1. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle - September 18, 2003
Perhaps surprisingly, there have only been five 60-minute Iron Man matches in WWEs history. The most well-known Iron Man encounter took place between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII. However, possibly the best Iron Man match wasnt aired on a pay-per-view event. Instead, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle faced off on the September 18th, 2003 edition of Smackdown. Angle and Lesnar had frequently feuded over the WWE Championship following Brocks initial title win at SummerSlam 2002. The two met in a thrilling contest at WrestleMania XIX, which saw Brock triumph over Angle. After a lengthy absence from in-ring competition due to having had neck surgery, Kurt rekindled his rivalry with Lesnar. The feud started out as more of a friendly competition, but quickly devolved into a heated affair following Lesnars growing frustrations. On September 18th, the two competitors stepped inside the Smackdown ring to compete in just the third 60-minute Iron Man match in WWE history. Brock took it to Angle at the outset, even getting himself disqualified thanks to his use of a steel chair. Despite being down a fall, Brock was able to quickly damage his opponent and gain the upper hand. Lesnar continued to dominate the match, despite a handful of sudden bursts from Angle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1hj2XmLSwg With only minutes left in the contest, Angle scored another fall, bringing the score to 5-4. Kurt went on the offensive as the match wound down as he desperately tried to score a final fall to tie up the contest. With Lesnar trapped in Angles signature Ankle Lock submission, it looked as if Kurt would pull it off. Unfortunately for the Olympic gold medalist, time ran out. As such, Brock Lesnar was still the WWE Champion.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
