10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Jan 1)

6. Kurt Angle Wanted To Eventually Wrestle AJ Styles In WWE

Making his debut in 1999, Kurt Angle progressed quickly through the ranks to become one of the then-WWF's premier performers at the turn of the millennium. Officials were high on Angle, impressed at how well he had taken to pro wrestling. Less than a full year after his debut, Angle won the WWF Heavyweight Title at No Mercy 2000, beating The Rock. In 2002, TNA formed, allowing young wrestlers like AJ Styles a bigger stage on which to perform. Angle would eventually join the company in 2006, but he had his eye on the talent there long before then. Speaking to Digital Spy this week, the former Olympic Gold Medal winner at the 1996 Summer Games spoke of his admiration for Styles over a prolonged period. Even when he was still under contract to WWE, Angle wanted to work with AJ. Recognising that he could have great matches with the TNA star, the idea of creating magic with Styles was a major reason for Angle's interest in signing a TNA contract. It's cool to think that even one of WWE's bigger names had his eye on the ball, keeping tabs on talent in other companies he felt he could work well with.