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What’s the story?
In a recent Facebook Q&A session, WWE icon Kurt Angle opened up on several topics.
Angle recalled how people discouraged him from watching the WWE back when he was an amateur wrestler. Besides, Angle had words of high praise for SmackDown Live and also expounded upon the King of the Ring tournament amongst other things.
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In case you didn’t know…
Kurt Angle is a highly-decorated amateur wrestler who won a gold medal in Freestyle Wrestling at the 1996 Olympics.
Angle’s first brush with professional wrestling came in 1996 when he attended an ECW taping, however, the highly-skilled freestyle wrestling competitor made his official pro-wrestling debut for the WWE in 1998.
The heart of the matter
Upon being probed as to whether Angle had ever imagined that he’d be doing what he is at this time, he stated—
“No. Not until early 1999 did I think I’d be a sports entertainer. I never watched the product until then. I was told as an amateur wrestler to NEVER watch WWE. Because Olympic Wrestling was legit and WWE was fake. I was dead wrong. WWE is the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my career. But I've enjoyed every minute.”
Additionally, Angle explained the challenges of competing in the WWE King of the Ring tournament—
“It’s tough. I loved the KOR, but you’re going to have 2 wrestlers wrestle three times during that PPV. I’ve done it twice...it takes a toll on your body. It’s not easy.”
Besides, Angle asserted that he does follow the WWE’s SmackDown brand whenever he can, and loves AJ Styles as WWE Champion as well as Shinsuke Nakamura’s heel turn.
Furthermore, Angle emphasized that he loves the NXT product; adding that the Tommaso Ciampa-Johnny Gargano feud is tremendous, and they’re ready for the next stage in their careers.
What’s next?
Kurt Angle presently serves as the on-screen General Manager of the WWE’s RAW brand.
Angle has been praised by both fans and experts alike for his unconditional support and loyalty toward professional wrestling; in the face of a few sections of the sports-entertainment community branding pro-wrestling as fake.
Nevertheless, the mainstream media has begun according the sport of professional wrestling a considerable amount of respect; as evidenced by notable performers such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Batista and John Cena ascending to great heights in the entertainment business and mainstream pop culture as a whole.
What are your thoughts on Kurt Angle’s opinions? Sound off in the comments!
