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Kurt Angle has revealed that he nearly suffered a severe injury when he faced Chris Benoit in 2001 in a WWE match. The former world champions competed in a steel cage bout on an episode of RAW, in which Angle was on the receiving end of a top-rope German suplex.
Kurt Angle landed on his head and was surprised that he escaped without a concussion or a broken neck. The hard-hitting match headlined RAW and also featured Stone Cold Steve Austin in the commentary booth.
Here's what Kurt Angle had to say about the incident on his podcast:
"You know what? I took a German suplex from Chris Benoit on the top rope in a cage match. I landed right on my head," revealed Kurt Angle. "I should have broken my neck and had a concussion. I don't know how I survived through that." (20:00 - 20:20)
Kurt Angle spoke at length about the spot and recalled suffering an unfavorable landing. There is always an element of risk when wrestlers climb to the top turnbuckle, and Angle, unfortunately, did not take the safest of bumps that night on RAW.
The Hall of Famer, however, was lucky enough to come out of the match without a long-term injury:
"Chris Benoit threw a German suplex on me, and I landed right on the back of my head, literally five feet below," the WWE Legend continued. "So, we were up high on the top rope, leaning on the cage, and he German suplexed me in the middle of the ring. I mean, I landed right on my head!" (20:21 - 20:40)
"The office had to monitor the boys" - Kurt Angle on WWE banning moves
To safeguard its performers, WWE added several dangerous moves to its banned list during the early 2000s.
While Kurt Angle was given some leeway to perform certain maneuvers, the legendary star supported WWE's decision and felt it was necessary to prevent talent from executing unsafe moves.
He added:
"The office had to monitor the boys because if it were up to them, they would have been doing the craziest sh** in the ring, and everybody would be getting injured. You know, you have to monitor the athletes and make sure they don't do anything crazy." (19:38 - 19:50)
In case you missed it, Vince McMahon allowed a top WWE Superstar to use two banned moves, and you can check out that story right here.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit The Kurt Angle Show and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
