The Faces of Wrestling - A Collaborative Wrestling TL
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Kensuke Sasaki
One of the most intimidating strikers in Japanese wrestling history, Kensuke Sasaki has had one hell of a career. A protégé of Riki Choshu, Sasaki trained in Choshu's Japan Pro-Wrestling, moved to AJPW in 1986 to train with their best for a year, before he moved to NJPW alongside Choshu in 1987. He stayed with NJPW for five years, including an international excursion in 1989 and two IWGP Tag Team Title reigns, before he moved back to AJPW in November 1992 over his refusal to wrestle alongside Road Warrior Hawk under the name 'Power Warrior'. Sasaki worked his way up the card over the next couple of years, becoming one of the biggest threats on the midcard. In particular, he was a significant thorn in Jun Akiyama's side throughout 1993, pinning him in nearly every match they met in (except their first singles match that March, where Akiyama pinned Sasaki with a rollup to secure his place in the Champion Carnival that year). He worked his way to the main event later that year, unsuccessfully challenging Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown at the Budokan that October.
Sasaki never won the Champion Carnival, but he was renowned for his excellent performances each year, especially against Kenta Kobashi. In their first meeting in 1994, Sasaki and Kobashi, who were both well known for their powerful knife-edge chops, chopped each others' chests bloody for five minutes straight in a 25 minute match, earning ***** from Dave Meltzer and narrowly missing out on the Tokyo Sports Match of the Year that year to Misawa's godly title defence against Toshiaki Kawada in the Budokan that June. Sasaki reached the finals in 1995 and 1996, losing to Mitsuharu Misawa and Atsushi Onita respectively, but he soon defeated Onita to win his first and only Triple Crown that June. He defended it once against Akira Taue that September, but he dropped the title to Kobashi that October, who subsequently dropped it to Misawa next January. After the 1997 Champion Carnival, Sasaki formed a successful tag team with Kobashi, defeating the Holy Demon Army for the World Tag Team Titles that June and holding them for 243 days before losing them back to Kawada and Taue. (Unfortunately, they didn't make it to the finals of the Real World Tag League.)
In July 1998, Sasaki received a job offer from NJPW, promising a significant pay rise and a strong push, which he accepted with gusto. He returned to NJPW in the G1 Climax, defeating Shinya Hashimoto in the finals to earn a shot at Tatsumi Fujinami's IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which he won and held until, in an interesting use of their interpromotional relationship, the WWF's Undertaker defeated Sasaki at NJPW's January 1999 Tokyo Dome Show. The Undertaker would go on to hold the IWGP title until June that year (including an impressive title defence against Steve Williams at Wrestlemania), when he lost the title to Hashimoto at the Budokan in June 1999. Sasaki won the title back at the January 4th 2000 Tokyo Dome show, holding it until June, when he'd lose the title to Don Frye.
Due to Baba's death and the NOAH exodus, AJPW opened its doors to NJPW to support its roster, and Sasaki jumped at the chance to help his comrades. He didn't win the Triple Crown again, but he did have one more gigantic chop battle with Kobashi towards the end of their interpromotional relationship. Regardless, Sasaki won the IWGP Heavyweight Title twice more in the first half of the 2000s and the G1 Climax once more, after which he moved to Zero-1 full-time as a trainer, mentor and occasional wrestler. He retired from the ring in 2014 after losing to his greatest disciple, Tetsuya Naito, in the January 4th Tokyo Dome show that year.
ACCOLADES
NJPW:
IWGP Tag Team Championship x5 (2 with Hiroshi Hase, 1 with Riki Choshu, 1 with Shiro Koshinaka, 1 with Hiroshi Tanahashi)
IWGP Heavyweight Championship x4
G1 Climax 1998, 2004 winner
AJPW:
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
World Tag Team Championship (with Kenta Kobashi)
One of the most intimidating strikers in Japanese wrestling history, Kensuke Sasaki has had one hell of a career. A protégé of Riki Choshu, Sasaki trained in Choshu's Japan Pro-Wrestling, moved to AJPW in 1986 to train with their best for a year, before he moved to NJPW alongside Choshu in 1987. He stayed with NJPW for five years, including an international excursion in 1989 and two IWGP Tag Team Title reigns, before he moved back to AJPW in November 1992 over his refusal to wrestle alongside Road Warrior Hawk under the name 'Power Warrior'. Sasaki worked his way up the card over the next couple of years, becoming one of the biggest threats on the midcard. In particular, he was a significant thorn in Jun Akiyama's side throughout 1993, pinning him in nearly every match they met in (except their first singles match that March, where Akiyama pinned Sasaki with a rollup to secure his place in the Champion Carnival that year). He worked his way to the main event later that year, unsuccessfully challenging Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown at the Budokan that October.
Sasaki never won the Champion Carnival, but he was renowned for his excellent performances each year, especially against Kenta Kobashi. In their first meeting in 1994, Sasaki and Kobashi, who were both well known for their powerful knife-edge chops, chopped each others' chests bloody for five minutes straight in a 25 minute match, earning ***** from Dave Meltzer and narrowly missing out on the Tokyo Sports Match of the Year that year to Misawa's godly title defence against Toshiaki Kawada in the Budokan that June. Sasaki reached the finals in 1995 and 1996, losing to Mitsuharu Misawa and Atsushi Onita respectively, but he soon defeated Onita to win his first and only Triple Crown that June. He defended it once against Akira Taue that September, but he dropped the title to Kobashi that October, who subsequently dropped it to Misawa next January. After the 1997 Champion Carnival, Sasaki formed a successful tag team with Kobashi, defeating the Holy Demon Army for the World Tag Team Titles that June and holding them for 243 days before losing them back to Kawada and Taue. (Unfortunately, they didn't make it to the finals of the Real World Tag League.)
In July 1998, Sasaki received a job offer from NJPW, promising a significant pay rise and a strong push, which he accepted with gusto. He returned to NJPW in the G1 Climax, defeating Shinya Hashimoto in the finals to earn a shot at Tatsumi Fujinami's IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which he won and held until, in an interesting use of their interpromotional relationship, the WWF's Undertaker defeated Sasaki at NJPW's January 1999 Tokyo Dome Show. The Undertaker would go on to hold the IWGP title until June that year (including an impressive title defence against Steve Williams at Wrestlemania), when he lost the title to Hashimoto at the Budokan in June 1999. Sasaki won the title back at the January 4th 2000 Tokyo Dome show, holding it until June, when he'd lose the title to Don Frye.
Due to Baba's death and the NOAH exodus, AJPW opened its doors to NJPW to support its roster, and Sasaki jumped at the chance to help his comrades. He didn't win the Triple Crown again, but he did have one more gigantic chop battle with Kobashi towards the end of their interpromotional relationship. Regardless, Sasaki won the IWGP Heavyweight Title twice more in the first half of the 2000s and the G1 Climax once more, after which he moved to Zero-1 full-time as a trainer, mentor and occasional wrestler. He retired from the ring in 2014 after losing to his greatest disciple, Tetsuya Naito, in the January 4th Tokyo Dome show that year.
ACCOLADES
NJPW:
IWGP Tag Team Championship x5 (2 with Hiroshi Hase, 1 with Riki Choshu, 1 with Shiro Koshinaka, 1 with Hiroshi Tanahashi)
IWGP Heavyweight Championship x4
G1 Climax 1998, 2004 winner
AJPW:
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
World Tag Team Championship (with Kenta Kobashi)
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SonOfSharknado
Banned
But TTL only refers to Misawa as being "Tiger Mask", while Eddie Guerrero is called "Tiger Mask II", instead of Black Tiger as he was in OTL.
Huh. Yeah you're right, I guess Sayama was never the original Tiger Mask.
Yes I mentioned Kurt Angle in my Don Frye post (we should really start thread marking these). NWA champ in the earlier 2000's
SonOfSharknado
Banned
Kurt Angle
(December 9, 1968-October 5, 2011)(43 years old)
Background:
Kurt Angle is considered by many to have been one of the greatest technical wrestlers in the history of all of combat sports and one of its greatest crossover stars, achieving success in both mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. It has been argued by many that Angle's success paved the way for future stars like current ECW Heavyweight Champion Matt Riddle, former NWA Women's Champion Gina Carrano, former WWF World Champion Rampage Jackson, and others many more. It is also a career marked with tragedy.
Kurt Angle's rise to superstardom began when he won the Gold Medal in 100 KG freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA. With Townsend Saunders winning the Freestyle gold in 68 KG, Angle's victory cemented the United States as the winners at the medal table with 4 Gold Medals and 8 overall. Along with his contribution to helping America dominate that year's medal count and the fact that he won with a legitimate broken neck, Angle was cemented as a genuine American Hero. (Sidenote: although there have been many Olympians who saw their success translate to success in professional wrestling, perhaps none were as successful as Angle outside of 2004 Gold Medalist Brock Lesnar and 2012 Gold Medalist Jordan Burroughs).
While Angle was recovering from neck surgery through the rest of 1996 and into 1997, he was courted by both ECW and the WWF. While the ECW Crucifixion situation is well-known and infamous, the WWF's attempt to sign him was kept quiet for many years, no doubt with Vince McMahon being angry at the rebuffing. According to Angle, the WWF had pitched him an All-American, Super-patriotic Babyface character in the style of former WWF Champion Lex Luger. Angle turned the contract down for two reasons, both because he thought the gimmick was insulting to the other Olympian Americans, who he thought the character would make it seem like he thought he was better than them, and because at the time he thought professional wrestling was "beneath him." In later interviews, he would admit that this prejudice was "misguided and stupid."
Ultimate Fighting Championship (1998-2001)
Once Kurt was recovered, he began training again, fully intending to enter the 2000 Olympics and compete for the gold again, when he was approached by friend Mark Schultz and told he should consider entering Mixed Martial Arts. After Schultz showed him a few tapes, Angle was instantly impressed and excited by the challenge. He sought out Ken Shamrock's Lions Den camp and began training with them to get himself fight-ready. Angle made his debut at UFC 16 on March 13, 1998, taking on Kimo in the semi-main event and defeating him soundly by submission in the first round. He would return just a few months later at UFC 17 in May, where he suffered one of his only MMA defeats after being knocked out by Tank Abbot in less than a minute. He would find redemption when he defeated Tank in a return match at UFC Brazil in October, and plans were already in place for an Angle/Rizzo fight down the line. Angle's debut and status as an American hero gave the UFC the credibility and PR boost it desperately needed when the federation was still struggling to find mainstream acceptance after John McCain's "Human cockfighting" comments in 1996.
Kurt Angle would face Pedro Rizzo in 1999 at UFC 18 in January, setting him up for a match against Bas Rutten at UFC 19 to determine a new UFC World Heavyweight Champion after Randy Couture vacated the title. Angle would win the fight by Unanimous Judge's decision and would defend the title throughout '99 against Kevin Randleman, Pete Williams, and Tsuyoshi Kosaka in Japan. Despite being seen as a great champion and being treated as the face of the company, he felt overshadowed by Frank Shamrock, whose bouts were regularly seen as the best fights of the night, especially his fight against Bas Rutten at UFC 23 in Japan, considered by many to be the best fight of the year, and still held in high regard as one of the best fights of all time. After successfully defending his title against Maurice Smith at UFC 24, Angle announced he would be vacating the title to cut weight in hopes of dropping to Middleweight and facing Frank Shamrock.
