Kurt Angle Won The WWE Title In His Rookie Year

[@CVVCLIPS]

Watch the full interview with Kurt Angle on my main​⁠​⁠ channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5vPe559nL2Zi8U

[@kaibricturner8836]

Vince saw so much potential in Kurt that he didn’t waste any time. He said we need this guy at the top asap!

[@scotgrig6840]

And it was a good decision too 👌

[@antione]

They did. Mick retired, Stone Cold was constantly banged up/on the verge of retiring, The Rock was going to Hollywood, the top guys were getting thin that’s why he got the rocket strapped to him.

[@Immortalangel14]

Dammit!

[@Immortalangel14]

​@antiothw rock didnt have his 1st movie until late 2001

[@polsdofer]

Crazy that Kurt turned them down initially. I remember hearing a story about Kurt going to an ECW event and was appalled by what he saw and he told Vince that since he's an Olympic gold medalist that he should never lose a match and Vince said no way is that happening.

[@stoddard1953]

I personally felt Angle's world title win in his rookie year felt believable. Here's an olympic gold medalist who won with a broken freakin' neck, and he storms onto the pro wrestling scene steamrolling through everybody. It wasn't like he was a nobody who suddenly became good; he was a legit wrestler who injected realism into the company.

[@BadLuckGino]

This is why Kurt Angle is TOP 5 GOAT in my opinion because he was the complete package. Legit wrestler? Check. Goofy comedy? Check. Promos? Check. All around worker who can have a great match with ANYONE? Check.

[@siddhantahuja351]

​@@BadLuckGino high capacity for milk consumption? Check.

[@grantoden8242]

this is exactly my sentiment mate

[@TheRealAhoy]

You're saying that with revised history of what he went on to be though. He wasn't using "the broken fricken neck" line yet, so you thinking he was believable because he won with a broken neck is delusional, they didn't start promoting that yet. Fact is Angle jumped up the card very fast and despite being so brilliant it was very surprising he got the title when he did in that particular period, it felt like that to everybody and they booked it to feel like that as well. Don't you and the people who liked your comment act like you were down with it lmao. I bet you were the first ones complaining on the internet

[@thenightstalker6165]

Wrong ​@@TheRealAhoy

[@tommyfraz.]

He may have not felt ready, but the Main Event needed him. The year 2000 featured Rock and HHH in like 75% of the PPV main events. They also wrestled each other almost every damn week too. Angle winning the title in 2000 truly injected some life into the programming.

[@imaratspal]

Those 2 could've easily figured out a match without Kurt because they were so familiar with one another, though. It would've also given Rock a clean victory over Triple H on PPV, which he never really had because always, other people would have to get involved. Kurt definitely was not ready for the title when he won it. He was ready a year later when he beat Austin.

[@ChrisM07]

​@@imaratspal His character was a geek his 1st reign while HHH and Rikishi were pushed as killer heels. In HHH's case politics definitely played a factor, couldn't have Angle be a threat to his spot obviously.

[@EGarrett01]

Triple H killed off all the other main eventers.

[@thefantasybros424]

@@imaratspal That’s not his point, Mania was Rock Hunter, Backlash was Rock Hunter, Judgement Day was Rock Hunter, King of the Ring was Rock Hunter, Summerslam was Rock Hunter. Sometimes another couple guys were thrown in but by the end it was always down to those 2. As someone who watched relentlessly in 2000, by August we were all begging for something else.

[@brettrossi034]

​@@ChrisM07 but Angle did get a Stephanie love triangle angle out of the ordeal 😅

[@slimymeteor]

He's being humble. He deserved it. He came in as an Olympic gold medal wrestler, and he was just such a natural at the "sports entertainment" aspect, that it didn't feel undeserved at all. It was further justified by Angle remaining a top guy (and considered among the world's best wrestlers) for years to come

[@sinjin4563]

NO you’re talking as a fan watching it. He is saying HIS perspective. He was only a year in and was champion after being lead for most of his run up to that point whether it was Rock, Triple H, Taker, Benoit, etc. He was doing his part in all those matches but I can see exactly what he means about being asked to take the ball as champion that early. He showed promise as an arrogant heel but to be thrown the belt that early is crazy and only Attitude Era Esq. It would be like Gable getting the belt in Spring 2024 immediately after he got his first taste being treated as a legit solo act, it would be very abrupt (however not like Angle at all, Gable had been wrestling for about a decade by that point)

[@kbanks827]

His Eurocontinental run was short but underrated

[@anthonyray1835]

The way he lost the titles at wrestlemania against Jericho and benoit was awesome... we need another triple threat match in this way!

