Jump to content

Kurt Angle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Perry8331 (talk | contribs) at 20:13, 25 March 2006 (2006). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|March 2006|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.

Kurt Angle
File:Kurtpromo.jpg
BornDecember 9 1968
Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Kurt Angle
El Gran Luchadore
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight237 lb (108 kg)
Billed fromPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trained byDave Schultz
Tom Prichard
Dory Funk, Jr.
Debut1998

Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9 1968 in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is an American 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and now a professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the SmackDown! brand, where he is the current World Heavyweight Champion. He is also the only person to have ever won the WWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Among Angle's trademarks is the audience — whether he is face or heel — chanting "You Suck!" in sequence with his entrance music.

Amateur wrestling

Angle had a distinguished career in amateur wrestling. He was a 2-time NCAA Division I champion and a 3-time NCAA Division I All-American while attending Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Angle has a tattoo of the Clarion University Golden Eagle on his upper back. He was also 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, 2-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and 1988 USA FILA Junior World Freestyle champion. Before Angle won his 1996 Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling, he sustained amateur wrestling losses to former PRIDE and UFC champion Mark "The Hammer" Coleman and MMA legend Mark Kerr.

Angle reached the pinnacle of his amateur career at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, winning the 100 kg (220-pound) freestyle wrestling competition, becoming the only American to do this.

Olympic medal record
Men's Freestyle Wrestling
Gold medal – first place 1996 Freestyle Wrestling

While Kurt Angle won an Olympic gold medal with a badly injured neck, his neck was not broken. In WWE, Angle exaggerates the severity of his injury, claiming that he won his medal with "a broken freakin' neck!" However, according to the official rule book of the Olympic Games committee, no competitor will be authorized to participate in an event if seriously injured, indicating that Angle was not seriously enough injured to warrant exclusion from the event.

Not long after his high-profile Olympic success, he decided to enter the world of broadcasting. He was hired to do sports commentary during the 10 PM nightly newscast on Pittsburgh TV WPGH channel 53. Promoted as "The Angle on Sports", Kurt was visibly nervous and had trouble speaking on camera. His news career lasted only a few short months before he turned to professional wrestling. The move brought sharp criticism from his peers in the freestyle wrestling community who regard pro wrestling as a mockery of their sport.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

On October 26 1996, Angle was convinced to attend the taping of an Extreme Championship Wrestling event named High Incident by Shane Douglas. Angle provided guest commentary during a match between Taz and Little Guido, but walked out of the building after the infamous "crucifixion storyline" (where Raven attached The Sandman to a cross using barbed wire). Angle was shocked by the controversial imagery and feared that his career prospects would be damaged if he was associated with the incident, so much that he threatened to sue ECW owner Paul Heyman if he was shown on TV in the same broadcast as the stunt.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

1999-2001

After many months spent in the Memphis Championship Wrestling developmental territory and competing in untelevised Dark Matches for the World Wrestling Federation, Angle officially debuted for the WWF on November 14 1999 at the annual Survivor Series pay-per-view event, held that year at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. He faced and defeated Shawn Stasiak in his debut match. In that match, Angle introduced his finishing move, the Olympic Slam (later renamed Angle Slam), a spinning belly to back suplex. His character, touting morality and the "three I's" -- intensity, integrity, and intelligence -- was a spoof of the all-American babyfaces of the 1980s; Kurt Angle was meant to be a heel in the anti-hero, Attitude Era 1990s.

Angle initially embarked on an undefeated streak, though he suffered a loss in a tag team match when his partner, Steve Blackman, was pinned. This led to a match between the two at Armageddon 1999, which Angle won with a German Suplex. His streak continued into 2000, when he was scheduled to face an unknown opponent at the Royal Rumble. The opponent was revealed as the debuting Tazz, who rendered Angle unconscious using his Tazzmission hold. However, Angle claimed that the Tazzmission was an illegal choke hold, and his streak was therefore unbroken (he was finally beaten decisively by The Rock).

