10 Reasons Kurt Angle Deserves His WWE Hall Of Fame Induction

3. He’s One Of The Last True Stars WWE Created

If you look at WWE post-Attitude Era, they’ve had a bit of a rough go of it when it comes to creating wrestlers that truly feel like stars. There’s been John Cena, of course, Batista and Randy Orton to a smaller extent, Brock Lesnar and CM Punk who departed at their peak and Daniel Bryan very briefly. But that’s about it. Because of that, Angle is one of the last names that Vince McMahon and his creative team should really feel proud about.

Time and time again we’ve seen wrestlers with so much potential be undercut due to their perceived deficiencies. Unless they have the right “look”, Vince won’t go all-in on them. He seems to be a firm believer in wrestlers paying their dues, which means they spend most of their careers exchanging wins and losses ad infinitum. Then when they’re ready to break out for their big push, fans won’t buy into it because they’ve perceived them as midcard for far too long.

Angle, though, was pushed strongly out of the gate. He was given a winning streak that made it be known he was someone worth paying attention to. When he experienced his first loss to Tazz at Royal Rumble 2000, it didn’t damage his career in the least. He took that as an opportunity to make his character stronger. He was given an big opportunity in a way that few others received, and he absolutely proved he was up for the challenge.

That was just the beginning. Over the years he grew in importance to WWE, and is one of the defining wrestlers of his generation. Fans look at him as a big deal. He feels special in a way that most of the current roster simply doesn't.