5 Things Kurt Angle has never done in WWE
Coming off winning a gold medal in wrestling for his country in the United States of America, Kurt Angle took his first step towards professional wrestling by walking through the doors of the WWE. After spending a few months in its developmental territory, the Olympic-Gold medalist made his main roster debut.
His push was like that of no other superstar at the time. Within a few months, he won the Intercontinental and European Championship. While he lost them both two months later at WrestleMania, he was subsequently included in the World Heavyweight Title picture. There, he excelled promptly and greatly.
Kurt Angle has now had a total of two stints with WWE, with his second run with the company perceived to be a bit lackluster. However, his first one truly helped him make his name not only in WWE but all over the pro-wrestling world. Surprisingly enough, there are a few things that the Olympic-Gold medalist has never done in WWE.
To see what those things are and the possible reason why Kurt Angle didn't achieve them, keep on reading below. Without further ado, let's get started.
#5. Kurt Angle has never won a Royal Rumble match
WrestleMania is the biggest pay-per-view in WWE. One thing that usually makes sure a WWE star gets a spot here is by winning the Royal Rumble match. In his entire WWE career, Kurt Angle has made a total of four Rumble appearances.
He made his debut in this match format in 2002 and came extremely close to winning it. Angle entered the Rumble at number 26 and Triple H were the last two men standing. The Cerebral Assassin, however, threw the Olympic gold medalist over the top rope to win the first Royal Rumble of his career.
The next time Angle came close to winning the Rumble was two years later. He made his way into the battle royal style match at number 19 and lasted for almost half an hour before getting eliminated by no.28. His next two appearances at Rumble weren't too good.
Angle's third appearance at Rumble came the year he said goodbye to WWE. Shawn Michaels threw Angle over the top rope mid-way through the match.
Kurt Angle's fourth and last appearance at Rumble came just two years after he made his return to WWE in 2017. That year, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and subsequently became the general manager of Monday Night Raw. He was eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura early on in the match.
Having said that, in his over a decade-long WWE career, Kurt Angle was part of only four Royal Rumble matches. However, the Olympic gold medalist has many times managed to be a part of the big championship matches at WrestleMania.
#4. Kurt Angle has never scored a pinfall win over Hulk Hogan
Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan are two of the most acclaimed WWE stars. They were both at the pinnacle of WWE for a good amount of time. Hulk Hogan ruled the company during the 80s. Whereas Kurt Angle made his entry into WWE in the late 90s and became a popular name in the company during the early 2000s.
Being two of the biggest names not only in WWE but also in the entire history of the wrestling business, some would be sure these two men would have had an iconic rivalry. However, that is completely and utterly wrong.
Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan never even had a rivalry. The two men crossed paths with each other on only one occasion. However, even that left a sour taste in the mouths of fans.
At King of the Ring 2002, Angle and Hogan fought in a one-on-one match for the first time in history. While this match was supposed to kick-start their rivalry, the match itself killed that chance and left fans baffled in the end.
At the pay-per-view, Angle dominated most of the bout. Throughout the match, the Olympic-Gold medalist delivered countless suplexes to The Hulkster, the most popular guy in the history of the wrestling business. Before the final moments of the match, Hogan regained control for a while. However, Angle forced Hogan to tap out.
That wouldn't be the only time Angle and Hogan crossed paths, however, their next contest in 2005 would end in DQ. Due to this, a pinfall victory over The Hulkster has remained on the list of things the Olympic-Gold medalist has never done in WWE. Still, he's the first one to make Hogan tap out. Brock Lesnar is the second and last WWE superstar to do so.
#3. Kurt Angle has never won the WWE United States Title
Kurt Angle's first stint in WWE lasted for about eight years. Most of the things mentioned in his list of accomplishments came during this time. His reigns as the WWE Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Hardcore Champion, and Tag-Team Champion took place during the period 1998-2006.
However, one thing that is missing from the elusive list of accomplishments for Kurt Angle is the WWE United States Championship. Since Angle won a gold medal in wrestling for the USA, out of all the titles in WWE, the United States Championship made the most sense for the man. He was the American hero.
The Olympic-Gold medalist, however, did win the WCW United States Championship in 2001 during the Invasion storyline period, but never won the title after the WWE rebranding of the title.
#2. Kurt Angle never competed in a Money in the Bank match
The Money in the Bank match has been taking place for almost two decades now. This ladder-briefcase match format was first introduced in 2005. Initially, it used to take place at WrestleMania PPV. However, in 2010, a separate pay-per-view was given to fans. Some popular WWE stars to have won the MITB briefcase are Edge, Rob Van Dam, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, and Seth Rollins.
Kurt Angle is one of the few names who has had a very illustrious career in WWE, yet has never managed to win this briefcase. For those wondering why that is, there is a very good reason for that. Angle made his departure from WWE in 2006.
Before his exit, a total of only two Money in the Bank matches took place. The first MITB ladder match was held at WrestleMania 21. Angle fought Shawn Michaels in an inter-promotional SmackDown-Raw match and successfully defeated him. Because of this, he couldn't compete in the MITB match.
The following year, Kurt Angle fought Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22. Again, due to this, he couldn't be a part of the MITB ladder match. Now, one would say, the Olympic gold medalist could've fought two matches in one night. Well, he could've.
Many WWE stars in history have done this. Why didn't Kurt Angle? It might've been too much for him since both matches would've required the Olympic gold medalist to perform to the best of his abilities.
That said, since making his return to WWE, Angle has fought very few matches. He's also now full-time retired and has assumed the role of producer backstage, so a MITB ladder match victory for him is very much out of the question now.
#1. Kurt Angle has never won the main event of WrestleMania
Performing in the main event of WrestleMania is one of the biggest things a superstar can achieve in WWE. The likes of Brock Lesnar, Triple H, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, and a few more have achieved this accomplishment.
While Kurt Angle has won the main event on many pay-per-views, he has never been able to do the same at The Grandest Stage of Them All. The Olympic-Gold medalist made his first WrestleMania main event appearance in 2003.
In the marquee match, Angle defended his WWE Championship against none other than his archnemesis Brock Lesnar. The match between the two men was no ordinary match. It had special stipulations which benefited Lesnar the most.
Had Angle been somehow counted out, disqualified, or had anyone interfered to help him, he would have lost his championship. While none of this happened, the Olympic-Gold medalist still lost the title to The Beast Incarnate. Yet, he still managed to create a record by becoming the first WWE superstar to kick-out after Lesnar's finishing maneuver F5.
Nonetheless, over his decade-long career with WWE, Kurt Angle has been a part of quite a handful of WrestleMania PPVs. However, WM 2003 marked his first and last main event appearance on The Show of Shows. Hence, a main event win at WrestleMania remains missing from Kurt Angle's lucrative resume in WWE.
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