Angle won the European Championship on February 10 2000, defeating Val Venis. On February 27 at No Way Out, Angle defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship after (illegally) using the title belt to block Jericho's Lionsault. He would then unofficially merge the two titles into the "Eurocontinental" Championship. Angle was the third wrestler to hold both these titles at once, following D'Lo Brown (who, as Angle humorously put it on TV, "doesn't count") and Jeff Jarrett.

Veteran wrestler Bob Backlund became Angle's mentor, but, unfortunately for Angle, Backlund agreed to a match on Angle's behalf that would see him defend both his titles in a triple threat match. As this meant that Angle could lose his titles without being beaten, he was understandably angry, and used Backlund's own Crossface Chickenwing hold on him. This allowed Angle to adopt the Crossface Chickenwing as one of his finishing moves. On April 2 2000 at WrestleMania 2000, Angle faced Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, and lost both belts without being pinned or made to submit.

Angle joined Edge & Christian to form the faction Team ECK, which was joined by Rhyno the following year.

Angle began showing feelings to Triple H's wife Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Stephanie sought a guy she could express her feelings to, and she chose Angle after she caught Triple H in a compromising position with Trish Stratus; Triple H was helping Trish get ready for a match, but it looked like something else to Stephanie. This resulted in a feud with Triple H. During the storyline, both Angle and Triple H along with Stephanie were still known as heels, but Angle's loss in popularity would make Triple H a new fan favorite. The feud, which also involved The Rock, ended after Stephanie dumped Angle by kicking him in the groin, followed by a Pedigree from Triple H.

In addition, Angle won the King of the Ring tournament in June 2000, defeating Rikishi in the finals, and wrestled in the main event of SummerSlam in August.

At No Mercy in October 2000, Angle defeated The Rock to win the WWF Championship. Entering 2001, Angle adopted the lethal Ankle Lock submission hold, made famous by Ken Shamrock, on Scotty 2 Hotty, "breaking" his ankle. He would acquire the managerial services of Trish Stratus and renewed his feud with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Thanks to Stone Cold Steve Austin, Angle defeated Triple H at Royal Rumble. He held the WWF Title for four months before losing it to the man he defeated for the title, The Rock.

Angle then engaged in a lengthy feud with Chris Benoit. At WrestleMania X-Seven, Angle hooked Benoit's tights to get the pinfall victory. The feud continued at Backlash, where Benoit and Angle went at it in an Ultimate Submissions Match (an Iron Man Match in which only submissions count as victories), which Benoit won. At Judgment Day, the two went at in a 2 out of 3 Falls match with Angle's gold medal placed on the line. The first fall would be a Pinfall Only Match, the second being a Submission Match, and the third being a Ladder Match. Benoit won the first fall. Angle went for Benoit's own Flying Headbutt but Benoit moved out of the way and gave Angle the Olympic Slam. Angle would win the second fall. Angle no-sold Benoit's DDT and gave him the Olympic Slam followed by the ankle lock for a submission. Angle won the third fall and retained the gold medal after his goons Edge and Christian interfered.

When The Alliance invaded the WWF in the The Invasion storyline, Angle was forced to team with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin eventually turned on him by joining the Alliance. Angle became a face, and led the WWF while Austin led the WCW/ECW Alliance. It is during this time that Angle won the WCW Championship (defeating Booker T), the Hardcore Championship (defeating Rob Van Dam), and the United States Championship (defeating Rhyno).

Angle eventually toppled Austin for his second WWF Title in an emotional bout in September 2001 in his home town by making Austin tap out to the ankle lock. He lost it back to Austin just a few weeks later when WWF Commissioner William Regal turned heel and joined the Alliance as well. Angle would then be scheduled to team up with WWF superstars to face off against the Alliance at Survivor Series, but turned heel again by turning his back on the WWF and joining the Alliance he'd spent months fighting against. He explained that all members of Team WWF were losers. The Big Show would take Angle's spot. At Survivor Series, Angle eliminated The Undertaker, but was eliminated by The Rock. As Austin was about to win, Angle returned to the ring to pick up the title belt as the ref was down. It looked as though Angle was about to strike the Rock but struck Austin instead which led to the Rock getting the victory. Angle returned to the WWF fold and remained a sneering, patronizing, yet humorous heel.

