Do not let the superior athleticism of Kurt Angle fool you. Nor should the fluidity with which he moves between the ropes sway your opinion of him. The Pittsburgh native is as tough as they come and his performance in the 1996 Olympics is proof positive. Suffering from a broken freakin' neck that he suffered during the semifinals of the grand tournament, he fought through considerable pain and likely did even more damage to his spine by competing in the finals, where he went to overtime to beat the Iranian representative to win Olympic gold. The victory put him on the radar of major wrestling organizations, including WWE and ECW. After picking the sport up in near record time, he made his debut in 1999 and wasted little time proving to fans that, behind the smile and All-American good looks was a wrestling machine dedicated to his sport. At the 2001 King of the Ring, he was in the midst of a Street Fight with Shane McMahon when he broke his tailbone. His base damaged, he was clearly hurting as he wrestled the remainder of the match, a grimace on his face. Still, that did not stop him from willing himself to working with McMahon to deliver one of the year's best matches. Two years later, his undeniable hardihood was once again on display, this time on the grandest stage in the industry. His neck once again the cause of great pain and discomfort, Angle arrived at WrestleMania XIX for a match with Brock Lesnar in which one wrong bump could have left him crippled. He gutted through it, even carrying Lesnar when the Next Big Thing botched a late-match Shooting Star Press. Those are just a handful of examples of Angle's toughness. Hampered by significant injuries throughout his career, he stayed focused on wrestling, for better or worse. The result is a body of work that ranks among the best of his generation.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
