10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2005
2. Kurt Angle’s Final Feud Is Regrettable
Final feud as a full time in-ring WWE talent on SmackDown, that is.
In 2005, Kurt Angle was part of a brutally bad storyline with Booker T and Sharmell that saw Kurt claim Sharmell was coming onto him and that he wanted to have “bestiality sex” with her. Yeah. Oh yeah, then he kidnapped her and generally acted like a total creep in between having solid wrestling matches with Book.
Angle was moved to Raw in the Draft that June. He'd return to SmackDown again by January 2006, then got bumped to the ECW brand before finally leaving the company to try and sort out a personal life that was spiralling completely out of control. Thankfully, he'd manage to get a grip on things in the end and is living a happier, healthier lifestyle today.
It’s just a pity that this “bestiality” business would become known as Angle’s last major story on SmackDown before he was drafted. The Olympian had been a staple on the brand since the first roster split in 2002 - he'd been part of the famous 'SmackDown Six' group (alongside Chris Benoit, Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, Edge and Rey Mysterio), had worked World Title feuds better than almost anyone, and now here he was involved in some undignified soap opera crud that spilled over into offensive territory.
That's coming from the horse's mouth. Kurt looks back on this story saga with regret. No wonder. He didn't mind going above and beyond to entertain, and willingly made a fool of himself, but the whole tale with Booker and Sharmell was simply too much.