10 Greatest Technical Wrestlers Of All Time

By Chris Quicksilver /

1. Kurt Angle

The only Olympic Gold Medallist in professional wrestling history, Kurt Angle came into wrestling with a lot of weight on his shoulders. We all know what amateur wrestlers generally think of professional wrestling and I€™m sure that Angle probably felt a lot of heat in the dressing room in his first few months with the company as a result. But Angle was tougher than tough (frankly, you€™d have to be to win an Olympic Gold Medal with a broken neck) and sharper, keener and leaner than anyone else on the roster at that time. His superb rookie year, which saw him simultaneously hold the IC and European belts, was capped off with a WWE Championship reign that lasted almost a full year. During the biggest drawing period of WWE€™s recent history (maybe even overall), the time when Vinny€™s boys finally saw off their rivals at WCW and demolished everything else in their path, Kurt Angle was the Champion, the standard bearer for the WWF€™s brand of sports entertainment. Angle went on to become a multi-time World and WWE Champion, main eventing WrestleManias left, right and centre, before eventually heading over to TNA and arguably doing more than any other star to put the fledgling company on the map. In the ring, Angle€™s work was fluid, adaptive and highly personalised. His signature anklelock, his belly-to-belly suplexes (the best ever, without a doubt), his flawless moonsault, his German suplexes (second only to Benoit€™s) and his ring psychology and timing made him the greatest technical wrestler in WWE history. Angle was legit. An Olympian no less, and his very presence on WWF TV heightened professional wrestling€™s legitimacy and credibility in a way that is impossible to understate. He approached pro wrestling with due respect and reverence €“ and he treated it like a sport. Angle wasn€™t a reality TV whore trying to make his name by taking a few bumps and putting out a dodgy rock album, he wasn€™t a steroid guru flexing his way through turgid strongman matches and he wasn€™t a flash in the pan either - he was the real deal, the ultimate wrestler€™s wrestler. Kurt Angle was the greatest technical wrestler the WWE ever had, barring none. So that€™s it. The annoying thing about lists is that you really don€™t get to say everything you want to say, or include every one you want to include. Names like Shawn Michaels (12), Ultimo Dragon (17) and Cesaro (15) have been found wanting this time, but the WWE has featured so many great talents over the years that its highly likely that this list could be expanded into a top 30, or even a top 50. ...Go ahead, give it a go!