10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Competed At Wrestle Kingdom
1. Kurt Angle
Remember that "Legend" stable from the Kevin Nash entry? We missed out one very important member of that team - the Olympic Hero, Kurt Angle.
Angle was part of that eight-man tag alongside Nash at Wrestle Kingdom III, but it was his appearance at the previous year's event that was far more interesting and controversial.
There was a period of time where there were two IWGP Heavyweight Championships. This was due to a complicated series of events involving Brock Lesnar not playing ball with a company. That sounds very unlike him...
The second IWGP belt was in existence for about three years, although it only made a handful of appearances. One of those came at Wrestle Kingdom II, when Yugi Nagata challenged reigning champion, Kurt Angle.
Angle defeated Lesnar for the championship at Brock's request and defended the title across multiple promotions, including TNA and NJPW.
Angle vs Nagata was part of a "TNA vs NJPW" theme for Wrestle Kingdom II with Angle scoring a point for his team by retaining his title. He would eventually lose the belt to Shinsuke Nakamura, who unified the two versions of the belt.
Angle was part of a very convoluted part of Japanese wrestling history and, as a result, his appearance at Wrestle Kingdom II is now legendary.