[@eltoroloco8821]

I wouldn't say underrated because of how much talent the WWE had it certainly didn't get buried.

[@eltoroloco8821]

​@@anthonyray1835would love to see NXT to do something like this

[@agentcodybanx8909]

Peak Angle was the greatest in-ring performer but overall, his career has been one of the best ever

[@TheSportguy33]

Respect for continuing peak angle!

[@lawrencericho3635]

That's lame too just use his name man

[@javijavinomi6282]

He's too humble. Underrated title as the milk drinking dork reign including the 6 man cell.

[@Sxecaba]

One of the best, love hearing him talk about his growth as a performer

[@PraiseThaDon]

Kurt & Brock both have the greatest rookie year in history.

[@makwabear4078]

And The Rock did the honours for both of them.

[@thelonewolf70x7]

Sheamus had a great start as a rookie too.

[@laskkoovisualz793]

@@thelonewolf70x7agree

[@anthonyrowland9072]

Maybe the low key GOAT. The look, the legitimacy, the work, the promo, the drive...

[@quentinkaasa47]

Meltzer did give Kurt his Wrestler of the Decade (2000s) award, despite never giving Kurt a 5-star match rating.

[@Lunchtime32]

​@@quentinkaasa47dave is a lame Kurt has atleast 10 5 star matches Brock Aj Joe Shawn Chris etc

[@TamaOne]

Super underrated how Kurt explained wrestling psychology, loved that part !!!

[@NeutralMuzik]

“Looky here it’s just the way the cookie tear, prepare to get hurt and mangled like Kurt Angle rookie year !” - MF DOOM

[@NeonClock]

It just shows the babysteps Kurt took to becoming the best. Everyone remembers his prime, and while he had the athletic ability, his first year of working on the job was working hard, listening to the veterans, and not be afraid to step out of his comfort zone to improve his flaws by learning.

[@scotgrig6840]

Exactly the opposite of what wrestlers today are doing

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

@@scotgrig6840 I mean at least in terms of WWE can you be surprised when they all have to learn the same exact cookie cutter bullshit in the "performance center"? The New Japan dojo is like a thousand times better right now

[@JstBobby]

He was ready. He was such a natural he looked like he was a pro wrestler his whole life as soon as he beduted

[@Antoniodagreat]

You mean debuted

[@DaFieldSays]

😂😂😂

[@Sycko_616]

Thank you Chris for dropping these videos. I’m at work and by myself. These interviews honestly help man. Gg bro

[@jackryan1809]

Yeah I remember being a kid, wanting to watch Kurt Angle as much as the Rock and Stone Cold, relativity quickly considering his rise to the top and his experience (at the time).

[@panyat]

like how kurt never changed hes look since his debut. not ever a minor change, well except his hair. also he debuted face then heel in that match. he cut pretty good promo there.

[@daniel3786]

Kurt Angle is like the best interview guest ever the GOAT

[@TheRealAhoy]

Yep, thats what Vince was all about, giving opportunities. The internet cries like he held back everybody, but he didn't, he gave everybody opportunities. But if you don't take them it will be longer until your next opportunity, and if you take them he'll give you harder opportunities and if you don't take them you'll get less of them too. Kurt took to the wrestling business so fast, he knew it was all about taking the opportunities you were given. Most don't, he did, that's why he was successful.

[@mayomonkey-gen1]

Thats why I always give the edge to Kurt over Brock. Both amazing athletes and in ring workers that captured the title within a year. Brock was a freak of nature, but Kurt had become a perfect wrestler within a year. Great In ring, and on the mic.

