Samoa Joe at Lockdown 2008 and Sting at Bound For Glory 2007 also deserve special mentions.
Kurt Angle had his final WWE match against Baron Corbin in 2019
Angle returned to WWE in his final run after dominating the wrestling scene for almost a decade. He became the RAW General Manager after his return in 2017 and wrestled a couple of matches making special appearances. His final rivalry was with Baron Corbin and had his farewell match against him at WrestleMania 35.
The build-up to the match was well received and everyone was excited to see Angle wrestle one last time. Corbin won the bout ending Angle’s illustrious career on a huge low point. The victory was pointless for Corbin who was hated by the fans at the time and was not utilized by the WWE.
Many argued that this should not have been the send-off for Angle and he deserved a lot better. Given his iconic career over the years, there is no denying that Kurt is one of the greatest of all time and has a wrestling legacy that will live on forever.