When Vince McMahon signed Kurt Angle - a genuine Olympic Gold Medallist - to a WWE contract there was no doubt in anyone's mind he would be the next big WWF babyface. Heck, if this was the 1980's or even the early 1990's then Kurt Angle probably would have been able to get over as the second coming of Hulk Hogan. However by 1999 his self-righteous spin on the all-American say your prayers, eat your vitamins gimmick just wasn't going to wash. This gave WWE two options for his debut. They could either persevere in the hopes that the WWE fans would see things their way or they could turn the character on it's head and push Angle as a pompous idiot who couldn't understand why the fans were booing him. Fortunately for us all - and Angle himself - they chose the second option. Angle's debut at the 1999 Survivor Series was hardly impressive, defeating Shaun Stasiak in less than 5 minutes. However the reason this debut ranks higher than the debut of The Rock, is because unlike Rock's debut Survivor Series, Angle set the stage for the enduring Olympic Gold Medallist gimmick that he utilised for his entire career. Stopping mid match to chastise the fans for booing him was a classic heel move and showed just how great Angle could be in a comedic role. Having him score a cheap victory but celebrate like he'd just won the gold again was pure genius. We all know how much of an impact Kurt Angle ended up having on WWE's main event scene and looking back to his historic debut it really hits home just how missed the former Grand Slam champion really is.