Everyone in Angle's circle, from Lions Den members to his then-wife Karen to Mark Schultz, had told Angle that trying to cut that much weight was "dangerous and stupid," but Angle insisted that he needed the fight. Karen described Angle during that period as "training like a psychopath" to get himself down to 185 pounds. It was during this time that Angle started down the road to his painkiller addiction, though his drug test for the fight came back clean. At UFC 26 on June 9th, at the same card where Randy Couture would defeat Kevin Randleman to win the vacant UFC Heavyweight title, Kurt Angle fought Frank Shamrock. In interviews and the press conference leading up to the fight, Angle would talk about how much the fight meant to him and how much a victory would mean after all of his work, calling it "the fight of my life." It was an amazing fight, one that would continue to cement both Shamrock and Angle's legacies, but one that Angle himself would ultimately lose, his tank running on empty in the fourth round before Shamrock would hand Angle his second knockout loss. While Shamrock's star would continue to rise, with fans and pundits believing that he was now outshining his older brother Ken, Angle fell into a deep depression. Angle began drinking heavily, the first signs of his darker impulses. However, when a dejected Angle watched Dan Severn's miracle victory against Pedro Rizzo at UFC 27, it lit a fire in him. Training obsessively again, Angle got back into fighting shape and into fight weight in time for UFC 28 at the Trump Taj Mahal on November 17th for a "Superfight" against "The Beast." In a thrilling contest, Angle would secure the TKO victory after giving Severn a German Suplex, reminiscent of Severn's own performances at UFC 4 and 5. It seemed for all the world that "The Wrestling Machine" was back. Angle used the victory to catapult himself into a Heavyweight Title fight against Randy Couture in February of 2001, returning to the Trump Taj Mahal at UFC 30 to reclaim the championship he had never actually lost. It seemed like destiny. While Angle would win the fight by unanimous decision and claim the championship, he would be stripped of the title and suspended after a drug test revealed there were steroids in his system. When it seemed like Angle might fall into another depression- or worse- in disgrace, Ken Shamrock pointed Angle toward professional wrestling. It was a decision that Shamrock admits he now deeply regrets.
National Wrestling Alliance/Return to UFC/PRIDE Fighting Championship
During Angle's time in UFC, he would often watch NWA and WWF while training and was forced to admit that his preconceptions about wrestling were wrong as he saw the wrestlers display incredible athleticism and was impressed by the charisma and showmanship of the WWF's The Rock, NWA's Chris Jericho, or even Steve Austin the handful of times he'd watch ECW. In the end, it had taken little convincing from Shamrock for Angle to begin wrestling training. Though Angle would wind up signing with the NWA in an attempt to avoid seeming like he was copying his friend Shamrock. It was for the same reason that Angle's finishing submission was a Fujiwara armbar, rather than the Ankle Lock that head trainer Brad Rheingans had suggested.
As he had with MMA, Kurt took to wrestling training with shocking ease and was considered TV-ready by October of that year, answering the open challenge of NWA Champion Don Frye. While some were hesitant to rocket Angle to the top of the card immediately, NWA President Ric Flair believed that Angle's credentials as a legitimate badass and combat sports legend would give the NWA the boost they would need in their never-ending war with Shane McMahon (having taken over the company following his father's arrest in 1998) and the WWF. It was also believed that Frye could have a good match with Angle, keeping him in his comfort zone without running the risk of exposing him. The match itself at the 1999 edition of World War 3 was excellent, with Angle securing the victory and the NWA World's Championship with his unique maneuver, The Angle Slam. Once again, Kurt Angle was on top of the world.
While no one could deny Kurt Angle's wrestling ability, many fans soured on the prospect of the World championship being hotshotted from an outsider to Kurt Angle, who they perceived to be another outsider. This point was driven home when Angle was booed following his submission victory over beloved NWA Stalwart Diamond Dallas Page at that year's Starrcade, even though Angle had wrestled a clean match and had come in as a babyface. Angle's genuine confused, some would even say frustrated reaction at the crowd would be developed quickly into the iconic character that would help define his wrestling career and showcase his incredible charisma for the first time.
Despite spending four years as an obnoxious egomaniac of a heel (and two before that as a bland babyface from 1996-1997), there had always been a portion of the crowd that had cheered Jericho, either because they found him incredibly charismatic and entertaining or because he always delivered in matches. At Starrcade the night before, Jericho had defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. in a show-stealing match that received a standing ovation from the crowd. After promising for weeks that he would unmask Misterio after defeating him, Jericho surprised the crowd by not doing so, instead giving him a fist-bump as a sign of respect. This Nitro cemented Chris Jericho as a babyface as he was propelled to the main event.
Jericho and Angle would have three matches at Souled Out, Superbrawl, and Uncensored, each one receiving fan and critical acclaim and doing extremely good business. After winning the third match, Angle refused to release the Fujiwara armbar until he had to be physically pried away by officials, putting Jericho kayfabe on the shelf for several months, for the shoot reason that Jericho needed a few months off to film a part in the Superman relaunch movie ("Superman: Limitless" released in 2003) as the villainous Kryptonian Jax-Ur. Kurt would continue to hold onto the belt through the spring, defeating Booker T at Spring Stampede in April and recent ECW steal Rob Van Dam in May. There were plans to have Angle wrestle Goldberg at the Great American Bash, but Goldberg would break his leg in a motorcycle accident and be out for a year. Scrambling to come up with a match, the NWA was forced to hotshot a match with Sting, having just under a month to build what should have been a dream match between the face-painted Icon and the Wrestling Machine. While the match was still great and drew a good buyrate, it wouldn't be until 2004 that the two could properly feud. At the July Pay-per-view, Bash at the Beach, Kurt Angle would defend his title against the man who had defeated Scott Steiner at Great American Bash to become no.1 contender: Steven Regal. Regal had gotten tremendously over in the first six months of 2002 as an affable, slightly-goofy, well-meaning babyface who could nonetheless be vicious inside the ring when he was pushed. True to his new character, Angle was enraged that the crowd was cheering for an Englishman against him, so close to America's birthday.
In the match itself, Regal played an excellent sympathetic babyface to Angle's bullying, arrogant heel, before shocking the world with a cravate into an inside cradle to secure the win and win his first World Championship. An enraged Kurt destroyed the ringside area and demanded a rematch the following night, though NWA commissioner instead suspended him for 30 days and had Angle dragged from the arena. Angle would still get his rematch at Road Wild in August and would regain the NWA title after hitting Regal with multiple Angle Slams. After the match, Angle would use a chair for the first time in his career, repeatedly hitting Regal in the shoulder with it and threatening to Pillmanize his arm before Chris Jericho made his return to save Regal, chasing Angle off with a chair of his own to end the show. Jericho and Angle would have their fourth match at Fall Brawl 2002 inside a steel cage, in a wild and violent brawl vastly unlike any of Angle's other matches, proving his versatility as a wrestler, especially when he wowed the crowd with a moonsault off the top of the cage. The match ended when, both mean bleeding profusely, Jericho made Angle submit to the Liontamer, winning his first NWA World Championship. After the feud with Jericho finally ended, Angle took some time off at his wife's insistence, though he had been reluctant to do so.
Even while he was taking time off, Kurt was still working, a habit that would follow him for most of his life. On top of studying Catch Wrestling and opening a Catch Wrestling camp with Josh Barnett (American-Style Catch), he was also receiving interest for a return to UFC. Dana White was hurting for stars during the period and was hoping to get back some of the spark Angle had brought when he'd first helped legitimize the UFC years earlier. As soon as the NWA got wind of it, they immediately stepped in to lead the negotiations, which Angle would later admit he found deeply frustrating, even if he understood that the NWA was just trying to protect their investment. In the end, Angle would sign for three fights in 2003, under the conditions that he would not be fighting for belts (though that would be renegotiable in 2004 if he won all three fights) and that he would not, under any circumstances, fight Frank Shamrock. While there had been initial hopes for Angle to face Ken Shamrock, Shamrock would spend most of 2003 recovering and rehabbing from the ACL surgery he underwent after losing to Tito Ortiz. Instead, Kurt would defeat Vladimir Matyushenko by submission at UFC 41 in February and Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision at UFC 43 in June (with some controversy as he had Josh Barnett in his corner despite Barnett's history with Dana White) before losing to Frank Mir by decision at UFC 44 in September. Angle would shake Mir's hand after the bout and respectfully bow out of his last-ever UFC fight, seemingly past the darker period of his early career.
During this time, he still found time to wrestle for the NWA. He made his return in March to wrestle still-champion Chris Jericho one more time, demanding a pure wrestling match. Jericho won once again, this time with his new "Breakdown" Finisher, a knee strike that was treated as a flash knockout. In April, Angle would finally get another pay-per-view win when he defeated New Japan's Jushin Thunder Liger in a "Dream Match." Angle would bow to Liger after the match, signaling a face turn. This was later cemented when top heel Jeff Jarrett, still bitter about losing to Jericho the night before, mocked Kurt for going soft before smashing his guitar over Kurt's head, leaving him unconscious and bloody. Angle would get the win over Jarrett at Slamboree of that year before leaving to prepare for his fight with Arlovski. A triumphant Angle would return in July to save Dustin Rhodes from a beatdown by Jarrett and Sid Vicious, teaming with Dustin to defeat the duo at Bash at the Beach. Angle wowed the crowd when he muscled Sid up for an Angle Slam and wowed the critics with his ability to get a good match out of Sid the week prior on Nitro. Even though this was presumably what Angle wanted, he was beginning to feel frustrated that his momentum was stalling because of the current schedule of fights and breaks as his love of wrestling took the place of his first love in MMA. Even so, he began wishing he could make his own schedule. Regardless, when Angle returned in October of that year, the landscape had significantly changed. The NWA World title had gone from Jericho to Bill Goldberg, the newly-turned monster Heel, after Goldberg's Monster Squad stable (Goldberg, Vader, Meng and Barbarian, Scott Steiner) had won the Wargames match at Fall Brawl, with Goldberg getting the knockout on Booker T to win the championship (a disgruntled Booker T would soon leave WCW to join the WWF, where he would become a multi-time world champion). After Goldberg defeated Jericho to retain the title at Halloween Havoc, Angle ran out to make the save and protect Jericho from further damage at Goldberg's hands. Angle made it to the final three of World War 3 before Goldberg ran out and cost him the match, leading to young upstart Shelton Benjamin getting the mega-upset victory. Angle would still get a shot at the NWA World Title, with the build-up to the match being given a real sports feel. The 2003 Starrcade match was said to be a testament to Angle's growth and development as a worker, being credited for keeping the match going and making Goldberg look good. It was a short but frenetic main event, with plenty of strikes and slams, with Angle winning the world title in just over ten minutes. It is considered by many to be one of the best sub-fifteen-minute matches in wrestling history. Fans of longer matches were still appeased by Chris Jericho and Scott Steiner wrestling for nearly half an hour, with Steiner coming out the victor.