At Vengeance, Angle was one of four men to take part in the tournament to crown the first ever Undisputed Champion. After a strong battle with Austin, he became a victim of the Stone Cold Stunner and was eliminated.

2002-2004

The year kicked off as Angle competed in his first Royal Rumble match. Angle made it to the final two before he was eliminated by Triple H. By the time No Way Out had rolled around, Angle had gotten himself into a number 1 contender's match with Triple H where Stephanie McMahon was the special referee. After a chair shot and an Angle Slam, Angle pinned Triple H to become the no 1 contender for WrestleMania X8. However, the next night on RAW, WWF co-owner at the time, Ric Flair gave Triple H a rematch with Angle in which he defeated Angle to regain his title shot. Angle did however go on to compete at WrestleMania X8 going on to defeat Kane. Kane went for a chokeslam but Angle was able to reverse into a pinning combination, using the ropes for extra leverage.

During the next month, Angle would ignite a feud with former friend Edge. At Judgment Day 2002 the two engaged in a "Hair vs. Hair" match. With a surprise inside cradle, Edge beat Angle. However, Angle; not wanting to lose his hair, ran to the back while Edge chased him throughout building. Eventually Edge caught Angle and applied a sleeper hold which knocked Angle out long enough for Edge to shave his head bald. For the purposes of comic relief, Angle wore a wig for the next month which he claimed to be his real hair. He has maintained his bald head since.

The following month, at King of the Ring Angle faced Hulk Hogan for the first time. Angle won this match via his ankle lock submission. Angle was billed as being the first person to defeat Hogan via submission when in fact Lex Luger had done it on WCW Monday Nitro to win the WCW Championship in 1997 and later that year Sting did the same in controversial fashion. Angle's win, however, was Hogan's first defeat via submission on WWE programming. Angle went on to feud with Rey Mysterio, culminating in a victory at SummerSlam, once again with the ankle lock. Afterwards, he feuded with Benoit. The two fought in a series of exciting and thrilling matches. The feud ended when Stephanie McMahon forced them to form a tag team and participate in a tournament for the WWE Tag-Team Championship. They feuded with heel team of Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero.

Angle went on to his third WWE Championship reign, defeating The Big Show in December 2002, thanks to the help of Brock Lesnar and the F-5. However, Angle turned heel by hiring former ECW owner Paul Heyman, who was feuding with Lesnar at the time.

On the December 26 2002 edition of SmackDown!, as a Christmas 'gift' to his new client, Paul Heyman gave Kurt Angle his own back-up team, Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin, who debuted that night under the name Team Angle.

Angle then went on to rekindle his rivalry with Benoit, defeating him via anklelock submission at the 2003 Royal Rumble in what is referred to many fans as one of the greatest WWE matches in history. During this time Kurt Angle was feuding with Brock Lesnar, who won the Royal Rumble that year gaining him a shot at Angle's WWE Championship at WrestleMania XIX. Angle lost his title to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XIX in March 2003 in a tremendous wrestling match in which Lesnar botched a Shooting Star Press and resorted to a third F-5 for the victory. Angle subtly turned face by congratulating and befriending Lesnar immediately afterward. This match is notable in that Kurt Angle became the first person to kick out of Brock Lesnar's finisher, the F-5.

Angle seriously considered trying to make a comeback to freestyle wrestling for the 2004 Summer Olympics, but he abandoned that plan late in 2002, when neck problems that dated back to his past amateur wrestling career recurred.

In 2003, after the aforementioned neck problems led to an almost career-ending injury, he opted for a new type of surgery that allowed him to return in three months rather than a year. Angle would gain respect from the audience, and told them that he was proud of the "You Suck!" chants. With that the fans continued to chant those catchphrases. Team Angle, however, turned on him. Angle told his former proteges that he "earned" the "You Suck" chants, and kicked them out of his group. The team later re-dubbed themselves "The World's Greatest Tag Team".

