WrestleMania Rewind: When Kurt Angle faced Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania | 4 unbelievable facts

#2 Angle fought the match with a neck injury

Angle applies his famous ankle lock on Brock

Those who are seeing Kurt Angle wrestle for the first time in 2019 are very unfortunate. They really missed the best part of his wrestling career. This old, slowed down competitor was once second to none. He gave instant classics every time he stepped into the ring.

Nothing stopped Kurt Angle from giving great wrestling classics. Not even a freaking neck injury. Yes, he had a very severe neck injury ahead of WrestleMania XIX. He almost opted out from competing in the match.

Vince McMahon wanted Kurt Angle to drop the title ahead of WrestleMania but a very emotional incident made Kurt Angle change his mind. He reflected back on the whole incident in a Q&A session:

I was over at my neighbor's house about two days before that SmackDown match where I was supposed to drop the title to Brock, which was a week before Mania. A good friend of mine who has Down’s Syndrome came up to me and said, “I heard that you are not wrestling!” He started crying. He said, “I heard you are not wrestling Brock at WrestleMania,” and he held up a DirectTV cover that had Brock and I facing off, and the kid made me cry.

At the moment, I literally called Vince right then. I said, “Listen, let me go at Mania. I can do this. Have Brock and I go out and do it. I’ll drop the belt to Brock.” I wasn’t supposed to lose the title to Brock. I was supposed to continue to be the champion, but because of my neck injury, I was going to drop it to Brock. I talked to Vince into having the match.