As with 2002, Angle would spend the better part of 2004 as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, having won the belt now for the third time. Angle would defeat Goldberg at Uncensored in a Last Man Standing Match, Vader at Superbrawl, then Minoru Tanaka in an amazing match at a New Japan/NWA Supershow in March that gave angle his first taste of performing in front of a Japanese crowd. Angle would then go to NWA management and request a few fights with PRIDE FC in Japan after he lost the World Title. Scott Steiner would then challenge Angle to defend the NWA Championship against him, the pair exchanging incredibly entertaining promos, even if people wondered if Scott Steiner was legitimately insane. The matches did not quite live up to expectations, as Steiner had put on quite a lot of mass and had slowed down considerably, legitimately angering Kurt after the second match and causing a backstage altercation between the two. With both men going into what could only be called "berserker rages", half the locker room and staff had to hold the pair apart and were both sent home for sixty days, with Angle being stripped of the title. However, rather than go home, Angle would use one of his contractually-agreed PRIDE FC appearances and begin training for the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix in early August, much to Karen Angle's annoyance. Kurt would receive a hero's welcome in Japan, which he would later say in a shoot interview was "a big relief" and "much deserved" after how he felt treated by WCW just two months prior. Angle would go to the finals and, in a shocking upset, defeat Fedor Emelianenko in what was considered by many to be the fight of the year. In his post-fight speech, Angle promised that when he returned, he wanted to fight Royce Gracie in an openweight contest. Sadly, this would never come to pass, as Angle and Gracie's camps could not come to an agreement on the rules of the potential fight.
Kurt would return to the NWA just days later to save NWA World Champion Sting from a beatdown by Chris Jericho's Four Horsemen (Jericho, Lance Storm, David Flair, and Karl Anderson). Sting and Angle would team up and go on to win the NWA World Tag Team titles from The Young Studs (Flair and Anderson) at Road Wild and would lead a team including Shane Helms and Rey Misterio, Jr against the Horsemen at Fall Brawl in the War Games match. The finish would come when Angle and Sting had Flair and Anderson in dual submissions and both got the tap-out, but Sting was the one credited with the victory. At Halloween Havoc in October, Angle and Sting would defend their tag team titles against America's Most Wanted in the opening match on the card, since Sting had to defend the NWA World Title in the main event against Jericho. They would wind up losing the championships when, after getting tagged in, Kurt betrayed Sting, turning heel again and dropping his tag partner with an Angle Slam and tagging back out. After Harris and Storm picked up the tag titles and a major win over two legends, Angle would return to the ring and repeatedly assault Sting's leg with a chair, allowing Chris Jericho to submit Sting in the main event and become a two-time World Champion. Their feud would continue when they eliminated each other in the 2004 edition of World War 3 (later won by Rey Mysterio), culminating in a match at Starrcade, with Sting coming out the victor and handing Angle his second submission loss. While the angle had been meant, to some degree, as a punishment for Angle by having him lose a high-profile match on the biggest stage of the year, Angle was most upset by the fact that his match with Sting had been outshone by Rey Mysterio's victory over Chris Jericho for the NWA World Title. Seemingly reminded of his time in the UFC in the shadow of Frank Shamrock, Angle spiraled out of control.
Angle showed up for the first Nitro of 2005 in no condition to work, staggering, slurring, with a beard he hadn't shaved in days and red, bloodshot eyes. Angle was told not to wrestle and was, in fact, held in his locker room until a cab could be called to send him home. After that, Angle spent the next nine months in company-sponsored rehab, during a time that Angle would consider "The darkest period of my life." On top of Kurt's struggles with his own personal demons, there was also the terrorist bombing of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC that August by Anti-Tibetan Chinese extremists who believed America sided with Tibet in its bid for independence. Kurt was able to persevere, though, and came out of rehab clean, returning to the NWA in September. Angle came out on Nitro to a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes, clearly overcome with emotion and needing quite some time to get through his promo. Angle thanked the fans for their support and thanked the NWA for giving him the help he needed to get his life back on track. Angle's heartfelt speech was interrupted by NWA United States Champion Austin Aries (referred to cynically by smarks as "the NWA's CM Punk"), who used his straight-edge, clean-cut lifestyle to run down Kurt Angle.
At first, it seemed like Angle agreed with Aries and started to leave the ring, before running behind him and dropping Aries with an Angle Slam. Kurt would go on to face Aries for the United States Championship at Fall Brawl in a losing effort, then losing again at Halloween Havoc. Angle challenged Aries one more time, willing to put his wrestling career on the line, at the 2005 edition of World War 3. Kurt Angle would defeat Aries to win his first and only United States Championship, then go on to win the World War 3 match in the main event, the show closing with confetti raining down on an emotional, openly weeping Angle kneeling in the middle of the ring. At Starrcade 2005, Kurt would wrestle the man who had been NWA Champion since March, "The Black Diamond" Shelton Benjamin. In a truly breathtaking match, Kurt Angle won his fourth and final NWA World Heavyweight Championship, shaking hands with Benjamin and hugging him after the match. Kurt Angle's final run with the NWA Championship would last until April of 2006. After vacating the United States title in February (which was won in a battle royal by young Jay Lethal, making him the youngest-ever NWA United States Champion), Kurt would have a rematch with Benjamin, as well as with his old rival Chris Jericho in February and March. When Angle lost the NWA title to AJ Styles at the 2006 edition of Spring Stampede (thanks to interference by Colonel Robert Parker, revealing AJ to be the much-hyped "Crown Jewel" of the new Stud Stable), Angle asked what the plans for his future were, now that his original contract from 2001 was nearly up. Whatever he was told, we will never know, only that Angle was not happy with what he heard. Rather than negotiate, Angle chose to sit out the remainder of his contract. This was the tipping point for Karen Angle, describing Kurt's actions as neglectful and selfish, more focused on what the world thought of his "stupid fake wrestling matches" than providing for his family or even being around for them. Karen filed for divorce and the legal battle would take up much of the rest of 2006.
ECW; CMLL; New japan; Death
Kurt Angle would begin 2007 by appearing once again at PRIDE when he fought Alistair Overeem at PRIDE 33 in February, losing by knockout. Undeterred, Angle still returned for PRIDE 34 in April, the final PRIDE show, defeating Done Frye and again becoming visibly emotional after the bout. Outside of his brief return to MMA (there were plans for a UFC return, even talk of him being one of the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter against Tim Sylvia, but plans fell through when Angle could not pass a physical. There were also talks of Angle finally signing with the WWF, with many salivating at the prospect of Kurt Angle finally facing off against the WWF's own Brock Lesnar. Sadly, it would be another "match that never was." Kurt and Shane McMahon simply could not come to an agreement. It seemed like Angle might simply retire from wrestling and focus on his MMA Camps and sporadic appearances for the burgeoning Strikeforce MMA when Kurt Angle shocked the world by appearing on ECW Hardcore TV.
Kurt Angle's heel run in ECW throughout 2007 is considered not only the best in his career, but maybe the best in the history of modern wrestling. It seemed as though a riot were about to break out every time Angle came out to cut a promo, to say nothing of his matches. Angle defeated Tommy Dreamer in his ECW debut at Hardcore Havoc in May, securing more wins on TV before defeating another ECW veteran in Jerry Lynn at Hostile City Showdown 2007 in June. "Guido" James Maritato made a surprising return in July and seemed to be on the cusp of defeating Angle at Heatwave before Angle ripped the hope from the ECW faithful yet again with the dreaded Fujiwara Armbar. After that, Angle began specifically calling out reigning ECW World Heavyweight Champion Bryan Danielson to face him, though Bryan was still embroiled in his own feud with The Triple Threat's Roderick Strong. After defeating Yoshihiro Tajiri at WrestlePalooza in August, Angle finally locked horns with one of the New Breed in multiple-time ECW Television Champion Homicide at WrestlePalooza, coming out victorious. Angle would then face and defeat Samoa Joe at the 2007 edition of Ultraclash, billed as "The Superfight to End All Superfights" in the main event, though he only managed to just pin Joe by turning the Muscle Buster into a crucifix pin. Still, Angle now had his sights firmly set on Bryan Danielson and the ECW World Heavyweight title. After teaming up with long-time heel Steve Corino to defeat their mutual rivals in CM Punk and Bryan Danielson at Anarchy Rulz, Angle cut multiple scathing promos against Danielson, his championship, and ECW, at one point promising to "Take that piece of sh*t belt back to Atlanta and put it on Ric Flair's desk and sign my new contract on it, before the two of us piss on it!" Obviously, Angle had no intentions at the time of returning to the NWA, but there was no reason to tell the fans that. It all led to one of the most hotly-anticipated bouts in ECW history when Angle and Bryan faced off, the match given serious big-fight feel and sports-like presentation. For nearly an hour, Danielson and Angle left everything they had in the ring, giving the wrestling world a once-in-a-lifetime performance of a match. Kurt once again left everything he had in the ring, even doing his signature moonsault from a balcony of all places. In the end, Danielson defeated Angle with the Cattle Mutilation, drawing the third submission loss of Kurt's entire wrestling career. The crowd gave Angle the standing ovation that he seemed to have been chasing his whole career, even receiving chants of "Thank You Kurt" and "Please Come Back" from a crowd that had despised him right up until the match had ended. ECW Heads Gabe Sapolsky and Paul Heyman begged Angle to stay and extend his contract, but Angle refused, though he promised them he would return for another run someday.
Angle would never wrestle in ECW again.
Kurt Angle next appeared in Mexico of all places, wrestling for CMLL, first arriving in March 2008 at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas to interrupt the ceremony dedicated to the lives and achievements of Salvador Lutteroth and Alejandro Cruz Ortiz, cutting a heel promo and running down the ceremony that had been in place for over 20 years. It seemed like Kurt had not been content to simply make all the fans in one promotion mad in ECW, now he was determined to make an entire country angry at him. Angle was nearly assaulted by a fan leaving the arena and simply laughed, finding the whole thing exciting. From there, Angle would return at 52. Aniversario de Arena México in April, defeating Ultimo Guerrero in a wild brawl of a match with an insanely hot atmosphere and frenzied crowd. Angle would refuse to participate in the Reyes del Aire, calling the Torneo Cibernetico match type "The stupidest goddamn thing I've ever seen", becoming more hated than ever for simply refusing to enter a match. After the Infierno en el Ring match in June, Angle attacked the winner, El Texano Jr, and "forcibly" shaved his head as well, despite Texano having won the match. Throughout July, Angle would compete in the 2008 edition of the Leyenda de Plata tournament, which he lost to Mistico. Supposedly, El Texano Jr's anger at not being the one to give Angle his comeuppance would lead to him jumping ship to AAA the following year. Angle would join the 2008 International Grand Prix, seemingly for the sole purpose of eliminating Dos Caras, Jr, as he left the match immediately after. The two would meet again in a trios match at Sin Piedad in August, with Dos Caras teaming with Blue Panther and Dr. Wagner, Jr, while Angle teamed with Perro Aguayo Jr and Rey Bucanero. Angle got the victory and attempted to unmask Caras after the match, leading to a Lucha de Apuestas match, with Caras putting up his mask and Angle putting up his hair. In front of an absolutely rabid crowd, Dos Caras won and forced Angle to shave his head. Once again, Angle chose to go out on a high note, taking his newly-shaved head to Japan.
