The Story: That Kurt was strongly advised by doctors and specialists to retire in 2003. The Evidence: Kurt Angle was a quick learner. He went from having three minute matches which played before loud 'boring' chants to have twenty minute classics in less than a year. By 2003, Angle was one of WWE's top three talents and eclipsed several veterans in terms of all-round ability. The upshot of Angle's full-on style was that his body started to break down pretty quickly. Angle famously suffered a 'broken freakin' neck' in the run up to the 1996 Olympic games. That's not something that jut 'goes away'. Angle was taking a lot of bumps on his already-knackered neck and the effects were beginning to show. Angle began feeling the familiar numbness in his hands and fingers in the run-up to WrestleMania XIX in March 2003. Angle was advised to get major neck surgery immediately following his big match with Lesnar. Knowing the op could potentially end his career, Angle instead decided to undergo an experimental form of surgery that did not fuse his neck and cut his rehab time from one year to just three months. He returned in June and wrestled the same physical style. He would have neck problems for years afterwards. Is It True: Yes, many insiders speculated that Angle's WWE career would be a short one. He was totally broken-down in 2003 and major neck surgery seemed to be the answer. It wasn't a sure thing that he'd make it out of the Lesnar match without incident. There were fears that one bad bump and Angle could end up a quadriplegic.
