8 Most Shocking Kurt Angle WWE Moments

7. Beating The Rock To Become WWF Champion

Just shy of a full year before becoming WWF Champ at No Mercy 2000, Kurt Angle was beating Shawn Stasiak at the '99 Survivor Series and looked destined to be part of the mid-card pack for a while. That was before people realised just how damn talented Kurt was. Quickly becoming one of the best in-ring performers under contract, Angle knocked everything handed to him out of the park.

Still, few gave him a hope in hell of toppling The Rock at No Mercy and leaving with the WWF Title. Angle was more of a supporting player than a focal point, right? Wrong. One Angle Slam later and Kurt was crying as he held the most coveted title in the industry. Meanwhile, anyone who had questioned the WWF's faith in him was left looking foolish.

Less than 12 months after making his proper main roster debut, Angle was on top as the WWF Champion and firmly part of the main event elite. The Rock had done Kurt the ultimate favour by agreeing to drop the title to him so early in Angle's career.