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Kurt Angle has recently announced that WrestleMania 35 would be the final match of his nearly 20-year career, and it's hard not to be sad given what a run it was for Kurt from WWE to ECW to TNA and back again.
The Olympic Gold Medalist took to wrestling like a fish to water, and rose to the top of the business, showing how talented he was as both an athlete and a great entertainer (with the rare quality of being able to work as both a heel and a face).
He did go on to wrestle for a few years with the rising TNA promotion, but he's best known for his work in the WWE, so with that in mind, today we are going to look back on this incredible career, by rating the top 5 WWE matches in the history of The Wrestling Machine, Kurt Angle.
#5 With Chris Benoit vs. Rey Mysterio & Edge - No Mercy 2002
Following the first brand split in the early 2000's, SmackDown became popular for the 'SmackDown 6', being Benoit, Angle, Edge, Mysterio, Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, who would put on classic bouts week after week under the tutelage of Paul Heyman.
Their Triple Threat tag team matches were classics, but this one to crown the first SmackDown Tag Team Champions stands head and shoulders above the rest.
This one here is to this day considered a masterclass in tag team wrestling, as all 4 men wrestled a reckless, breakneck pace from beginning to end, putting all 4 of these men on the map. All 4 would go on to have great success as singles stars, but looking back on this time on SmackDown, it's hard to imagine that they had much more fun at any other time throughout their career.
#4 The Undertaker - No Way Out 2006
Despite the fact that this bout took place 13 years ago, some people were already doubting The Undertaker's ability to still wrestle at a high level, so there was no better opponent to place him with than the Wrestling Machine.
Despite the major gimmick/character work The Deadman was famous for, they put all of that aside for No Way Out, simply going out there to wage war over the World Heavyweight Championship, and they indeed stole the show.
Taker would go on to have classics with Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels and CM Punk that overshadow this one, but with 20+ minutes, these two had a great flowing, a physical bout that will be remembered as one of the best in both men's careers.
They wouldn't face off as singles competitors after this, as Kurt moved on to TNA, but we are glad that these two legends got one chance to face off, because it was such a great match.
#3 Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 21
Fans have a lot of WWE dream matches, and some live up to expectations (Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock), and some don't (Sting vs. Triple H), but one that absolutely blew all of the expectations out of the water was Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels.
WrestleMania 21 went Hollywood, and that's very appropriate, because the Wrestling Machine and the Heartbreak Kid were best when the lights were on brightest, and this is a shining example of that.
Over 25 minutes, the two would put together a technical masterclass, full of flawless chain wrestling, high-spots and near falls, and while they had others, it was this match on the biggest stage that was their best.
Despite his Mr. WrestleMania nickname, it was Shawn Michaels who came up short in this bout, with Kurt's classic Ankle Lock putting him away, solidifying both men as WWE icons.
#2 Chris Benoit - Royal Rumble 2003
These two men are considered two of the greatest in-ring performers and technical wizards in wrestling history, so when they battled on SmackDown between 2002 and 2005, they put on clinic after clinic, solidifying themselves as two of the top stars in WWE.
The Royal Rumble bout the two had in 2003 was contested over the WWE Championship, and after Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) were ejected from ringside, it was down to these two elite talents to put on a great bout.
After a back and forth classic, Angle countered the Crippler Crossface and turned it into an Ankle Lock, forcing Benoit to tap, sending him to the main event of WrestleMania 19. The two have both had better matches, but looking back on both of their careers, they had incredible chemistry, and this was the best of their incredible series bouts.
#1 Brock Lesnar - Smackdown 2003 (Ironman Match)
Kurt Angle has many great rivalries over his WWE career, but none better than real life friend Brock Lesnar, and it's easy to say that this Ironman match for the WWE Championship is their best work together.
The two went back and forth in an incredibly physical bout for a full 60-minutes, but like it always did with these two, it went down to the very end, with The Beast coming out on top by a score of 5-4.
The two would have 3-4 fantastic, main event level matches over a few years in the early 2000's, but this is the best of the lot, and it's widely regarded as the best TV match in WWE history. When looking back on Angle's illustrious career, he had so many great opponents and so many great moments, but it was his in-ring work that made him stand out, and this bout showcases the best that Angle had to offer.
