Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle
File:Kurtangleportrait.jpg
Born	December 9, 1968 Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Kurt Angle El Gran Luchadore
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight	237 lb (107 kg)
Billed from	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trained by	Dave Schultz Tom Prichard
Debut	1999

Kurt Angle (born December 9, 1968 in 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

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. He was also 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, 2-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and 1988 USA FILA Junior World Freestyle champion. 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.

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 ECW 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

Less than four years after earning Olympic gold, and after many months spent in developmental territories and competing in untelevised dark matches for the WWF, Angle officially debuted for the WWF on November 14, 1999 at the annual Survivor Series PPV event, held that year at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. He faced and defeated Shawn Stasiak in his debut match. In his debut match against Shawn Stasiak at Survivor Series PPV 1999, Angle introduced his finishing move, the Olympic 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 can express her feelings to, and she chose Angle after she caught Triple H with Trish Stratus. This resulted in a feud with Triple H. During the storyline, both Angle and Triple H along with Stephanie were still known as heels. However, Angle's loss in popularity would make Triple H a new fan favourite. This feud also involved The Rock. The feud 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. With his on-screen nerves totally gone, Angle's light-hearted holier-than-thou routines provided the perfect complement to his intense and tough wrestling style and helped to get him 'over' to fans massively.

The perfect proof of this fast progress came with his crowning achievement: defeating The Rock at No Mercy in October 2000 to win the WWF Championship. His title reign was impressive, defeating The Undertaker at Survivor Series (with some help from older brother Eric Angle) and eventually winning the 6-Man Hell in a Cell at Armageddon. His victory at Armageddon was regardly known as the greatest title defense ever, defeating the greatest of the World Wrestling Federation, The Rock, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Rikishi. Entering 2001, Angle adopted the lethal ankle lock submission hold, made famous by Ken Shamrock. 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.

He teamed up with Chris Benoit to take on The Rock. However, Angle turned on Benoit, and as a result Benoit was made a babyface. At WrestleMania X-Seven, Angle hooked Benoit's tights to get the pinfall victory. The feud was far from over. At Backlash, Benoit and Angle went at it in an Ultimate Submissions Match (an Iron Man Match in which only submissions count as victories). Benoit and Angle used a variety of submission maneuvers. 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 WWF, Angle was forced to team with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin eventually turned on him by joining the Alliance. Angle became face in the Federation for the first time. Angle led the World Wrestling Federation while Austin led the WCW/ECW Alliance. The two wrestled several matches. At SummerSlam, Angle lasted three Stone Cold Stunners and was about to win when he gave Austin a second Angle Slam. Unfortunately, there was no referee to make the count. Alliance referee Nick Patrick came but called for a disqualification. Patrick explained that the disqualification was caused as a result of Austin's abuse towards the referees. As a result, the belt stays with Austin, as titles cannot change hands via disqualification. Obviously Patrick just wanted the belt to stay with the Alliance. A frustrated Angle put Patrick in the ankle lock.

It is during this time that Angle won the WCW Championship defeating Booker T, Hardcore Championship defeating Rob Van Dam, and the United States Championship. Angle has been in the business for less than three years, and he has captured the attention of millions of fans worldwide.

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 Survivor Series. Angle then turned heel again by turning his back on the WWF and joining the WCW/ECW Alliance he'd spent months fighting against. He explained that all members of Team WWF were losers. He stated the fact that he achieved more in his two-year run than The Undertaker's eleven-year. He also said that Kane should've stood up for himself and not just be a follower. Chris Jericho and The Rock were feuding. He said he could not put his career on the line. The risk is too much. So he decided to follow Austin's ways. Cheating, but at least he got the job done. 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 from the mix.

World Wrestling Entertainment

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, WWE 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, resulting in a match at the annual April PPV, Backlash. Angle defeated his former friend Edge when Edge attempted a spear and Angle got his boot up. Angle then finished the match with the Angle Slam for the 1-2-3.

Edge and Angle continued their rivalry into the next PPV, Judgment Day 2002. This time however, Angle was in a "Hair vs. Hair" match with Edge. 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 2002 Angle faced Hulk Hogan for the first time. Angle won this match via his anklelock submission. Angle was billed as being the first person to defeat Hulk 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. Fans had mixed reactions. Hogan fans were upset, as the buildup seemed to point to a victory for Hogan. Angle fans were enthused. The two have not since had a rematch. It is noteworthy that in defeating Hogan, Angle made Hogan's record at King of the Ring potentially among the worst even with no wins and two losses. As this was the last King of the Ring event in history, this also means Angle has set a special record in that he is one of the few men to beat Hogan at an event that, at least for the foreseeable future, will not be repeated again.