[@Boom12]

I remember as a little 9 year old mark, cheering so hard when Kurt won that first WWF Championship. Yeah, there was shenanigans of Rikishi interfering and failing at it by giving The Rock his offense. But 9 year old me was always a Kurt Angle fan. I loved his hypocritical promos, the heat he was getting and yet backing it up with amazing in-ring prowess. I was spoiled rotten admittedly, seeing Kurt go to the top so quickly like that. Kurt is why I love technical wrestling, and helped pave the way to appreciating the likes of William Regal, Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr.

[@ajbahus]

Kurt was interesting in that within months of his debut when he was in the middle of his undefeated streak, he just came off like such a big deal. I bought that he belonged next to Triple H and Rock.

[@exiaR2x78]

I was 8 years old during Kurt's rookie year and the amount of memorable stuff is crazy. Went back and watched a lot of those shows on the WWE network a few years back and how fast it clicked for him is insane

[@tavarism]

He was so instrumental in elevating every main event feud the second half of 2000. I was the BIGGEST Rock fan at that time but nothing about that win at No Mercy felt forced. Homie is a living legend 🐐

[@billybadass3056]

another example of natural talent over coming shit programing growth coaching... vince mcNUMBNUTS had a lot of those employed in the company

[@InvisibleHotdog]

It's not just talent, it's hard work

[@eltoroloco8821]

I liked Kurt Angle as kid growing up but man I feel I didn't truly understood how good he was, his mic game was on point and he matched that with his awesome wrestling.

[@doshi066]

i met kurt in october 2024 and he was so awesome, he was not those cases dont mean your hero cause he was super nice and he signed my kurt angle funko pop! to me kurt is the g.o.a.t

[@gamerfourlife64]

So humble I felt he was more then ready i loved kurt since day one an i always loved the rock but i popped so hard when kurt won the title

[@torch469]

Angle was more than ready! I didn’t realize Angle was just a rookie of wwf in 2000! Angle looked seasoned, experienced!

[@tylerrollins5295]

Honestly Kurt Angle had the best rookie year of any wwe superstar and is one of the best wwe superstars ever … this man went from collegiate wrestling style to the Olympics then to just transitioning to sports entrainment and learning how to make people laugh and it made sense how an all American wrestler just came in and dominated and won the us the ic and the wwe championship in less then 10 months

[@CasualVideoGamer]

I spent years saying so-and-so was the best wrestler, but looking back and that ability of hindsight, I truly believe that the best wrestler (from the style of 90s to today) is definitely Kurt Angle. He could be heel, face, tweener.. he could wrestle, brawl, some high spots.. he could cut amazing promos. He could be goofy or serious. The dude did and had it all. Then when it came time for him to fully step aside, he didn't try grasping at straws, he didn't hold anyone else back to prolong his own career, he didn't try doing any backstage politicking for better spots or moments. The dude did what he could manage, tried to promote the next generation, then stepped aside. Ever since then, he's been killing it in interviews like these and posting random stuff on twitter and such. I hated Angle at first (I was such a mark), but he's 100% won my respect. (For the record, a close runner up imo was Jericho for the same reasons.)

[@gsb408]

I watched him debut and win the world title real fast. As a kid even I knew he deserved it.

[@akamiguelsanchez9985]

Easily one of the greatest to ever do it

[@ThisisAOTV]

Still a fan of you sir! One of the greatest

[@radical6905]

Never has a rookie had a rocket strapped to his back more wisely than Kurt, cept maybe Randy

[@DJYC21215]

Randy took years to get to the top level, and he spent his first 5 jobbing to the main eventers at the time. Kurt Debuted as a main eventer and beat all the top guys his first year. (Taker, Trips, Rock, Kane, i think at some point he even got a win against Austin, ect ect)

[@bmstyty3549]

I say Brock. Vince put everything on Brock in his first 6 months in the company he was wwe champion , the cover of their video game , and was being paid like a main eventer.

