Angle (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, an angle is a fictional storyline. (The wrestler Kurt Angle's name is a co-incidence.)

The scope and variety of angles vary widely. An angle may be as small as a single match or a vendetta that lasts for years. In addition, an angle may be a part of a feud, or a feud part of an angle. Angles may often lead from one to another. The term angle implies an insight into a wrestler's gimmick, however the term dates back from when wrestling was a touring carnival sideshow, so this is unlikely.

During a wrestler's career, they may take part in many, many, angles, which are often inconsistent, implausible and reused from one wrestler to the next (see kayfabe).

Examples of angles

The New World Order: a group of heels seeking to take over WCW
Kane being forced to remove his mask as the result of a match (this is an example of an angle within a feud)
Stone Cold Steve Austin becoming WWF champion, to the disgust of owner Vince McMahon
Cactus Jack getting amnesia after losing a match, and becoming a vagrant who thought he was a ship's captain
Booker T and Goldust forming an Odd couple-style tag team and going on to win gold, discovering respect for themselves and each other in the process
Eddie Guerrero's mother suffers a worked "heart attack" in the ring just after John Bradshaw Layfield attacks him during an in-ring celebration in Guerrero's hometown of El Paso (another example of an angle within a feud)