Angle appeared for New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the 2009 G1 Climax Tournament, revealed as a surprise entrant, replacing the injured Tajiri in Block A. Angle would again show his versatility, having an excellent technical match with Minoru Tanaka, a drama-filled encounter with Hiroshi Tanahashi, a highly-entertaining comedy match with Toru Yano, and wild brawls with Masato Tanaka and Togi Makabe, even playing a convincing underdog against Giant Bernard and Takao Omori. While Angle's match with Shinsuke Nakamura in the G1 Climax final was considered very good, with Nakamura winning with the Boma Ye, it was felt by many insiders that Angle had lost a step, with his constant push to do both pro wrestling and MMA for Strikeforce burning the candle at both ends, trying to elevate the fledgling promotion into legitimate competition for the UFC almost entirely on his own back, as well as whatever Angle was doing to his own body. Still, Angle's run was considered enough of a success that he was offered a return. Angle said he only wanted one match:
Kazushi Sakuraba at the Tokyo Dome.
The match at WrestleKingdom was Sakuraba's first involvement with New Japan in fifteen years, and his first time wrestling with the company as a freelancer. It was a pure, sports-based, face-versus-face matchup. The thousands in attendance loved the match, with fans watching all over the world and being treated to an excellent technical match. While Angle might not have been able to go full-steam anymore with moonsaults and superplexes, it was clear that his grappling ability had not waned in the slightest. To the surprise of many, Sakuraba would win the bout by submission and go on to feud with Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Angle shook Sakuraba's hand after the match and bowed to the fans, soaking in the appreciation.
Angle would return to the states, making appearances at Wrestling Conventions, doing shoot interviews, and a tour for his book, while still running his wrestling camps. He also did a handful more fights for Strikeforce throughout the year and the occasional independent wrestling match while contemplating his next big career move. He even went into the NWA Hall of Fame in May of 2011, inducted by long-time rival and friend Chris Jericho.
However, the morning after an independent wrestling match against Davey Richards on October 5th, 2011, Kurt Steven Angle was found dead in his hotel room, having suffered a massive heart attack brought about by an overdose. Angle's autopsy revealed that he had been abusing drugs, alcohol, and steroids for years, seemingly almost as soon as his divorce was finalized, a mixture of uppers and downers and other stimulants to deal with the pain and give Angle the energy to keep moving and training. His body had also endured tremendous damage over his career and a CTE scan showed that his brain had been injured after years and years of relentlessly taking bumps and getting hit in the head.
While Angle's in-ring legacy would never be questioned as one of the greatest of all time, his personal legacy, much like the Dynamite Kid and many others before him, showed the cost that sometimes comes with pushing oneself toward excellence. Along with all three major American wrestling promotions adopting much stricter drug testing and more seriously monitoring concussions, a serious argument was once again made for a wrestlers' union, "not just to protect the boys from their bosses, but to protect the boys from themselves." In 2017, the first-ever Pro Wrestlers' Union was officially formed in America, with Chris Benoit voted as Union President. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Most Outstanding Wrestler award was renamed after Kurt Angle, the only man to ever win the award five times.
Accolades:
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Heavyweight Champion (2 Times)
UFC Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)
Pride Fighting Championship
Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix (2004)
National Wrestling Alliance
NWA World Heavyweight Champion (4 Times)
NWA World War 3 (2005)
NWA World Tag Team Champion (w/Sting)
NWA United States Champion
NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
Wrestler of the Year (2003; 2007)
Most Outstanding Wrestler (2002; 2004; 2007; 2008; 2009)
Most Outstanding Fighter (1999; 2000)
Best on Interview (2002; 2007)
Match of the Year (2002 VS. Chris Jericho at NWA Fall Brawl; 2003 VS. Bill Goldberg at Starrcade; 2005 vs. Shelton Benjamin at Starrcade; 2007 vs. Bryan Danielson at ECW November to Remember; 2010 vs. Kazushi Sakuraba at Wrestle Kingdom IV)
MMA Fight of the Year (VS. Frank Shamrock at UFC 26 February 2000; VS. Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE Final Conflict 2004)
Most Improved (2002)
Most Charismatic (2002)
Best Technical Wrestler (2002; 2003)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards
Match of the Year (2002 VS. Chris Jericho at NWA Fall Brawl; 2005 vs. Shelton Benjamin at Starrcade; 2007 VS. Bryan Danielson at ECW November To Remember; 2008 VS. Dos Caras, Jr. at CMLL 75th Anniversary Show)
Wrestler of the Year (2004; 2005; 2006; NWA)
Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2005)
Feud of the Year (2007; Kurt Angle vs. Bryan Danielson; ECW)
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2002 NWA; 2007 ECW; 2008 CMLL)
(December 9, 1968-October 5, 2011)(43 years old)
Background:
Kurt Angle is considered by many to have been one of the greatest technical wrestlers in the history of all of combat sports and one of its greatest crossover stars, achieving success in both mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. It has been argued by many that Angle's success paved the way for future stars like current ECW Heavyweight Champion Matt Riddle, former NWA Women's Champion Gina Carrano, former WWF World Champion Rampage Jackson, and others many more. It is also a career marked with tragedy.
Kurt Angle's rise to superstardom began when he won the Gold Medal in 100 KG freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA. With Townsend Saunders winning the Freestyle gold in 68 KG, Angle's victory cemented the United States as the winners at the medal table with 4 Gold Medals and 8 overall. Along with his contribution to helping America dominate that year's medal count and the fact that he won with a legitimate broken neck, Angle was cemented as a genuine American Hero. (Sidenote: although there have been many Olympians who saw their success translate to success in professional wrestling, perhaps none were as successful as Angle outside of 2004 Gold Medalist Brock Lesnar and 2012 Gold Medalist Jordan Burroughs).
While Angle was recovering from neck surgery through the rest of 1996 and into 1997, he was courted by both ECW and the WWF. While the ECW Crucifixion situation is well-known and infamous, the WWF's attempt to sign him was kept quiet for many years, no doubt with Vince McMahon being angry at the rebuffing. According to Angle, the WWF had pitched him an All-American, Super-patriotic Babyface character in the style of former WWF Champion Lex Luger. Angle turned the contract down for two reasons, both because he thought the gimmick was insulting to the other Olympian Americans, who he thought the character would make it seem like he thought he was better than them, and because at the time he thought professional wrestling was "beneath him." In later interviews, he would admit that this prejudice was "misguided and stupid."
Ultimate Fighting Championship (1998-2001)
Once Kurt was recovered, he began training again, fully intending to enter the 2000 Olympics and compete for the gold again, when he was approached by friend Mark Schultz and told he should consider entering Mixed Martial Arts. After Schultz showed him a few tapes, Angle was instantly impressed and excited by the challenge. He sought out Ken Shamrock's Lions Den camp and began training with them to get himself fight-ready. Angle made his debut at UFC 16 on March 13, 1998, taking on Kimo in the semi-main event and defeating him soundly by submission in the first round. He would return just a few months later at UFC 17 in May, where he suffered one of his only MMA defeats after being knocked out by Tank Abbot in less than a minute. He would find redemption when he defeated Tank in a return match at UFC Brazil in October, and plans were already in place for an Angle/Rizzo fight down the line. Angle's debut and status as an American hero gave the UFC the credibility and PR boost it desperately needed when the federation was still struggling to find mainstream acceptance after John McCain's "Human cockfighting" comments in 1996.
Kurt Angle would face Pedro Rizzo in 1999 at UFC 18 in January, setting him up for a match against Bas Rutten at UFC 19 to determine a new UFC World Heavyweight Champion after Randy Couture vacated the title. Angle would win the fight by Unanimous Judge's decision and would defend the title throughout '99 against Kevin Randleman, Pete Williams, and Tsuyoshi Kosaka in Japan. Despite being seen as a great champion and being treated as the face of the company, he felt overshadowed by Frank Shamrock, whose bouts were regularly seen as the best fights of the night, especially his fight against Bas Rutten at UFC 23 in Japan, considered by many to be the best fight of the year, and still held in high regard as one of the best fights of all time. After successfully defending his title against Maurice Smith at UFC 24, Angle announced he would be vacating the title to cut weight in hopes of dropping to Middleweight and facing Frank Shamrock.
Everyone in Angle's circle, from Lions Den members to his then-wife Karen to Mark Schultz, had told Angle that trying to cut that much weight was "dangerous and stupid," but Angle insisted that he needed the fight. Karen described Angle during that period as "training like a psychopath" to get himself down to 185 pounds. It was during this time that Angle started down the road to his painkiller addiction, though his drug test for the fight came back clean. At UFC 26 on June 9th, at the same card where Randy Couture would defeat Kevin Randleman to win the vacant UFC Heavyweight title, Kurt Angle fought Frank Shamrock. In interviews and the press conference leading up to the fight, Angle would talk about how much the fight meant to him and how much a victory would mean after all of his work, calling it "the fight of my life." It was an amazing fight, one that would continue to cement both Shamrock and Angle's legacies, but one that Angle himself would ultimately lose, his tank running on empty in the fourth round before Shamrock would hand Angle his second knockout loss. While Shamrock's star would continue to rise, with fans and pundits believing that he was now outshining his older brother Ken, Angle fell into a deep depression. Angle began drinking heavily, the first signs of his darker impulses. However, when a dejected Angle watched Dan Severn's miracle victory against Pedro Rizzo at UFC 27, it lit a fire in him. Training obsessively again, Angle got back into fighting shape and into fight weight in time for UFC 28 at the Trump Taj Mahal on November 17th for a "Superfight" against "The Beast." In a thrilling contest, Angle would secure the TKO victory after giving Severn a German Suplex, reminiscent of Severn's own performances at UFC 4 and 5. It seemed for all the world that "The Wrestling Machine" was back. Angle used the victory to catapult himself into a Heavyweight Title fight against Randy Couture in February of 2001, returning to the Trump Taj Mahal at UFC 30 to reclaim the championship he had never actually lost. It seemed like destiny. While Angle would win the fight by unanimous decision and claim the championship, he would be stripped of the title and suspended after a drug test revealed there were steroids in his system. When it seemed like Angle might fall into another depression- or worse- in disgrace, Ken Shamrock pointed Angle toward professional wrestling. It was a decision that Shamrock admits he now deeply regrets.
National Wrestling Alliance/Return to UFC/PRIDE Fighting Championship
During Angle's time in UFC, he would often watch NWA and WWF while training and was forced to admit that his preconceptions about wrestling were wrong as he saw the wrestlers display incredible athleticism and was impressed by the charisma and showmanship of the WWF's The Rock, NWA's Chris Jericho, or even Steve Austin the handful of times he'd watch ECW. In the end, it had taken little convincing from Shamrock for Angle to begin wrestling training. Though Angle would wind up signing with the NWA in an attempt to avoid seeming like he was copying his friend Shamrock. It was for the same reason that Angle's finishing submission was a Fujiwara armbar, rather than the Ankle Lock that head trainer Brad Rheingans had suggested.