[@colmnim21]

Brock 100%. Won KOTR on his 3rd (4th including the UK show) PPV, beat Rock clean for the Undisputed title within 4 months and had a hell in a cell win over Undertaker within 6 months

[@Nas-f3q]

⁠@@DJYC21215 no Randy was ready by 24. He understood psychology. It was just maturity. He was definitely ready in a talented standpoint, but not in a mental standpoint. If he was mature enough and 24 mark my word he would be in the position Cena is in. John Cena was never supposed to be the face of the company. Remember that that was not his spot. That was Brock. It would’ve been Randy, Brock, Batista the three main characters. I would even put RVD too because Vince didn’t want John Cena only. He wanted RVD up there too. RVD was definitely never supposed to lose the title that quick. You supposed to have a lengthy run. When Austin and Rock left it was that. Was a huge gap. And when Kurt left, they just added more. On top of Eddie dying.

[@therealjcon]

Sheamus

[@Teleios15013]

Angle was just an exceptional human who could be great at whatever task he set his mind to

[@thaddeusjones540]

Maybe the old generation in 90 but the current generation and last generation we love you here in Memphis Kurt

[@TheBaitShopGuy]

Kurt did win the title in the attitude era where titles were changing places back and forth weekly or monthly. It wasnt like when Backlund or Hogan kept the title for like over five years in a row in the 70s and 80s.

[@theharv1490]

Ironically, his title reign was one of the longest in the Attitude Era

[@Aspirintax]

Angle was amazing.

[@usernameunavailable168]

I used to love his pre match promos, especially the one at King of the Ring 2000 in Boston

[@Shaqt0418]

That's crazy you hear these stories and would have never known how deep the matches were

[@thequartersfooty]

Man when Kurt Angle came into the WWF, he showed that he was legit. A quick learner and relished it. Not many guys and debut and win 3 different titles (WWF Championship, Intercontinental Championship & European Championship) & the King of the Ring in the season year. Had awesome matches with heaps of great wrestlers.

[@Tryc3]

One of the greatest to ever do it.

[@markoutwithmark]

I was at that show. I think everyone in the building accepted his win for sure.

[@710moose8]

I fucking love Kurt he is the fucking goat!!

[@cerebralsamurai8382]

Dude won the WWE, Intercontinental and European titles in his rookie year you dont get any better than that

[@harinderrana9735]

In the first 6 months of his WWE career, Brock Lesnar beat Hogan, The Rock and Undertaker, plus King of the Ring and WWE championship.

[@i.t.jmusic6931]

Pro-wrestling is such a beautiful art😊❤

[@XombieLejon66]

Kurt Angle is one of the few guys who can say they were the best in the business, and have it be totally deserved.

[@stream_gene]

Man may not have thought he was ready, but as a new fan watching in 2000 he was a great chicken shit heel but could also back it up and become ruthless, when he got the ankle lock out in early 2001, that was a big moment I feel for his character.

[@davidkay7644]

I think winning the world title for the first time to Kurt Angle should be one of the biggest highlights of his wrestling career.

[@craigoneill2216]

He must be the only person that thinks it!

[@MrWhite00001]

I was always a fan of the technical guys. Kurt, Benoit, Jericho, Shawn, Shelton Benjamin etc.

[@richfranklin9270]

Said he wasn't ready? Well he sure fooled us😂

[@valeckseimu3132]

So many great match come After concussion n tellin the spot on the go😅

[@HaydenBell-g8h]

God bless the man! He broke his neck multiple times for millions of peoples entertainment. He is truly a hero to many! Oh, it's true. It's damn true!

[@vsrecrds]

Kurt whipped everybody. When he took out, lesnar, that quadrupled the respect

[@Clipperbossman]

What a legend

[@juanjvillarreal]

kurt fucking angle. one of the greatest of all time, absolute machine. 🐐

[@jshudo44]

Even though it was short term, Kurt Angle as the WWE champ was believably during the Attitude Era

[@marcusmaxwell9487]

Kurt was the man

[@Ellis5star]

Kurt was more than ready in my opinion. I've not seen anyone transition into pro wrestling like Kurt Angle.... like, Michael's, they're both just born athletes to perform at the elite level in their craft

[@BrandoeBrand]

They need to build stars nowadays the same way they built Kurt Angle.