Angle would soon return and regain the WWE Championship to begin his fourth title reign in a triple threat match at Vengeance against the Big Show and Lesnar after hitting the Angle Slam on Brock Lesnar. Due to jealousy, Lesnar turned on Angle a few weeks later by aligning himself with Mr. McMahon. One month later at SummerSlam, Angle became the first of only two men to ever make Lesnar tap out, getting the submission victory with the ankle lock. Lesnar eventually regained the title in September 2003 in a 60 minute Iron Man Match on SmackDown! (aired September 18.) With Lesnar leading 5 falls to 4, Angle put Lesnar in the Ankle Lock with seconds remaining. Lesnar refused to tap out and as a result he became WWE Champion for the third time.

In March 2004, Angle's neck problems recurred yet again, and it was feared that he would have to undergo possibly career-ending surgery. For a time, he considered having an operation similar to the one he had in 2003, but has decided against it for the time being.

After a short feud with Eddie Guerrero leading up to WrestleMania XX, wherein Angle turned heel once again, Angle played the role of General Manager on SmackDown!, after he was thrown off a 25-foot high ledge by The Big Show with a chokeslam and claimed he could no longer wrestle again (this was a storyline to allow Angle to recover from his recurring neck injury yet still participate in WWE shows). During his tenure he regularly favored heels over faces, and attempted to force Guerrero into being "fired" for misconduct. He also stripped John Cena of the United States Championship. After costing Guerrero a WWE Championship match against JBL. Angle was "fired" from that position when his career-ending injury was proved to be fake. He returned to the active roster during SmackDown! on July 20.

On November 16 2004 in Dayton, Ohio, Kurt Angle kicked off the "Kurt Angle Invitational." This meant that, at every location where SmackDown! took place, he would allow a "hometown hero", all of whom have been local professional wrestlers, to challenge him to a match. If that person defeated Angle, he would award them with his authentic 1996 Olympic gold medal.

During the $1,000,000 Tough Enough competition on SmackDown!, Angle was placed in a real submission hold, a Kimura by Daniel Puder, the winner of the $1,000,000 Tough Enough and a former MMA cagefighter. Angle eventually "pinned" Puder, although some have suggested Puder's shoulders were not on the mat. Some have also suggested that if Puder had the Kimura any longer or in a MMA competition, Angle would have tapped out. A video clip of the incident as well as an inside story by Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer and Dave Scherer of Pro Wrestling Insider can be found here

2005

At the Royal Rumble 2005, Angle was eliminated from the Rumble match by Shawn Michaels with a superkick. Angle later dumped Michaels over the top rope to eliminate him. Meanwhile, other attempts to capture the WWE Championship came when Kurt Angle and WWE US Champion John Cena were the finalists of a #1 contenders' match. Cena defeated Angle at No Way Out.

As a result of what happened at the Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels issued a challenge to Kurt Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Kurt Angle accepted when he appeared on RAW to attack Michaels. Angle defeated Michaels by submission with the ankle lock/legbar combo in the highly anticipated "interpromotional" match at WrestleMania 21 on April 3 2005. Many fans considered the match the best of the four-hour show and one of the best in WrestleMania history.

On the May 12 2005 edition of SmackDown!, Angle cut a promo about Booker T's wife Sharmell, saying he wanted to have "bestiality sex" with her and then "that kind of perverted sex." At Judgment Day on May 22, he lost the resulting match with Booker T. Angle then gave Booker T an Angle Slam, and went after Sharmell with handcuffs. Unfortunately for Angle, Booker T stopped him and handcuffed him to the ropes, and let Sharmell slap Angle in the face and kick Angle between the legs.

On June 13, Angle became the second person to be drafted from SmackDown! to RAW in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery. He continued his feud with Shawn Michaels who he faced at Vengeance 2005, but Michaels pinned him after sweet chin music, ending the feud. Angle went on to face Ric Flair for the very first time on June 27, 2005 episode of RAW, which Angle won with the ankle lock.

Angle continued on with his "Kurt Angle Invitational" in which Angle had previously challenged "hometown heroes" while on SmackDown! to last three minutes in the ring with him; if anyone succeeded, Angle would give the successful challenger his authentic gold medal from the 1996 Summer Olympics. Two weeks in a row, Angle defeated Matt Striker to retain his gold medal.

