7 Times WWE Used Wrestlers To Capitalise On US Foreign Policy
2. Kurt Angle
The first of two babyface wrestlers who were used to capitalise on US foreign policy. in the late nineties WWE had not been using foreign heels in prominent roles and had gone for a more gritty "shades of grey" story lines. However events in September 2001 changed the world forever.
9/11 reshaped and refocused US foreign policy. WWE often retells in their history that they were one of the first public forums after the events. Indeed the opening of the September 13, 2001 edition of Smackdown makes for an emotional watch as McMahon echoes the sentiment of American strength and resolve that George Bush has talked about two nights earlier. While it would have been expected that WWE would introduce a foreign heel to capitalise on this they went down a different route.
At the next available pay per view WWE presented the story of the all american babyface Kurt Angle. A legitimate Olympic gold medallist for the US at the Summer Olympics personified American resolve by becoming the world champion amid a wave of patriotism and red, white and blue fireworks.
Victory for Angle is met with huge cheers and chants of “U-S-A” as he is literally held aloft as a hero by the WWE locker room. In this instance, a feel-good moment was provided for the fans, who in the wake up 9/11, indulged in the patriotic offering.