After King of the Ring 2002, Angle briefly feuded with Rey Mysterio resulting in a one-on-one matchup at that year SummerSlam. Angle defeated Mysterio with his anklelock. In the next few months Angle formed and unlikely tag-team with his old rival, Chris Benoit. This caused Angle to turned face by opposing Los Guerreros (Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Eddie Guerrero). Angle and Benoit eventually won the first WWE tag team titles at No Mercy, defeating Edge and Rey Mysterio. Angle and Benoit disbanded in late November, after they failed to capture the titles at Survivor Series.

After this, 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, Angle turned heel by hiring one of the most hated and concurrently revered managers of all time, former ECW owner, and ex-WCW talent, Paul Heyman.

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, and later re-dubbed themselves "The World's Greatest Tag Team."

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. He even told "The World's Greatest Tag Team" that he "earned" the chants when they turned against him.

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 mid-February 2004, Angle turned heel once more by turning his back on WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. In the storyline, the reason for this was because he thought that Eddie was an embarrassment to the championship due to Eddie's real-life past problems with drugs and alcohol. Angle once again main evented WrestleMania XX for the championship in March 2004, but Guerrero retained the title by cheating to win. After Angle had already applied the ankle lock several times during the match, Eddie untied his boot and then clutched his ankle to make it seem as if he had a hurt ankle, Angle instinctly went for the ankle lock once again but pulled the boot off Guerrero's foot, and he was then rolled up in a modified small package for the three-count.

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 WrestleMania XX, 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 (aired on July 22).

Angle returned to the ring in July 2004 at a WWE house show in Japan. He has publicly stated that he will work a reduced in-ring schedule in the future, and is reportedly planning to change his wrestling style to reduce the risk of further damage to his neck.

On August 15, 2004, at SummerSlam, Angle had his first televised match since Wrestlemania XX; it was against the man who beat him in that match - Eddie Guerrero. This time, Angle removed Guerrero's boot and applied the ankle lock multiple times before Guerrero eventually tapped out to an ankle lock/legbar combination. Angle was back.

Kurt Angle then later in the year formed a stable with Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak, and dubbed them his Protégés. They initially concentrated their power on taking down The Big Show, successfully tranquilizing him, and shaving his head in the middle of the ring. This formed a feud which continued throughout 2004 and early 2005. At No Mercy 2004, Show would defeat Angle by catching Angle on the top rope and then giving him a chokeslam.

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.

2005

At the Royal Rumble 2005 on (January 30, 2005 in Fresno, California), Kurt Angle lost in a triple threat match against The Big Show and JBL when JBL pinned Angle after the Clothesline From Hell. However, later in the event, Kurt Angle bullied Nunzio and took his Royal Rumble spot, only to be eliminated by Shawn Michaels with a superkick, knocking Kurt over the top rope, whom he later attacked after Michaels was eliminated, dumping Michaels over the top rope to eliminate Michaels, then hitting him in the face with steel ring steps and locking in an ankle lock, kicking a feud into high gear that started when Angle insulted Michaels during 2004's Survivor Series. 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. Ultimately, Cena defeated Kurt Angle after Cena repeatedly battled out of the ankle lock and finished Angle with the F-U.

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. The two would continue to taunt and ambush each other until Wrestlemania in a RAW vs. SmackDown! Match. The match ended when Shawn Michaels tapped out to the deadly ankle lock.

This feud later saw Angle say he would accomplish everything Michaels has done in his 16 year career in 4 weeks. This saw Angle compete in his first ladder match during one of his "Hometown Hero" sections (for his Olympic Gold), which of course he won with ease. After the match, Angle announced that he will face Marty Jannetty, Michaels's former tag team partner from the 1980s and early 1990s. Angle claimed that since Jannetty had taught Michaels "everything he knows" while part of the Rockers, he could teach Michaels "how to tap out" by forcing Jannetty to submit on SmackDown!