The July 25 2005 RAW from saw the end of the "Kurt Angle Invitational" when the returning Eugene survived three minutes against Angle to win Angle's gold medal and the first successful challenger in the event. Eugene then started "The Eugene Invitational" to begin on the August 1 2005 RAW episode, the first edition of which Angle interfered in. On the August 8, 2005 RAW episode Angle lost by disqualification in his hometown against Eugene for the gold medal in "The Eugene Invitational." Angle and Eugene met at SummerSlam, where Angle regained his Olympic gold medal.

On August 22 2005, Angle was revealed as the number one contender for John Cena's WWE Title. Angle defeated John Cena by disqualification in the main event of Unforgiven, as Cena struck Angle with his WWE Title belt. Angle attacked Cena after the match, only to be given an F-U through the Spanish announce table. Angle was almost awarded the title the next night on RAW by Eric Bischoff, but Vince McMahon intervened.

After Daivari helped Angle defeat Shelton Benjamin on the November 21 RAW, Angle announced Daivari would be his personal referee and would be the special guest referee for his upcoming match with Cena for the WWE Championship at the Survivor Series. However, Cena still won the match after SmackDown! referee Charles Robinson counted the fall. Angle would again lose to Cena in a triple threat, submission only match with Chris Masters the following night on RAW.

2006

File:Angle WHT.jpg
Kurt Angle after winning the World Heavyweight Championship

On January 8, 2006, at New Year's Revolution, Angle, along with Shawn Michaels, Kane, Chris Masters, Carlito, and reigning WWE Champion John Cena competed in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. Surprisingly, the man who was the favourite to win, Kurt Angle, was the first one eliminated from the match due to Shawn Michaels delivering Sweet Chin Music to Angle, who was applying the Ankle Lock on Cena at the time. The shot by Michaels was payback for Angle catapulting Michaels into the side of the Chamber and busting him open.

On January 10, 2006, at a taping of WWE Friday Night SmackDown! that took place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA, Kurt, again accompanied by then-manager Daivari, stunned everyone when he was announced as the 20th participant in a 20 man Over-the-Top Battle Royal for the World Heavyweight Championship, which had been vacated earlier that night due to injuries suffered by the former champion Batista in a match the previous week. Angle made a surprising comeback after being press slammed through an announcer's table by Mark Henry coming to after being seemingly knocked out for several minutes, winning the Battle Royal and the aforementioned World Heavyweight Championship (he even managed to successfully perform an Angle Slam and a German Suplex on the massive Henry). As Angle was hanging from the top rope at the time, he avoided letting both of his feet touch the floor, which would have led to a double-elimination situation. Angle later revealed that his contract on RAW had expired, which allowed him to switch brands.

On the January 16 episode of RAW, Angle competed in his final match on RAW, a non-title match with Shawn Michaels where if Michaels lost, he would be released from his contract immediately. However, Daivari's interference backfired, and Michaels was able to keep his job by rolling Angle up for the pin. Post-match, an extremely irate Angle confronted Daivari, who slapped Angle in the face. Angle retaliated with an Angle Slam to the outside of the ring and fired him as his manager.

Angle successfully defended his World Heavyweight Title against Mark Henry at the 2006 Royal Rumble. The Undertaker appeared after the match, accompanied by his druids, driving a white horse drawn chariot, declaring his intentions to win the title with a simple gesture. Angle successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker at No Way Out 2006 after reversing a triangle choke into a jackknife pin.

On the March 3, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, Angle defended his title in a rematch against The Undertaker. After Angle's attempt at a moonsault failed, Undertaker hit the tombstone piledriver and went for the pin. However, Mark Henry attacked The Undertaker, causing Angle to retain via disqualification and confirming his spot in the SmackDown! main event at WrestleMania 22.

On the March 10, 2006 edition of Smackdown!, Angle teamed with Rey Mysterio, one of his WrestleMania opponents, against Mark Henry and Randy Orton. During the match, Angle intervened to save Mysterio as Henry was about to jump off the top turnbuckle to slam Mysterio through a table. But just as Angle attacked Henry, Orton delivered an RKO and laid Angle out on the table. Henry then crashed upon Angle and through the table.

