"He just sucked as a wrestler" - Kurt Angle on why 41-year-old star didn't succeed in WWE

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle didn't mince his words while sharing his opinion on a former superstar.

In late 2004, Angle was involved in a segment on SmackDown where he challenged the Tough Enough competitors to a squat thrust competition. During the infamous segment, Daniel Puder locked Angle in a Kimura Lock. The referee quickly made the three count even though the former's shoulders weren't completely down.

Kurt Angle recently spoke to ITR Wrestling about the incident and shared his honest thoughts on Puder. Here's what he said:

"I was like, 'Okay, this guy's trying to make me submit. So I leaned him up and I got him up on his back and the referee pinned one, two, three. And I won and it was over, but Daniel had my arm tight. I mean if it would have lasted five more seconds, he would have broken my arm. So the thing is, after that, he thought that I was the reason why he didn't work out in the WWE. That's not true. He just sucked as a wrestler." [1:34-2:04]

Daniel Puder paid dearly for the Kurt Angle incident

Daniel Puder was embarrassed live on pay-per-view following the incident on SmackDown. He was brutally beaten up by a bunch of WWE Superstars during the Royal Rumble 2005 match. Puder became an afterthought immediately after and was let go in late 2005.

As for Kurt Angle, he went on to take on Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21 that year in one of the greatest matches in the history of The Show of Shows. Angle parted ways with WWE a year later and kicked off a lengthy stint in TNA. Angle was honored with a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2017.

Do you think Daniel Puder sucked as a wrestler? Were you a fan of his back during the Ruthless Aggression Era?

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Please credit ITR Wrestling and give a H/T to Sportskeeda if you use Angle's quotes!