The next week, on SmackDown!, Angle made good on his promise and forced Jannetty to submit to his ankle lock submission, but only after a nearly 20-minute match and a strong showing for Jannetty which saw him nearly pin the Olympic champion. Next, Angle would bring another "blast from Shawn Michaels' past" in "Sensational" Sherri. Angle came to the ring with Michaels' former manager, copying Michaels' entrance almost exactly. The pair performed their own version of Michaels' theme music, before Angle turned on Sherri and made her tap out to the Ankle Lock.

Finally, Angle beat 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.

On the May 12, 2005 edition of WWE 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 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 WWE 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.

At the WWE Homecoming, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels met in a 30-minute Ironman Match, which resulted in a two falls to two tie. The first fall went to Angle after an Angle Slam of the top rope. The second fall goes to Michaels after he reversed the ankle lock into a pinning combination. The third fall goes to Angle when Michaels tapped out to the ankle lock. The fourth fall goes to Michaels after a sweet chin music. With just 2 minutes remaining, Angle locked in the angkle lock and legbar combo, but Michaels somehow fought his way out by kicking Angle in the face several times. With only seconds remaining, Michaels connected with the Sweet Chin Music but the time ran out before the ref could make the three count. Angle then declined Michaels's offer to extend the match under sudden death rules.

In a live interview on the November 7 edition of RAW, Angle vented his frustrations about the crowd costantly chanting, "You suck!" whenever he is introduced, eventually threatening to walk out of his upcoming tag team match with Chris Masters vs. Shawn Michaels and John Cena. Eventually, Eric Bischoff convinced him to stay and gave in to Angle's two pre-demands: that the crowd be "censored" every time it chanted "You suck!" (TV viewers heard the chant bleeped, although it was apparent that Angle was simply ignoring the crowd); and that a special "hand-picked" referee officiate the match. The man Angle introduced was Daivari (making his return in his Arab American heel gimmick), who sided with Angle and Masters throughout the match. Eventually, Daivari disqualified Michaels and Cena after Michaels attempted a chair shot. Afterwards, Daivari gave a chair shot to Cena in the back and raised Angle's arm in victory. Color commentator Jerry Lawler, who had often rooted for Angle, was disgusted by Angle's referee choice (since he despises Daivari).

After Daivari helped Angle defeat Shelton Benjamin on the November 21 RAW, Angle announced Daivari was his personal referee and will be the special guest referee for his upcoming match with Cena for the WWE Championship at the 2005 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.

On the December 26 edition of RAW, Angle took part in a Beat the Clock match against his own personal referee Daivari. (Note: The Beat the Clock matches saw the wrestlers competing in the Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution 2006 each compete in matches against "mystery" opponents; the wrestler who defeated his opponent in the shortest time won the final entry into the Chamber). Daivari simply laid down to allow Angle to easily pin him, but referee Mike Chioda refused to count the pinfall because it was not a competitive match. An irate Angle chased Chioda into the audience, then Chioda made it back to the ring and counted out Angle.

Prior to his match, Angle cut a promo where he insulted American troops stationed in Afghanistan, contending the soldiers had whined about negative media coverage and were trying to duck family responsibilities.

2006

File:Angle WHT.jpg

Kurt Angle after winning the World Heavyweight Championship

On the January 2, 2006 episode of RAW, Angle, with his then-manager Daivari in tow, defeated then-WWE Champion John Cena in a first blood match. After failing to make Cena draw blood via an exposed turnbuckle ring, Angle resorted to blasting Cena in the face with a steel chair shot which did finally cause Cena to bleed. Cena then locked Angle in the STF-U but the referee, who had been unconscious for a brief period of the match, recovered enough to see that Cena had been the first to bleed and award Angle the victory.

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, Angle would 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 a receipt for Angle catapulting Michaels into the side of the Chamber and busting him open.

The next night on RAW Angle was placed in a tag team match with Michaels against Masters and Carlito. Since one member of each tag-team had helped eliminate the other in the Elimination Chamber it was expected that eventually someone would screw their partner in this match. In the end it proved to be Michaels who punched Angle becase he pulled him into the ring and superkicked him after Angle (partially 'distracted' by Daivari) had refused to tag in several times during the match. Stunned by the superkick, which constituted a tag, Angle was unable to avoid the Masterlock and lost the match.

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 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. 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.