[@oldmanjesus9855]

Better way to put it is he won the WWE title after becoming an Olympic gold medalist. Why is Kurt acting like he was a scrub? Dude is a legend in wrestling, heck the guy is probably the best pure wrestler to have ever worked in the WWE. He wasn't prepared for it but he was certainly ready and deserved it.

[@legendarybroly2]

“Wasn’t ready for it” but still a better championship reign than anything 2020 and a heads title reign (except Roman)

[@joolsmacgrools1288]

He knows how good he is, but he still maintains his humility. It's an admirable trait for sure.

[@RaptureSR]

I think you kind of missed the point. He's talking about his growth as a performer, not as a wrestler. He always had the athletic ability and talent as a wrestler to be a star. He showed Vince his potential and drive, and Vince responded by putting him situations where he had to figure out the showmanship side of things like in-ring psychology and how to cut promos. He isn't saying he was a scrub or something like that. He just acknowledged that he was still green when he won the title. He pointed out where he needed improvement early and talked about how Vince helped him develop those skills to the point where he also became one of the best performers and not just one of the best wrestlers.

[@joolsmacgrools1288]

@@RaptureSR and for all of his faults, Vince deserves a lot of credit for challenging his prospective top guys to grab that 'brass ring'. Of course, Punk ripped apart this whole concept in his infamous pipebomb promo, but there's still some merit to it when it's properly applied.

[@thefantasybros424]

Mania was Rock Hunter, Backlash was Rock Hunter, Judgement Day was Rock Hunter, King of the Ring was Rock Hunter, Summerslam was Rock Hunter. Sometimes another couple guys were thrown in but by the end it was always down to those 2. As someone who watched relentlessly in 2000, by August we were all begging for something else. Angle getting the belt was the right call.

[@DiabolicalD3vil]

One of a kind prodigy

[@biggbluh]

If a Time Machine existed... my legit 1st wish would be a Prime Bret vs Prime Angle Feud! I'm sure it would be a Bret vs Austin part 2... and just as Good!!

[@nohbuddy1]

He was hilarious with Edge and Christian during that time

[@MetalMann-de3xi]

You're wrong Kurt. You indeed deserved it. You worked hard to where you were. Vince seen your future and pushed you to be your best. You grabbed that wild horse and ran with it. The WWE Universe needed you. You brought out the best, not only in yourself, but others as well.

[@Christopherjazzcat]

Gedo did a very similar thing with Okada back in the day

[@stuartmanson7359]

Nah, Kurt was absolutely ready as a heel champion. Guy is one of the best of all time

[@dacbiet]

Peak Angle is a wrestling god

[@kendrickellis8726]

We know kurt, cmon folks do you see today wrestling becoming world champions yes this was the 90's

[@BrndnNZT48V2.0]

Nice time type a proper sentence

[@kendrickellis8726]

@BrndnNZT48V2.0 YOU SUCK

[@V1LLAN89]

​@@BrndnNZT48V2.0You're in no position to criticise! 😂

[@NiktheEnglishGreekCypriot]

Was the year 2000. Get it right

[@kendrickellis8726]

@NiktheEnglishGreekCypriot ok aye you older forsho than me in life. just making my own opinion dont angle slam me

[@bizzles44]

I feel like it would’ve made the WM 17 main event mean more if Rock held the belt that whole time. Then when angle won it at unforgiven 2001 for the first time as a face it would’ve meant even more then

[@lamarthomas5603]

I do remember being confused that they were pushing goofy Kurt Angle to the top. Didn’t realize he was busting his tail behind the scenes

[@baconchalupa]

No one is gonna have a better rookie year then Kurt or brock

[@brettriverboat9920]

Give me time machine...Angle vs Bret Hart...Iron Man Match... god man

[@ChrisSuswal-de9tj]

Yup. Then just make sure to keep Bret away from Goldberg while it at it

[@staying_Afrosty]

we all know what we need to know about vince, but one thing we cant take away is how good his business acumen was back in the day.