As he had with MMA, Kurt took to wrestling training with shocking ease and was considered TV-ready by October of that year, answering the open challenge of NWA Champion Don Frye. While some were hesitant to rocket Angle to the top of the card immediately, NWA President Ric Flair believed that Angle's credentials as a legitimate badass and combat sports legend would give the NWA the boost they would need in their never-ending war with Shane McMahon (having taken over the company following his father's arrest in 1998) and the WWF. It was also believed that Frye could have a good match with Angle, keeping him in his comfort zone without running the risk of exposing him. The match itself at the 1999 edition of World War 3 was excellent, with Angle securing the victory and the NWA World's Championship with his unique maneuver, The Angle Slam. Once again, Kurt Angle was on top of the world.
While no one could deny Kurt Angle's wrestling ability, many fans soured on the prospect of the World championship being hotshotted from an outsider to Kurt Angle, who they perceived to be another outsider. This point was driven home when Angle was booed following his submission victory over beloved NWA Stalwart Diamond Dallas Page at that year's Starrcade, even though Angle had wrestled a clean match and had come in as a babyface. Angle's genuine confused, some would even say frustrated reaction at the crowd would be developed quickly into the iconic character that would help define his wrestling career and showcase his incredible charisma for the first time.
Despite spending four years as an obnoxious egomaniac of a heel (and two before that as a bland babyface from 1996-1997), there had always been a portion of the crowd that had cheered Jericho, either because they found him incredibly charismatic and entertaining or because he always delivered in matches. At Starrcade the night before, Jericho had defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. in a show-stealing match that received a standing ovation from the crowd. After promising for weeks that he would unmask Misterio after defeating him, Jericho surprised the crowd by not doing so, instead giving him a fist-bump as a sign of respect. This Nitro cemented Chris Jericho as a babyface as he was propelled to the main event.
Jericho and Angle would have three matches at Souled Out, Superbrawl, and Uncensored, each one receiving fan and critical acclaim and doing extremely good business. After winning the third match, Angle refused to release the Fujiwara armbar until he had to be physically pried away by officials, putting Jericho kayfabe on the shelf for several months, for the shoot reason that Jericho needed a few months off to film a part in the Superman relaunch movie ("Superman: Limitless" released in 2003) as the villainous Kryptonian Jax-Ur. Kurt would continue to hold onto the belt through the spring, defeating Booker T at Spring Stampede in April and recent ECW steal Rob Van Dam in May. There were plans to have Angle wrestle Goldberg at the Great American Bash, but Goldberg would break his leg in a motorcycle accident and be out for a year. Scrambling to come up with a match, the NWA was forced to hotshot a match with Sting, having just under a month to build what should have been a dream match between the face-painted Icon and the Wrestling Machine. While the match was still great and drew a good buyrate, it wouldn't be until 2004 that the two could properly feud. At the July Pay-per-view, Bash at the Beach, Kurt Angle would defend his title against the man who had defeated Scott Steiner at Great American Bash to become no.1 contender: Steven Regal. Regal had gotten tremendously over in the first six months of 2002 as an affable, slightly-goofy, well-meaning babyface who could nonetheless be vicious inside the ring when he was pushed. True to his new character, Angle was enraged that the crowd was cheering for an Englishman against him, so close to America's birthday.
In the match itself, Regal played an excellent sympathetic babyface to Angle's bullying, arrogant heel, before shocking the world with a cravate into an inside cradle to secure the win and win his first World Championship. An enraged Kurt destroyed the ringside area and demanded a rematch the following night, though NWA commissioner instead suspended him for 30 days and had Angle dragged from the arena. Angle would still get his rematch at Road Wild in August and would regain the NWA title after hitting Regal with multiple Angle Slams. After the match, Angle would use a chair for the first time in his career, repeatedly hitting Regal in the shoulder with it and threatening to Pillmanize his arm before Chris Jericho made his return to save Regal, chasing Angle off with a chair of his own to end the show. Jericho and Angle would have their fourth match at Fall Brawl 2002 inside a steel cage, in a wild and violent brawl vastly unlike any of Angle's other matches, proving his versatility as a wrestler, especially when he wowed the crowd with a moonsault off the top of the cage. The match ended when, both mean bleeding profusely, Jericho made Angle submit to the Liontamer, winning his first NWA World Championship. After the feud with Jericho finally ended, Angle took some time off at his wife's insistence, though he had been reluctant to do so.
Even while he was taking time off, Kurt was still working, a habit that would follow him for most of his life. On top of studying Catch Wrestling and opening a Catch Wrestling camp with Josh Barnett (American-Style Catch), he was also receiving interest for a return to UFC. Dana White was hurting for stars during the period and was hoping to get back some of the spark Angle had brought when he'd first helped legitimize the UFC years earlier. As soon as the NWA got wind of it, they immediately stepped in to lead the negotiations, which Angle would later admit he found deeply frustrating, even if he understood that the NWA was just trying to protect their investment. In the end, Angle would sign for three fights in 2003, under the conditions that he would not be fighting for belts (though that would be renegotiable in 2004 if he won all three fights) and that he would not, under any circumstances, fight Frank Shamrock. While there had been initial hopes for Angle to face Ken Shamrock, Shamrock would spend most of 2003 recovering and rehabbing from the ACL surgery he underwent after losing to Tito Ortiz. Instead, Kurt would defeat Vladimir Matyushenko by submission at UFC 41 in February and Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision at UFC 43 in June (with some controversy as he had Josh Barnett in his corner despite Barnett's history with Dana White) before losing to Frank Mir by decision at UFC 44 in September. Angle would shake Mir's hand after the bout and respectfully bow out of his last-ever UFC fight, seemingly past the darker period of his early career.
During this time, he still found time to wrestle for the NWA. He made his return in March to wrestle still-champion Chris Jericho one more time, demanding a pure wrestling match. Jericho won once again, this time with his new "Breakdown" Finisher, a knee strike that was treated as a flash knockout. In April, Angle would finally get another pay-per-view win when he defeated New Japan's Jushin Thunder Liger in a "Dream Match." Angle would bow to Liger after the match, signaling a face turn. This was later cemented when top heel Jeff Jarrett, still bitter about losing to Jericho the night before, mocked Kurt for going soft before smashing his guitar over Kurt's head, leaving him unconscious and bloody. Angle would get the win over Jarrett at Slamboree of that year before leaving to prepare for his fight with Arlovski. A triumphant Angle would return in July to save Dustin Rhodes from a beatdown by Jarrett and Sid Vicious, teaming with Dustin to defeat the duo at Bash at the Beach. Angle wowed the crowd when he muscled Sid up for an Angle Slam and wowed the critics with his ability to get a good match out of Sid the week prior on Nitro. Even though this was presumably what Angle wanted, he was beginning to feel frustrated that his momentum was stalling because of the current schedule of fights and breaks as his love of wrestling took the place of his first love in MMA. Even so, he began wishing he could make his own schedule. Regardless, when Angle returned in October of that year, the landscape had significantly changed. The NWA World title had gone from Jericho to Bill Goldberg, the newly-turned monster Heel, after Goldberg's Monster Squad stable (Goldberg, Vader, Meng and Barbarian, Scott Steiner) had won the Wargames match at Fall Brawl, with Goldberg getting the knockout on Booker T to win the championship (a disgruntled Booker T would soon leave WCW to join the WWF, where he would become a multi-time world champion). After Goldberg defeated Jericho to retain the title at Halloween Havoc, Angle ran out to make the save and protect Jericho from further damage at Goldberg's hands. Angle made it to the final three of World War 3 before Goldberg ran out and cost him the match, leading to young upstart Shelton Benjamin getting the mega-upset victory. Angle would still get a shot at the NWA World Title, with the build-up to the match being given a real sports feel. The 2003 Starrcade match was said to be a testament to Angle's growth and development as a worker, being credited for keeping the match going and making Goldberg look good. It was a short but frenetic main event, with plenty of strikes and slams, with Angle winning the world title in just over ten minutes. It is considered by many to be one of the best sub-fifteen-minute matches in wrestling history. Fans of longer matches were still appeased by Chris Jericho and Scott Steiner wrestling for nearly half an hour, with Steiner coming out the victor.
As with 2002, Angle would spend the better part of 2004 as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, having won the belt now for the third time. Angle would defeat Goldberg at Uncensored in a Last Man Standing Match, Vader at Superbrawl, then Minoru Tanaka in an amazing match at a New Japan/NWA Supershow in March that gave angle his first taste of performing in front of a Japanese crowd. Angle would then go to NWA management and request a few fights with PRIDE FC in Japan after he lost the World Title. Scott Steiner would then challenge Angle to defend the NWA Championship against him, the pair exchanging incredibly entertaining promos, even if people wondered if Scott Steiner was legitimately insane. The matches did not quite live up to expectations, as Steiner had put on quite a lot of mass and had slowed down considerably, legitimately angering Kurt after the second match and causing a backstage altercation between the two. With both men going into what could only be called "berserker rages", half the locker room and staff had to hold the pair apart and were both sent home for sixty days, with Angle being stripped of the title. However, rather than go home, Angle would use one of his contractually-agreed PRIDE FC appearances and begin training for the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix in early August, much to Karen Angle's annoyance. Kurt would receive a hero's welcome in Japan, which he would later say in a shoot interview was "a big relief" and "much deserved" after how he felt treated by WCW just two months prior. Angle would go to the finals and, in a shocking upset, defeat Fedor Emelianenko in what was considered by many to be the fight of the year. In his post-fight speech, Angle promised that when he returned, he wanted to fight Royce Gracie in an openweight contest. Sadly, this would never come to pass, as Angle and Gracie's camps could not come to an agreement on the rules of the potential fight.
Kurt would return to the NWA just days later to save NWA World Champion Sting from a beatdown by Chris Jericho's Four Horsemen (Jericho, Lance Storm, David Flair, and Karl Anderson). Sting and Angle would team up and go on to win the NWA World Tag Team titles from The Young Studs (Flair and Anderson) at Road Wild and would lead a team including Shane Helms and Rey Misterio, Jr against the Horsemen at Fall Brawl in the War Games match. The finish would come when Angle and Sting had Flair and Anderson in dual submissions and both got the tap-out, but Sting was the one credited with the victory. At Halloween Havoc in October, Angle and Sting would defend their tag team titles against America's Most Wanted in the opening match on the card, since Sting had to defend the NWA World Title in the main event against Jericho. They would wind up losing the championships when, after getting tagged in, Kurt betrayed Sting, turning heel again and dropping his tag partner with an Angle Slam and tagging back out. After Harris and Storm picked up the tag titles and a major win over two legends, Angle would return to the ring and repeatedly assault Sting's leg with a chair, allowing Chris Jericho to submit Sting in the main event and become a two-time World Champion. Their feud would continue when they eliminated each other in the 2004 edition of World War 3 (later won by Rey Mysterio), culminating in a match at Starrcade, with Sting coming out the victor and handing Angle his second submission loss. While the angle had been meant, to some degree, as a punishment for Angle by having him lose a high-profile match on the biggest stage of the year, Angle was most upset by the fact that his match with Sting had been outshone by Rey Mysterio's victory over Chris Jericho for the NWA World Title. Seemingly reminded of his time in the UFC in the shadow of Frank Shamrock, Angle spiraled out of control.
