10 Wrestling Stars Who Reinvented Their Way To Longevity
2. Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle's comedy character during his early WWF run was an absolute riot. Even his debut, a short and unspectacular match with dud Shawn Stasiak, was a fabulous indication of his indignant and purposefully anachronistic character.
Hearing jeers, an upset Angle grabbed the microphone and admonished the crowd for booing him. "I came here for you!".
Though he won his first WWF heavyweight title during this hugely competitive time, Angle would, over time, mostly eschew the comedic aspects of his personality to carve himself out as a psychotic 'Wrestling Machine'.
The transition to a more serious role paid dividends.
Angle would go on to help spearhead the Ruthless Aggression era and legitimise WWE in his stellar series with fellow amateur wrestling wunderkind Brock Lesnar, for which a serious, real-sports tone was required in order to justify it headlining WrestleMania XIX over the likes of Steve Austin and Triple H.
Demonstrating that he still had considerable comedic chops, Angle parodied Shawn Michaels' entrance music in a legendary pre-match promo ahead of his classic WrestleMania 21 match with the 'Heartbreak Kid'.
Featuring the hilarious rhyming couplet of 'I'm just a sexy Kurt / I'll make your ankle hurt', Angle could alternate between comic relief and coldhearted psychopath with consummate ease.