WWE legend Kurt Angle is arguably one of the best performers the industry has ever witnessed. The Olympic Gold Medalist had two different stints in the promotion, but his first run was a bit more special due to the epic storylines.
The American Hero was involved in some memorable segments in that time period, but some of them were controversial too. In a similar way, Angle had an unscripted fight with a ‘Tough Enough’ finalist on the November 4, 2004, SmackDown episode. It happened when Kurt challenged all the finalists to a squat thrust competition.
One of them was MMA artist Daniel Puder, and he accepted the challenge. In the initial moments, the veteran took him down; however, Puder later locked Angle in a Kimura Lock. But somehow the pro wrestler pushed Daniel’s shoulders down and eventually pinned him for the victory.
What the finalist did wasn’t planned, as he used a submission move, and that’s why Kurt showed no mercy while talking about the incident. This happened during an interview with Hannibal TV, as the Hall of Famer expressed his views about it.
The former WWE Champion revealed how he wasn’t supposed to use a submission move on him. He said, “I told him that afterwards. I said, ‘You’re a dumba*s because you pinned yourself.”
Despite being upset that the guy went off script, the legendary performer shared that they later bonded well. But even after all that, getting caught in the submission hold on that day is one of the most talked-about incidents of Kurt’s career.
Kurt Angle believes Daniel Puder wasn’t a good fit for WWE
Daniel’s segment with Kurt made him the talk of the industry, but he wasn’t able to capitalize on it. After the Kimura Lock incident in November 2004, the MMA star participated in the next year’s Royal Rumble match, where he was demolished viciously by popular WWE performers.
The 6-foot-2 entered the match with high expectations but faced embarrassment by getting smashed by Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Hardcore Holly. The mixed martial arts star eventually left the Stamford-based promotion in late 2005.
Puder wasn’t that successful success in pro wrestling, and many believed that the Kurt incident was the reason. But Angle once shared that he feels Daniel wasn’t really a good fit for WWE. The veteran said, “He thought that I was the reason why he didn’t work out in the WWE. That’s not true. He just sucked as a wrestler”
Even though the 6-foot-2 wasn’t able to reach heights of success in pro wrestling, he did pretty well in MMA. But still one thing that he might have a regret about is his run for the Stamford-based promotion. So Will he ever return to make it big in the same company? Only the future knows the answer to this question.