Angle showed up for the first Nitro of 2005 in no condition to work, staggering, slurring, with a beard he hadn't shaved in days and red, bloodshot eyes. Angle was told not to wrestle and was, in fact, held in his locker room until a cab could be called to send him home. After that, Angle spent the next nine months in company-sponsored rehab, during a time that Angle would consider "The darkest period of my life." On top of Kurt's struggles with his own personal demons, there was also the terrorist bombing of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC that August by Anti-Tibetan Chinese extremists who believed America sided with Tibet in its bid for independence. Kurt was able to persevere, though, and came out of rehab clean, returning to the NWA in September. Angle came out on Nitro to a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes, clearly overcome with emotion and needing quite some time to get through his promo. Angle thanked the fans for their support and thanked the NWA for giving him the help he needed to get his life back on track. Angle's heartfelt speech was interrupted by NWA United States Champion Austin Aries (referred to cynically by smarks as "the NWA's CM Punk"), who used his straight-edge, clean-cut lifestyle to run down Kurt Angle.
At first, it seemed like Angle agreed with Aries and started to leave the ring, before running behind him and dropping Aries with an Angle Slam. Kurt would go on to face Aries for the United States Championship at Fall Brawl in a losing effort, then losing again at Halloween Havoc. Angle challenged Aries one more time, willing to put his wrestling career on the line, at the 2005 edition of World War 3. Kurt Angle would defeat Aries to win his first and only United States Championship, then go on to win the World War 3 match in the main event, the show closing with confetti raining down on an emotional, openly weeping Angle kneeling in the middle of the ring. At Starrcade 2005, Kurt would wrestle the man who had been NWA Champion since March, "The Black Diamond" Shelton Benjamin. In a truly breathtaking match, Kurt Angle won his fourth and final NWA World Heavyweight Championship, shaking hands with Benjamin and hugging him after the match. Kurt Angle's final run with the NWA Championship would last until April of 2006. After vacating the United States title in February (which was won in a battle royal by young Jay Lethal, making him the youngest-ever NWA United States Champion), Kurt would have a rematch with Benjamin, as well as with his old rival Chris Jericho in February and March. When Angle lost the NWA title to AJ Styles at the 2006 edition of Spring Stampede (thanks to interference by Colonel Robert Parker, revealing AJ to be the much-hyped "Crown Jewel" of the new Stud Stable), Angle asked what the plans for his future were, now that his original contract from 2001 was nearly up. Whatever he was told, we will never know, only that Angle was not happy with what he heard. Rather than negotiate, Angle chose to sit out the remainder of his contract. This was the tipping point for Karen Angle, describing Kurt's actions as neglectful and selfish, more focused on what the world thought of his "stupid fake wrestling matches" than providing for his family or even being around for them. Karen filed for divorce and the legal battle would take up much of the rest of 2006.
ECW; CMLL; New japan; Death
Kurt Angle would begin 2007 by appearing once again at PRIDE when he fought Alistair Overeem at PRIDE 33 in February, losing by knockout. Undeterred, Angle still returned for PRIDE 34 in April, the final PRIDE show, defeating Done Frye and again becoming visibly emotional after the bout. Outside of his brief return to MMA (there were plans for a UFC return, even talk of him being one of the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter against Tim Sylvia, but plans fell through when Angle could not pass a physical. There were also talks of Angle finally signing with the WWF, with many salivating at the prospect of Kurt Angle finally facing off against the WWF's own Brock Lesnar. Sadly, it would be another "match that never was." Kurt and Shane McMahon simply could not come to an agreement. It seemed like Angle might simply retire from wrestling and focus on his MMA Camps and sporadic appearances for the burgeoning Strikeforce MMA when Kurt Angle shocked the world by appearing on ECW Hardcore TV.
Kurt Angle's heel run in ECW throughout 2007 is considered not only the best in his career, but maybe the best in the history of modern wrestling. It seemed as though a riot were about to break out every time Angle came out to cut a promo, to say nothing of his matches. Angle defeated Tommy Dreamer in his ECW debut at Hardcore Havoc in May, securing more wins on TV before defeating another ECW veteran in Jerry Lynn at Hostile City Showdown 2007 in June. "Guido" James Maritato made a surprising return in July and seemed to be on the cusp of defeating Angle at Heatwave before Angle ripped the hope from the ECW faithful yet again with the dreaded Fujiwara Armbar. After that, Angle began specifically calling out reigning ECW World Heavyweight Champion Bryan Danielson to face him, though Bryan was still embroiled in his own feud with The Triple Threat's Roderick Strong. After defeating Yoshihiro Tajiri at WrestlePalooza in August, Angle finally locked horns with one of the New Breed in multiple-time ECW Television Champion Homicide at WrestlePalooza, coming out victorious. Angle would then face and defeat Samoa Joe at the 2007 edition of Ultraclash, billed as "The Superfight to End All Superfights" in the main event, though he only managed to just pin Joe by turning the Muscle Buster into a crucifix pin. Still, Angle now had his sights firmly set on Bryan Danielson and the ECW World Heavyweight title. After teaming up with long-time heel Steve Corino to defeat their mutual rivals in CM Punk and Bryan Danielson at Anarchy Rulz, Angle cut multiple scathing promos against Danielson, his championship, and ECW, at one point promising to "Take that piece of sh*t belt back to Atlanta and put it on Ric Flair's desk and sign my new contract on it, before the two of us piss on it!" Obviously, Angle had no intentions at the time of returning to the NWA, but there was no reason to tell the fans that. It all led to one of the most hotly-anticipated bouts in ECW history when Angle and Bryan faced off, the match given serious big-fight feel and sports-like presentation. For nearly an hour, Danielson and Angle left everything they had in the ring, giving the wrestling world a once-in-a-lifetime performance of a match. Kurt once again left everything he had in the ring, even doing his signature moonsault from a balcony of all places. In the end, Danielson defeated Angle with the Cattle Mutilation, drawing the third submission loss of Kurt's entire wrestling career. The crowd gave Angle the standing ovation that he seemed to have been chasing his whole career, even receiving chants of "Thank You Kurt" and "Please Come Back" from a crowd that had despised him right up until the match had ended. ECW Heads Gabe Sapolsky and Paul Heyman begged Angle to stay and extend his contract, but Angle refused, though he promised them he would return for another run someday.
Angle would never wrestle in ECW again.
Kurt Angle next appeared in Mexico of all places, wrestling for CMLL, first arriving in March 2008 at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas to interrupt the ceremony dedicated to the lives and achievements of Salvador Lutteroth and Alejandro Cruz Ortiz, cutting a heel promo and running down the ceremony that had been in place for over 20 years. It seemed like Kurt had not been content to simply make all the fans in one promotion mad in ECW, now he was determined to make an entire country angry at him. Angle was nearly assaulted by a fan leaving the arena and simply laughed, finding the whole thing exciting. From there, Angle would return at 52. Aniversario de Arena México in April, defeating Ultimo Guerrero in a wild brawl of a match with an insanely hot atmosphere and frenzied crowd. Angle would refuse to participate in the Reyes del Aire, calling the Torneo Cibernetico match type "The stupidest goddamn thing I've ever seen", becoming more hated than ever for simply refusing to enter a match. After the Infierno en el Ring match in June, Angle attacked the winner, El Texano Jr, and "forcibly" shaved his head as well, despite Texano having won the match. Throughout July, Angle would compete in the 2008 edition of the Leyenda de Plata tournament, which he lost to Mistico. Supposedly, El Texano Jr's anger at not being the one to give Angle his comeuppance would lead to him jumping ship to AAA the following year. Angle would join the 2008 International Grand Prix, seemingly for the sole purpose of eliminating Dos Caras, Jr, as he left the match immediately after. The two would meet again in a trios match at Sin Piedad in August, with Dos Caras teaming with Blue Panther and Dr. Wagner, Jr, while Angle teamed with Perro Aguayo Jr and Rey Bucanero. Angle got the victory and attempted to unmask Caras after the match, leading to a Lucha de Apuestas match, with Caras putting up his mask and Angle putting up his hair. In front of an absolutely rabid crowd, Dos Caras won and forced Angle to shave his head. Once again, Angle chose to go out on a high note, taking his newly-shaved head to Japan.
Angle appeared for New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the 2009 G1 Climax Tournament, revealed as a surprise entrant, replacing the injured Tajiri in Block A. Angle would again show his versatility, having an excellent technical match with Minoru Tanaka, a drama-filled encounter with Hiroshi Tanahashi, a highly-entertaining comedy match with Toru Yano, and wild brawls with Masato Tanaka and Togi Makabe, even playing a convincing underdog against Giant Bernard and Takao Omori. While Angle's match with Shinsuke Nakamura in the G1 Climax final was considered very good, with Nakamura winning with the Boma Ye, it was felt by many insiders that Angle had lost a step, with his constant push to do both pro wrestling and MMA for Strikeforce burning the candle at both ends, trying to elevate the fledgling promotion into legitimate competition for the UFC almost entirely on his own back, as well as whatever Angle was doing to his own body. Still, Angle's run was considered enough of a success that he was offered a return. Angle said he only wanted one match:
Kazushi Sakuraba at the Tokyo Dome.
The match at WrestleKingdom was Sakuraba's first involvement with New Japan in fifteen years, and his first time wrestling with the company as a freelancer. It was a pure, sports-based, face-versus-face matchup. The thousands in attendance loved the match, with fans watching all over the world and being treated to an excellent technical match. While Angle might not have been able to go full-steam anymore with moonsaults and superplexes, it was clear that his grappling ability had not waned in the slightest. To the surprise of many, Sakuraba would win the bout by submission and go on to feud with Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Angle shook Sakuraba's hand after the match and bowed to the fans, soaking in the appreciation.
Angle would return to the states, making appearances at Wrestling Conventions, doing shoot interviews, and a tour for his book, while still running his wrestling camps. He also did a handful more fights for Strikeforce throughout the year and the occasional independent wrestling match while contemplating his next big career move. He even went into the NWA Hall of Fame in May of 2011, inducted by long-time rival and friend Chris Jericho.
However, the morning after an independent wrestling match against Davey Richards on October 5th, 2011, Kurt Steven Angle was found dead in his hotel room, having suffered a massive heart attack brought about by an overdose. Angle's autopsy revealed that he had been abusing drugs, alcohol, and steroids for years, seemingly almost as soon as his divorce was finalized, a mixture of uppers and downers and other stimulants to deal with the pain and give Angle the energy to keep moving and training. His body had also endured tremendous damage over his career and a CTE scan showed that his brain had been injured after years and years of relentlessly taking bumps and getting hit in the head.
While Angle's in-ring legacy would never be questioned as one of the greatest of all time, his personal legacy, much like the Dynamite Kid and many others before him, showed the cost that sometimes comes with pushing oneself toward excellence. Along with all three major American wrestling promotions adopting much stricter drug testing and more seriously monitoring concussions, a serious argument was once again made for a wrestlers' union, "not just to protect the boys from their bosses, but to protect the boys from themselves." In 2017, the first-ever Pro Wrestlers' Union was officially formed in America, with Chris Benoit voted as Union President. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Most Outstanding Wrestler award was renamed after Kurt Angle, the only man to ever win the award five times.
