What’s the story?
Kurt Angle recently was a guest on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho and the WWE Hall of Famer spoke on various topics including his backstage fight with Eddie Guerrero and his matches with Shawn Michaels.
However, the most interesting aspect of the interview was when the Olympic Gold medalist opened up about Chris Benoit and what the deceased WWE Superstar brought to the table.
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Kurt Angle was recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That was just the tip of the iceberg as he was announced as the new Raw General Manager on the fallout episode of WrestleMania 33. As for Chris Benoit, the original underdog of the WWE’s career came to a screeching halt when he was found dead along with his wife and 7-year-old in his home on June 24th, 2007.
It was later revealed that Benoit himself murdered his wife and kid on that fateful night and the cause of it all was attributed to his unstable mental condition that stemmed from the countless bumps he took throughout his wrestling career. The murky personal life apart, Benoit had a memorable career with the WWE and had some classic matches with Angle himself. Both have also held the tag team titles together.
The heart of the matter
Kurt Angle goes by the mantra of Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence and the man himself is known for the first and most important ‘I’ amongst the three, Intensity. While Angle’s Intensity was unmatched, Benoit’s outshined him in every sense of the word.
Angle said that he felt like he was wrestling a mirror whenever he worked a match against Benoit as The Rabid Wolverine always matched his vigour blow for blow. Angle feels it’s a shame that most of his earlier matches with Benoit are forgotten as they had everything that constitutes a classic. He mentioned the submission trade-offs that got the fans invested in the storytelling of the match and compared it to the stuff Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho did in WCW.
He said this was the first time the whole match revolved around a gruelling submission base and Benoit had the energy to put on such a match.
However, Angle spewed some truth next and the fans will surely nod in agreement:
I’m sorry, but he has got to be in the top three of all time. I mean, you can’t deny that. I mean, even Bret Hart will tell you that. I’m not going to excuse any of the things Chris did outside of wrestling, but when he was in that ring, he was possibly the greatest of all time.”
Impact
It may not be wise for Angle to mention Benoit’s name in good light as he’s back with the WWE and currently holds a lucrative position. This being Jericho’s podcast and something outside the realm of the WWE may be why the company may not pay much heed to comments on a man they refuse to acknowledge. So Angle should be fine unless WWE investors are having a really bad day.
Author’s take
Chris Benoit is one of the greatest in-ring technicians of all time. Period. As Angle said, keeping his personal life on the side, Benoit is legit one of the greatest of all time and there are no two ways about it.
On a side note, I feel one of Angle’s other popular advertisers, Brock Lesnar is one intense customer too and surely warrants a high ranking in the ‘intense’ list. Here’s a parting gift:
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