10 Things We Learned From Kurt Angle On Stone Cold's Broken Skull Sessions Podcast
9. Angle's Original Character Was 'Reverse Rock'
A baffled Kurt stared a hole through Vince McMahon when the WWF boss explained his vision for Angle's original 'Olympic Hero' character in the company. According to Vince, the "Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence" chat would get the newcomer over with the audience.
Kurt didn't agree, because he thought McMahon wanted people to like him. Not quite; Vince's plan was to take the elements that had made The Rock so unlikeable in 1997 (causing fans to chant, "Die, Rocky, Die" his way) and capitalise on that sort of forced goody-two-shoes characterisation.
When Angle still didn't get it and pointed out that his intro vignettes were uncool, the boss laughed.
He also told his new charge to celebrate like he'd won the Olympics after every single match. It didn't matter if Kurt had cheated to win or beaten a lowly jobber - he was to leap around like he'd never been happier. That got him heat straight away.