Angle and Mysterio had promised to back each other up during a three-way interview, but suspected Orton of foul intentions which was proven correct with Orton stealing the pinfall. However, on March 24, 2006 edition of Smackdown!, Mysterio unintentionally cost Angle a match against Mark Henry. This caused a confrontation between the two, ending with Mysterio hitting a 619 and determining it was now "every man for himself".

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

Championships and accomplishments

  • Amateur wrestling
  • Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion (1987)
  • Clarion University Freshman of the Year (1988)
  • 2-time NCAA Champion
  • Espoir World Cup second Place (1989)
  • Yasar Dogu Tournament second Place (1989)
  • Canadian Cup Championship Winner (1990)
  • National Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame (2001)
  • Professional wrestling
  • PNW
  • 1-time PNW Tennessee Heavyweight Champion
  • Power Pro Wrestling
  • 1-time PPW Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time PPW Young Guns Champion
  • PWI Feud of the Year 2000 (versus Triple H)
  • PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year, 2000
  • PWI Rookie of the Year, 2000
  • PWI Inspirational Wrestler of the Year, 2001
  • PWI Comeback of the Year, 2003
  • PWI Feud of the Year, 2003 (versus Brock Lesnar)
  • PWI Match of the Year, 2003 (versus Brock Lesnar)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler, 2003
  • PWI Match of the Year, 2005 (versus Shawn Michaels)
  • He is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 2004)
  • 2000 Most Improved Wrestler
  • 2001 Most Outstanding Wrestler
  • 2002 Wrestler of the Year
  • 2002 Most Outstanding Wrestler
  • 2002 Best Interviews
  • 2002 Best Technical Wrestler
  • 2002 Match of the Year (with Chris Benoit vs Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr)
  • 2003 Most Outstanding Wrestler
  • 2003 Feud of the Year (vs Brock Lesnar)

Championship succession

World Heavyweight Championship
Preceded by:
Vacant
First Succeeded by :
Current
WWF/E Championship
Preceded by:
The Rock
First Succeeded by:
The Rock
Preceded by:
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Second Succeeded by:
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Preceded by:
The Big Show
Third Succeeded by:
Brock Lesnar
Preceded by:
Brock Lesnar
Fourth Succeeded by:
Brock Lesnar
WWE Tag-Team Championship
Preceded by:
-
First, with Chris Benoit Succeeded by:
Edge and Rey Mysterio
WWF European Championship
Preceded by:
Val Venis
First Succeeded by:
Chris Jericho
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Preceded by:
Chris Jericho
First Succeeded by:
Chris Benoit
WWF Hardcore Championship
Preceded by:
Rob Van Dam
First Succeeded by:
Rob Van Dam
King of the Ring
Preceded by:
Billy Gunn
First

(2000)

Succeeded by:
Edge
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Preceded by:
Booker T
First Succeeded by:
Booker T
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
Preceded by:
Rhyno
First Succeeded by:
Edge
Preceded by General Manager of SmackDown!
March 25, 2004 - July 22, 2004
Succeeded by

Personal life

Angle separated from his wife Karen in August 2005, claiming that the strain of being on the road took its toll on their marriage. He and Karen have a daughter, Kyra. Angle has four older brothers, including Eric, also a wrestler, and one late sister, the latter of whom died due to heart complications, a problem for several Angle family members. His father was killed in a construction accident, and Angle dedicated his autobiography, "It's True, It's True" to him as a result. Angle claimed in an interview that, following the death of his father, he regarded his wrestling coach as a paternal figure. He also became a born again Christian. As of January 2006, Angle and his wife Karen have reconciled.

Angle's older brother Eric has appeared with WWE on occasion, normally in order to impersonate Angle. Eric posed as Kurt during his WWF Heavyweight Championship title defense against The Undertaker at the 2000 Survivor Series, enabling Angle to roll-up his confused opponent, and switched places with Kurt during a title defense against Brock Lesnar on SmackDown! in 2003.

Angle has announced in several interviews that he intends to pursue an acting career after he retires from professional wrestling.

Books

  • Angle, Kurt and Harper, John (2001) It's True! It's True!, ISBN 0060393270

Videos

  • Kurt Angle: It's True! It's True! (VHS)

References