[@ucouco78]

I remember Angle holding several titles at the same time and losing them all at no way out if i remember correctly.

[@triplehkingofkings5883]

Vince really saw the potential in Kurt Angle from day 1. With all the BS Vince gets all the time, sometimes he needs to be acknowledged for how great he was

[@Landmasters]

Good on Kurt, sink or swim does not work for me, but for some it squeezes every bit of potential out which can then be refined

[@maniacslap1623]

Truly one of the goats. Absolutely loved hating him as a heel lol

[@life0093]

Yes he was

[@bestintheworld568]

Kurt Angle came in during a time Stone Cold and the Undertaker were out injured and Mick Foley had retired from being a full-time wrestler. It didn’t leave a huge amount of main event star power aside The Rock and Triple H, and people were getting bored of seeing that every week. Of course you had the likes of Jericho, Big Show and Kane jumping in and out of the main event, but Kurt just gave them another option. And I get the feeling WWE knew Rock was about to disappear to Hollywood as well for a few months.

[@brnhornet3676]

He had the best Moonsault in the business

[@L4-295]

That’s an incredible story lol. I wonder who else Vince did that to that sunk instead of swam

[@canUsaythis]

People say Ric Flairs record *offical* 16 Time World Champion should never be broken....I say there are 2 who should and be the only one to do it. Sting for the History and the Rivalry they had and then theres Kurt Angle

[@blackout2430]

It’s too bad Vince did the things he did or allegedly did because man that guy just knew wrestling. He just understood it and he really did help. Create a lot of stars. It’s just a shame. You didn’t create more stars and held certain people back. He knew Curt was capable because he was a gold medal as he knew that that guy had to drive to become great.

[@ItsDomeno]

🔥🔥🔥

[@Nessrox444]

I think it was his worst title reign (minus the one during the alliance era that I totally forgot even happened) but that's not to say it was bad. I think Kurt was still figuring out who Kurt was in pro wrestling. He didn't get a lot of legitimate wins over top guys. But his character work, his ring-work, and his connection to fans were all there. Dude was a star and a staple of the show in less than 12 months of debut.

[@master-of-mind5881]

He’s correct when he says his first title win was kinda accidental in that he was injured during the match but managed to finish it impressing Vince so much that he became a wwf A-lister by the end of that year. The message behind the story is that Vince wanted you to bleed literal pints of blood before you go over as champ. 😂

[@keeganhurley119]

Don’t most first time world champions think they’re not ready

[@PressPauseProductions]

So basically Vince wanted Angle to succeed so he kept putting him in sink or swim situations. And thankfully Angle worked with helpful guys like The Rock and HHH as they could've easily let him remain clueless and kill his push if they decided to The whole forcing guys to promo every week should have been utilized more. For instance Ambrose did most of the talking in The Shield so when they split Reigns was absolutely horrible on the mic as he never had to talk before. Seth was pretty shaky too at first but working under Steph and HHH helped him

[@cappy2282]

Kurt was so great! 😂

[@getfitron155]

It’s safe to say Vince wants you to succeed on the spot , he needs to know whether you got it or not

[@TheRealAhoy]

Yeah for sure, He gave Cesaro lots of opportunities, despite famously being known for not giving him opportunities. Gave him plenty, but Cesaro has the demeanor of a man who does what he is expected to do in front of the camera but can't wait to be away from it.

[@JM1993951]

Kurt, if you weren’t ready, you got ready pretty quickly after. Especially in 2001 against Austin.

[@paynexkiller]

Was a couple months later. Triple H had to beat him on PPV before that happened.

[@spacecase7504]

Crazy that they sent him back out after that incident possibly causing more brain damage

[@You_Tuber_Premium]

Oh it's true. It's damn true.

[@meteornome2556]

The only person who had a rookie year like Angle was Lesnar in 2002. Except unlike Angle, Lesnar wasn't booked like a cowardly heel. He was booked like a monster heel as soon as he debuted.