Accolades:
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Heavyweight Champion (2 Times)
UFC Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)
Pride Fighting Championship
Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix (2004)
National Wrestling Alliance
NWA World Heavyweight Champion (4 Times)
NWA World War 3 (2005)
NWA World Tag Team Champion (w/Sting)
NWA United States Champion
NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
Wrestler of the Year (2003; 2007)
Most Outstanding Wrestler (2002; 2004; 2007; 2008; 2009)
Most Outstanding Fighter (1999; 2000)
Best on Interview (2002; 2007)
Match of the Year (2002 VS. Chris Jericho at NWA Fall Brawl; 2003 VS. Bill Goldberg at Starrcade; 2005 vs. Shelton Benjamin at Starrcade; 2007 vs. Bryan Danielson at ECW November to Remember; 2010 vs. Kazushi Sakuraba at Wrestle Kingdom IV)
MMA Fight of the Year (VS. Frank Shamrock at UFC 26 February 2000; VS. Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE Final Conflict 2004)
Most Improved (2002)
Most Charismatic (2002)
Best Technical Wrestler (2002; 2003)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards
Match of the Year (2002 VS. Chris Jericho at NWA Fall Brawl; 2005 vs. Shelton Benjamin at Starrcade; 2007 VS. Bryan Danielson at ECW November To Remember; 2008 VS. Dos Caras, Jr. at CMLL 75th Anniversary Show)
Wrestler of the Year (2004; 2005; 2006; NWA)
Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2005)
Feud of the Year (2007; Kurt Angle vs. Bryan Danielson; ECW)
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2002 NWA; 2007 ECW; 2008 CMLL)
Stan Hansen
Renowned for his stiff wrestling style, Stan Hansen would find success in multiple promotions across the globe. Infamously “breaking the neck” of WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino with one of his lariats, the pair would feud till 1977 where Hansen would finally pin Sammartino. Hansen would hold the title for nearly a year before losing the belt to Bob Backlund. After touring with New Japan and dethroning Antonio Inoki for NWF title, Hansen would return to the renamed World Wrestling Federation, reigniting his feud with Bob Backlund, winning the title and then later losing the belt back to Backlund in a Steel Cage Match at Madison Square Garden over the course of 1980-1.
Although he would continue to wrestle for the WWF, Hansen would leave for AJPW 1982 and various North American companies like the AWA, where he multiple times tag champions with the likes of Bruiser Brody.
Abruptly quitting AJPW in 1987, Hansen would show up in a New Japan ring attacking a beaten Antonio Inoki, leaving him bloody and broken. This incident would to a riot from the audience in the Sumo Hall that would have New Japan banned from the arena for several years. Stan Hansen would become twice the IWGP Heavyweight Champion feuding with the like of Riki Choshu.
In 1990 during a NJPW/NWA Supershow at the Tokyo Dome, Hansen’s infamous stiff style would change the course of his career again, when he faced the newly crowned NWA champ Randy Savage. Hitting Savage with his bullwhip, Savage would suffer a broken nose and would require several stitches.
This would lead to Hansen appearing for the NWA, winning the 1991 Crockett Cup with Dan Spivey before challenging Randy Savage for the NWA belt come 1992, as Savage wanted some time to spend with his family. Wining the belt at SuperBrawl, Hansen would lose the built to a returning Ric Flair in his hometown of Charlotte. At the start of 1993 Hansen would win the belt back from Ron Simmons, before dropping to a returning Randy Savage.
Hansen would continue wrestling for both the NWA and New Japan, mainly lower down the card or in tag matches, although he would win the G1 Climax in 1995. By 2000 Stan Hansen would retire and go on to become a commissioner within the NWA.
Major Accolades
World Wrestling Federation
2x WWF Championship
AJPW
2x World Strongest Tag League (83 with Brusier Brody and 85 with Ted DiBase)
2x PWF Heavyweight Champion
2x PWF Tag Team Champion (1x Brusier Brody and 1x with Ted Dibase)
NJPW
NWF Champion
2x IWGP Heavyweight Championship
G1 Climax (1995)
1x IWGP Tag Team Championship (with Scott Norton)
NWA
2x NWA Word Heavyweight Championship
Crockett Cup (1991 with Dan Spivey)
1x NWA Tag Team Champion (with Dan Spivey)
AWA
AWA Heavyweight Champion.
Renowned for his stiff wrestling style, Stan Hansen would find success in multiple promotions across the globe. Infamously “breaking the neck” of WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino with one of his lariats, the pair would feud till 1977 where Hansen would finally pin Sammartino. Hansen would hold the title for nearly a year before losing the belt to Bob Backlund. After touring with New Japan and dethroning Antonio Inoki for NWF title, Hansen would return to the renamed World Wrestling Federation, reigniting his feud with Bob Backlund, winning the title and then later losing the belt back to Backlund in a Steel Cage Match at Madison Square Garden over the course of 1980-1.
Although he would continue to wrestle for the WWF, Hansen would leave for AJPW 1982 and various North American companies like the AWA, where he multiple times tag champions with the likes of Bruiser Brody.
Abruptly quitting AJPW in 1987, Hansen would show up in a New Japan ring attacking a beaten Antonio Inoki, leaving him bloody and broken. This incident would to a riot from the audience in the Sumo Hall that would have New Japan banned from the arena for several years. Stan Hansen would become twice the IWGP Heavyweight Champion feuding with the like of Riki Choshu.
In 1990 during a NJPW/NWA Supershow at the Tokyo Dome, Hansen’s infamous stiff style would change the course of his career again, when he faced the newly crowned NWA champ Randy Savage. Hitting Savage with his bullwhip, Savage would suffer a broken nose and would require several stitches.
This would lead to Hansen appearing for the NWA, winning the 1991 Crockett Cup with Dan Spivey before challenging Randy Savage for the NWA belt come 1992, as Savage wanted some time to spend with his family. Wining the belt at SuperBrawl, Hansen would lose the built to a returning Ric Flair in his hometown of Charlotte. At the start of 1993 Hansen would win the belt back from Ron Simmons, before dropping to a returning Randy Savage.
Hansen would continue wrestling for both the NWA and New Japan, mainly lower down the card or in tag matches, although he would win the G1 Climax in 1995. By 2000 Stan Hansen would retire and go on to become a commissioner within the NWA.
Major Accolades
World Wrestling Federation
2x WWF Championship
AJPW
2x World Strongest Tag League (83 with Brusier Brody and 85 with Ted DiBase)
2x PWF Heavyweight Champion
2x PWF Tag Team Champion (1x Brusier Brody and 1x with Ted Dibase)
NJPW
NWF Champion
2x IWGP Heavyweight Championship
G1 Climax (1995)
1x IWGP Tag Team Championship (with Scott Norton)
NWA
2x NWA Word Heavyweight Championship
Crockett Cup (1991 with Dan Spivey)
1x NWA Tag Team Champion (with Dan Spivey)
AWA
AWA Heavyweight Champion.
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This is very nice, Are you going to do for CM Punk, the Hardy Boys, Triple H, The Rock, Edge and Christian, Chyna, Kenny Omega, Brock Lesnar, any of the divas like Trish Stratus, Lita, Asuka, Lynch, Keibler, Torrie and Lisa Marie Varon; Scott Steiner, Riho and the Undertaker soon?
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Several of them have been mentioned in some capacity in a few of the posts already. Wouldn't mind having a go at few of the female wrestlers out there.
Edit: Dibs on Chyna. Got a few half ideas forming.
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Joan Lee
Bodybuilder turned wrestler, Joan Laurer turned many heads in the wrestling industry due to her stature. Courted by many, she was turned down by the WWF before nearly being hired by WCW to as a female enforcer to Hogan’s NWO, before Paul Heyman talked her into signing with ECW at the last moment.
Debuting in ECW in 1997 as part of Raven’s Flock, Joan Lee acted as one Raven’s loyal lieutenants, often being called his “Valkyrie”. She quickly become a fan favourite in spite of cheating and interfering to help the Flock win, she would eventually turn against the Flock and become a Face in the process.
Often going to toe to toe against with other male wrestlers, Joan would even get at opportunity at ECW Champion Steven Austin in a close but never the less losing effort at CyberSlam 1999. Due to Joane’s success, Paul Heyman would hire more female wrestlers, scouting talent from Mexico, Japan and North America to kick start a tournament to crown ECW’s 1st Women’s Champion.
At December to Dismember 1999, Joan would defeat Star Saxton, Ayako Hamada and Jazz to in a fatal 4-way match to become the inaugural champion.
After appearing in Playboy, Joan would spend 2000-2002 trading the belt back and forth and even being a member of Eddie Guerrero’s The Radicalz. During this period, she and Saxton would start training other female wrestlers, including future Champion and stalwart of ECW; Gail Kim. She would even wrestle for NOAH for a few matches, further cementing the promotions renegade status with women and even intergender matches featured on their cards.
In 2002 she would quit wrestling to start a career in acting. She would star in 2003’ Terminator 3 as the T-X and several direct to video sci-fi and fantasy films, although she would later cameo as She-Hulk in Marvel’s shared universe of TV series on CBS, although the big screen role would later go to Stephanie Beatriz.
Joan would struggle with mental illness and drugs but would finally get clean after an attempted suicide in 2008. She would join the ECW Hall of fame in 2011.
Accolades
ECW Women's Championsip x3 (Inaugural)
Bodybuilder turned wrestler, Joan Laurer turned many heads in the wrestling industry due to her stature. Courted by many, she was turned down by the WWF before nearly being hired by WCW to as a female enforcer to Hogan’s NWO, before Paul Heyman talked her into signing with ECW at the last moment.
Debuting in ECW in 1997 as part of Raven’s Flock, Joan Lee acted as one Raven’s loyal lieutenants, often being called his “Valkyrie”. She quickly become a fan favourite in spite of cheating and interfering to help the Flock win, she would eventually turn against the Flock and become a Face in the process.
Often going to toe to toe against with other male wrestlers, Joan would even get at opportunity at ECW Champion Steven Austin in a close but never the less losing effort at CyberSlam 1999. Due to Joane’s success, Paul Heyman would hire more female wrestlers, scouting talent from Mexico, Japan and North America to kick start a tournament to crown ECW’s 1st Women’s Champion.
At December to Dismember 1999, Joan would defeat Star Saxton, Ayako Hamada and Jazz to in a fatal 4-way match to become the inaugural champion.
After appearing in Playboy, Joan would spend 2000-2002 trading the belt back and forth and even being a member of Eddie Guerrero’s The Radicalz. During this period, she and Saxton would start training other female wrestlers, including future Champion and stalwart of ECW; Gail Kim. She would even wrestle for NOAH for a few matches, further cementing the promotions renegade status with women and even intergender matches featured on their cards.
