Vince McMahon Told This WWE Icon To “Kick Out Quicker”
WWE boss Vince McMahon was NOT a fan of this legend's late kickouts in-ring.
Vince McMahon once warned WWE legend Kurt Angle that he had to start kicking out of near falls a little sooner.
Kurt told listeners of his brand new podcast that the boss was concerned by how late the Olympian was leaving it before hauling a shoulder off the mat. In fact, he pulled Angle aside following his dazzling WrestleMania 21 match with fellow icon Shawn Michaels and demanded a change.
Kurt's response was that he would do as asked - then, he continued to kick out at "2.9999999" like before. In other words, he enjoyed leaving it until the very last split second before powering out of pins, and Angle also knew how much drama that added to his matches.
The gold medal winner told co-host Conrad Thompson that he didn't tend to look at the referee's hand during pins either. Instead, he listened to the cadence of the count and anticipated that third smack on the canvas; Kurt had full confidence in WWE's officials too.
McMahon was worried that one of the refs might botch the count someday and hit the three. Angle, meanwhile, wasn't.