10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Kurt Angle
9. Punished By Puder
Kurt Angle is the most decorated amateur wrestler to ever set foot in the squared circle. His Olympic pedigree has been the basis of his act since day one, and while not an MMA shooter in the style of Minoru Suzuki or Dan Severn, much of his early mystique came from knowing he could comfortably trump any of his contemporaries in 'real' competition.
Daniel Puder shattered this illusion in 2004.
A random episode of SmackDown saw Kurt compete against various Tough Enough participants in a series of unscripted challenges, and it backfired when he met Puder, a skilled mixed martial artist. Kurt took Daniel down, but the apparent rookie grabbed a limb, trapped Angle in an inescapable Kimura, and threatened to break the Olympian's arm.
Kurt was on the verge of being soundly humiliated on national television. Fortunately, he and referee Jim Korderas thought quickly, with Angle pushing Puder's shoulders into the mat, the official making a sharp three-count. 'The Olympic Hero' was saved, but Daniel copped immense backstage heat for the incident, with Chris Benoit, Bob Holly, and Eddie Guerrero legitimately shooting on him as punishment during the 2005 Royal Rumble.