WWE's 15 Hottest Stars Of The Summer Since 2001

15. Kurt Angle - 2001

The year of 2001 is widely remembered by WWE fans for its botched Invasion angle, but lest we forget, the storyline wasn't entirely atrocious. Sure, WCW was made to look inferior to WWE at almost every turn, but a few stars were born out of it, including one Kurt Angle.

Angle had already solidified himself as a star having had an extremely impressive rookie year in WWE, but he had yet to break out as the babyface he was destined to be. As excellent a heel as Angle was, he had far too much charisma to remain on that side of the coin for long, and when he started feuding against The Alliance, the fans got behind him in a major way.

Angle rode a wave of momentum into SummerSlam where he and Stone Cold Steve Austin contested a fantastic match over the WWE Championship. Although he technically emerged victorious, it was via disqualification, and thus he didn't capture the championship. At any rate, he went on to win the belt in his native Pittsburgh the very next month, capping off what was a stellar summer for the Olympic Gold Medalist.