In 2002 she would quit wrestling to start a career in acting. She would star in 2003’ Terminator 3 as the T-X and several direct to video sci-fi and fantasy films, although she would later cameo as She-Hulk in Marvel’s shared universe of TV series on CBS, although the big screen role would later go to Stephanie Beatriz.
Joan would struggle with mental illness and drugs but would finally get clean after an attempted suicide in 2008. She would join the ECW Hall of fame in 2011.
Accolades
ECW Women's Championsip x3 (Inaugural)
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Daniel Bryan
Debuting in the 2001 Royal Rumble in the pre-show, Bryan Danielson was brought on by the WWF to take part in their Light Heavyweight division. Daniel Bryans time in WWF was a mixed bag, often appearing low on the card or jobbing out to the more established stars. Yet he finally got his chance to shine when he defeated Tajiri in an April edition of RAW in 2002 for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Putting on several great PPV matches he finally lost the title to Brian Kendrick at Unforgiven 2002. In spite of being a solid worker Daniel Bryan was let go suddenly by the WWF the following year.
Moving to New Japan's LA Dojo, Daniel Bryan retained himself and adopted a new persona of the ‘American Dragon' and made several tours of Japan, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the process. Danielson’s new run of success brought attention back stateside and he was hired by ECW in 2005.
Daniel Bryan quickly made his presence quickly felt in ECW, feuding with Samoa Joe and taking his TV Title in a series of stuff and violent matches. After holding the belt for most 2006, Daniel set his sights on the World Title. After meeting with Paul Heyman, Bryan declared he had an “Option C" that he would vacate the TV belt for a shot at the World Title, then held by ECW veteran Rhino. The feud concluded at in a steel cage match at UltraClash 2006 with Bryan picking up the victory.
Initially feuding with Roderick Strong, everything changed when Kurt Angle signed with ECW in 2007. Their chemistry lit a flame within the ECW faithful, finally reaching its peak in the main event of Wrestlepalooza 2007 in a 60-minute war that would garner a rare 5-star rating from WON’a Dave Meltzer. Daniel Bryan even suffered a detached retina over the course of the match. Unfortunately, this would be Angle’a last match in ECW, but Bryan remained Champion, with many foes eager to face him.
He would lose the belt to CM Punk by that start of the next year that would spark a rivalry that would come to define a era for ECW. Bryan would put his career on the line against CM Punk’s title but would come up short in another classic match. Bryan would spend most of 2010 on the indies before returning to ECW the following year.
He would quickly win his 2nd ECW World Championship in a Elimination Chamber match before losing it back to his arch nemesis CM Punk. Angry and feeling dejected by the fans Bryan turned heel. He would form a tag team with new comer Drew Gulak which would lead to a lengthy title run with the Tag belts before Gulak turned against Bryan after Bryan lost them the belts. At his lowest, Bryan would build his way from the bottom and turn with the ‘Yes! Movement’s Daniel Bryan. After battling his way back up to top he would face CM Punk yet again, finally gaining a victory over him and ending Punks recording setting title defences. Bryan would hold the title all the way up to 2016, before having to vacate the title due to severe career ending injuries, just coming short of beating Punks record as Champion. He promises to one-day return to the ring and finally become the longest ever ECW Champion...
Debuting in the 2001 Royal Rumble in the pre-show, Bryan Danielson was brought on by the WWF to take part in their Light Heavyweight division. Daniel Bryans time in WWF was a mixed bag, often appearing low on the card or jobbing out to the more established stars. Yet he finally got his chance to shine when he defeated Tajiri in an April edition of RAW in 2002 for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Putting on several great PPV matches he finally lost the title to Brian Kendrick at Unforgiven 2002. In spite of being a solid worker Daniel Bryan was let go suddenly by the WWF the following year.
Moving to New Japan's LA Dojo, Daniel Bryan retained himself and adopted a new persona of the ‘American Dragon' and made several tours of Japan, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the process. Danielson’s new run of success brought attention back stateside and he was hired by ECW in 2005.
Daniel Bryan quickly made his presence quickly felt in ECW, feuding with Samoa Joe and taking his TV Title in a series of stuff and violent matches. After holding the belt for most 2006, Daniel set his sights on the World Title. After meeting with Paul Heyman, Bryan declared he had an “Option C" that he would vacate the TV belt for a shot at the World Title, then held by ECW veteran Rhino. The feud concluded at in a steel cage match at UltraClash 2006 with Bryan picking up the victory.
Initially feuding with Roderick Strong, everything changed when Kurt Angle signed with ECW in 2007. Their chemistry lit a flame within the ECW faithful, finally reaching its peak in the main event of Wrestlepalooza 2007 in a 60-minute war that would garner a rare 5-star rating from WON’a Dave Meltzer. Daniel Bryan even suffered a detached retina over the course of the match. Unfortunately, this would be Angle’a last match in ECW, but Bryan remained Champion, with many foes eager to face him.
He would lose the belt to CM Punk by that start of the next year that would spark a rivalry that would come to define a era for ECW. Bryan would put his career on the line against CM Punk’s title but would come up short in another classic match. Bryan would spend most of 2010 on the indies before returning to ECW the following year.
He would quickly win his 2nd ECW World Championship in a Elimination Chamber match before losing it back to his arch nemesis CM Punk. Angry and feeling dejected by the fans Bryan turned heel. He would form a tag team with new comer Drew Gulak which would lead to a lengthy title run with the Tag belts before Gulak turned against Bryan after Bryan lost them the belts. At his lowest, Bryan would build his way from the bottom and turn with the ‘Yes! Movement’s Daniel Bryan. After battling his way back up to top he would face CM Punk yet again, finally gaining a victory over him and ending Punks recording setting title defences. Bryan would hold the title all the way up to 2016, before having to vacate the title due to severe career ending injuries, just coming short of beating Punks record as Champion. He promises to one-day return to the ring and finally become the longest ever ECW Champion...
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Samoa Joe
After training in New Japan’s LA Dojo at the dawn of the millennium, Samoa Joe started wrestling in New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s developmental territory of Zero1 where alongside Brock Lesner (who had taken Inoki’s offer to train in Japan) would win the tag titles and later briefly feud for the heavyweight title before Joe was poached by ECW and Lesnar started training for the 2004 Buenos Aires Olympics.
At this point in time ECW was at a crossroads. The company had enjoyed a golden period yet many of its talent was starting to retire. Paul Heyman charged his right hand man Gabe Sapolsky with grooming the next generation of talent with Joe being one of the 1st signings on 2002.
Joe quickly made his presence know, defeating Christopher Daniels for the TV Title by 2003 before sparking a feud with follow new signee CM Punk, who he would trade the title back and forth with. Come 2005 would see Joe set his sights on the World although he would always come up short mainly by outside interference, although Joe would have opportunities to face several superstars such as Mistuharu Misawa and Kurt Angle in highly regarded matches
As part of the under-card of Angle vs Bryan, Joe would brawl with AJPW’s Takeshi Morishima. Joe would follow Morishima and take his Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in the process before losing to Naomichi Marifuji in his 1st defence.
Joe would return to ECW in 2008, finally wining the ECW World Title from CM Punk, holding the belt for several months before losing it to Roderick Strong
In 2009 Joe would shock the wrestling world by signing with the NWA when he showed up as part of AJ Style’s team at WARGAMES against Chris Jericho, helping Styles defeat Jericho’s Horseman. Although initially acting as an ally to Styles, he would turn against him and win the NWA World Belt from him at SuperBrawl XX. After going on a tear with the belt Joe would lose the belt to Bobby Lashley. Joe would become a key part of the NWA for the next 5 years, regaining the World Belt and wining the United States belt twice.
In 2015 Joe would sign with the WWF, winning the Steiner Memorial Cup with Drew Galloway. Joe would get his chance for the WWF belt at SumerSlam 2016 against Brock Lesnar, in a match nearly 16 years in the making. Joe would be victorious, although he would be forced to drop the belt due to injury. He would regain the belt from new champ Big E Langston before losing the belt at Wrestlemania 34 to Drew Galloway. In 2019 he would win the King of the Ring tournament after winning the IC belt from Bandido.
Samoa Joe is one of the few men to hold all 3 of the major North American Heavyweight titles.
Zero1
World Championship
Tag Team Titles with Brock Lesnar
ECW
ECW World Television Championship x3
ECW World Heavyweight Championship x1
NWA
NWA United States Championship x2
NWA World Heavyweight Championship x2
AJPW
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
WWF
WWF World Championship x2
Intercontinental Championship x1
Steiner Cup (2015 with Drew Galloway)
King of the Ring (2019)
After training in New Japan’s LA Dojo at the dawn of the millennium, Samoa Joe started wrestling in New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s developmental territory of Zero1 where alongside Brock Lesner (who had taken Inoki’s offer to train in Japan) would win the tag titles and later briefly feud for the heavyweight title before Joe was poached by ECW and Lesnar started training for the 2004 Buenos Aires Olympics.
At this point in time ECW was at a crossroads. The company had enjoyed a golden period yet many of its talent was starting to retire. Paul Heyman charged his right hand man Gabe Sapolsky with grooming the next generation of talent with Joe being one of the 1st signings on 2002.
Joe quickly made his presence know, defeating Christopher Daniels for the TV Title by 2003 before sparking a feud with follow new signee CM Punk, who he would trade the title back and forth with. Come 2005 would see Joe set his sights on the World although he would always come up short mainly by outside interference, although Joe would have opportunities to face several superstars such as Mistuharu Misawa and Kurt Angle in highly regarded matches
As part of the under-card of Angle vs Bryan, Joe would brawl with AJPW’s Takeshi Morishima. Joe would follow Morishima and take his Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in the process before losing to Naomichi Marifuji in his 1st defence.
Joe would return to ECW in 2008, finally wining the ECW World Title from CM Punk, holding the belt for several months before losing it to Roderick Strong
In 2009 Joe would shock the wrestling world by signing with the NWA when he showed up as part of AJ Style’s team at WARGAMES against Chris Jericho, helping Styles defeat Jericho’s Horseman. Although initially acting as an ally to Styles, he would turn against him and win the NWA World Belt from him at SuperBrawl XX. After going on a tear with the belt Joe would lose the belt to Bobby Lashley. Joe would become a key part of the NWA for the next 5 years, regaining the World Belt and wining the United States belt twice.
In 2015 Joe would sign with the WWF, winning the Steiner Memorial Cup with Drew Galloway. Joe would get his chance for the WWF belt at SumerSlam 2016 against Brock Lesnar, in a match nearly 16 years in the making. Joe would be victorious, although he would be forced to drop the belt due to injury. He would regain the belt from new champ Big E Langston before losing the belt at Wrestlemania 34 to Drew Galloway. In 2019 he would win the King of the Ring tournament after winning the IC belt from Bandido.
Samoa Joe is one of the few men to hold all 3 of the major North American Heavyweight titles.
Zero1
World Championship
Tag Team Titles with Brock Lesnar
ECW
ECW World Television Championship x3
ECW World Heavyweight Championship x1
NWA
NWA United States Championship x2
NWA World Heavyweight Championship x2
AJPW
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
WWF
WWF World Championship x2
Intercontinental Championship x1
Steiner Cup (2015 with Drew Galloway)
King of the Ring (2019)
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