On the January 16 episode of RAW, Angle interrupted Lita's lap dance with Edge and explained why he was able to compete in the SmackDown! Battle Royal for the World Heavyweight Championship: his RAW contract had expired on January 1 and he took the opportunity to sign with SmackDown! He seemed to have turned face by seeming disgusted that Edge could claim to be a worthy champion after easily beating Cena who had been at the time Edge challenged him "a man who got the hell beaten out of him in the elimination chamber for 45 minutes" (though this turn is only fan speculation). Later that night, 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.

As a result of the fan change and the actions of Kurt Angle in those couples of weeks he made his first face turn since befriending Brock Lesnar 2 years earlier. Now when he comes out he chants to his openent that they suck along with the fans. The first victim to get chanted "You Suck" was Davairi.

This will probably be Kurt's first time wrestling as a face at Wrestlemania 22 if he doesn't quickly go back to being a heel.

During the next episode of Smackdown! taped on January 17, Mark Henry became the number one contender to Kurt Angles World Championship and earned the spot to face Kurt Angle at the 2006 Royal Rumble by defeating Rey Mysterio. Later, on this edition of Smackdown! Daivari, the now former manager of Kurt Angle, faced his former client in a match. During the match Mark Henry attacked Angle, after this Daivari would offically announce that he was now managing the #1 contender in Mark Henry.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

• Ankle lock (Standing ankle lock or grapevined grounded ankle lock)
• Angle Slam / Olympic Slam (Spinning belly to back suplex)
• Super Angle Slam / Super Olympic Slam (Top rope spinning belly to back suplex)
• Bridging belly to back suplex (In 1999)
• Crossface chickenwing (In 2000)
• German suplex
• Rolling German suplexes
• Moonsault
• Overhead belly to belly suplex
• Top rope overhead belly to belly suplex
• European uppercut
• Body scissors

Managers

• Bob Backlund
• Daivari
• Paul Heyman
• Stephanie McMahon
• Luther Reigns
• Trish Stratus

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)
• Olympic Games - Freestyle Wrestling Gold Medal (1996)
• National Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame (2001)

• Olympic Games

• 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling

• Professional wrestling

• PNW

• 1-time PNW Tennessee Heavyweight Champion

• Power Pro Wrestling

• 1-time PPW Heavyweight Champion
• 1-time PPW Young Guns Champion

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI Feud of the Year 2000 (vs. Triple H), 2003 (vs. Brock Lesnar)
• 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 Match of the Year, 2003 (vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XIX)
• PWI Most Popular Wrestler, 2003
• PWI Wrestler of the Year, 2003

• World Championship Wrestling

• 1-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion
• 1-time WCW United States Champion

• World Wrestling Entertainment

• 4-time WWF/E Champion
• 1-time World Heavyweight Champion
• 1-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
• 1-time WWF European Champion
• 1-time WWF Hardcore Champion
• 1-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Chris Benoit)
• Fourth Grand Slam Champion
• 2000 King of the Ring winner

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. He also became a born again Christian.

Trivia

• Angle has a tattoo of an American eagle on his upper back.
• 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.
• Angle can play the drums.
• Angle claimed in an interview that, following the death of his father, he regarded his wrestling coach as a paternal figure.
• 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 suffered a serious concussion at the outset of the triple threat WWF World Heavyweight Championship title match at SummerSlam 2000 when Triple H attempted to Pedigree through a table which broke before he could execute the move. Angle was assisted backstage, but returned later in the match following a vignette in which Stephanie McMahon exhorted him to "help Hunter". Angle returned to the ring, but, rather than helping HHH, attempted to win the title for himself. Thanks to Angle's return, HHH's momentum was broken, and defending champion The Rock was able to pin HHH and retain his title.
• Angle is the only professional wrestler to have won the WWE Championship (4), WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1), and the World Heavyweight Championship (1).
• Among Angle's trademarks is the audience — whether he is face or heel — chanting "you suck!" in time with his entrance music. The same entrance music was used for The Patriot.

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

• Kurt Angle at ObsessedWithWrestling.com
• Kurt Angle at WashingtonPost.com

External links

• The official website of Kurt Angle
• WWE profile
• Kurt Angle at IMDb
• Kurt Angle at USOlympicTeam.com
• Kurt-Angle.net (fan website)
• WWE1491 Kurt Angle profile (fan website)