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 Im 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, youd 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 WWEs recent history (maybe even overall), the time when Vinnys 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 WWFs 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, Angles 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 Benoits) 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 wrestlings 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 wasnt a reality TV whore trying to make his name by taking a few bumps and putting out a dodgy rock album, he wasnt a steroid guru flexing his way through turgid strongman matches and he wasnt a flash in the pan either - he was the real deal, the ultimate wrestlers wrestler. Kurt Angle was the greatest technical wrestler the WWE ever had, barring none. So thats it. The annoying thing about lists is that you really dont 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!
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
I don't generally read or reply to comments here on What Culture (too many trolls!), but if you follow my Twitter (@heyquicksilver), I'll talk to you all day long!
If you are interested in reading more of my stuff, you can find it on http://quicksilverstories.weebly.com/ (my personal site, which has other wrestling/comics/pop culture stuff on it).
I also write for FLiCK http://www.flickonline.co.uk/flicktion, which is the best place to read my fiction work.
Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
Finally, I sincerely appreciate every single read I get. So if you're reading this, thank you, you've made me feel like Shakespeare for a day! (see what I mean?)
Latcho Drom,
- CQ
