7 Best Kurt Angle WWE Feuds

Two of the greatest technical wrestlers and most intense sports entertainment performers of all-time, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle enjoyed quite the rivalry with one another back in the early 2000s.

They had a few one-off matches in 2000 but began a true rivalry in the spring of 2001, first clashing at WrestleMania X-Seven in a nifty mat-based affair, Backlash in a rare 30-minute 'Ultimate Submission' (Submission Iron Man) match and then at Judgement Day in a 2/3 falls bout - with the first fall pinfalls only, the second submission only and the third a ladder match.

They rekindled the rivalry in late 2002 while exclusive to Smackdown. One third of the much vaunted 'Smackdown Six', they put on a clinic at Unforgiven before being forced to team up and challenge for the new WWE Tag Team Titles. They won those, too, but started scrapping once more when they lost the straps and Angle won the WWE Title.

Their match at the 2003 Royal Rumble was one of the best of the year and a true example to those aspiring to move up the card. After the match Benoit got a well-deserved standing ovation but much credit must also go to Angle, who wrestled the match after just returning from knee surgery.

Among those were many entertaining television matches, be they singles, tag or multi-man. Angle and Benoit were pretty much married to one another during one of Smackdown's most creatively inspiring periods.