Kurt Angle's 10 Greatest Moments
9. Extreme Wrestling Machine
The draft pick afforded to Paul Heyman for his relaunched ECW project, Kurt Angle was a perfect fit for the new brand, portraying an edgier version of his 2006 'Wrestling Machine' persona.
Sporting a wicked 'ECW' mouthguard for matches and ploughing through opposition with ease, it was a realistic spin on the character that had spent the last few years dominating jobbers in the 'Kurt Angle Invitational' Gold Medal challenge.
Kicking off the run with a decisive victory over Randy Orton at One Night Stand 2006, Angle would win a series of squash matches on the new ECW television show, and looked a dead cert to lead the brand as it's fiery World Heavyweight Champion following the untimely arrest of existing titleholder Rob Van Dam.
It was sadly not destined to last, as Angle and WWE would part company just two months into the life of the cursed brand, long before either side got time to effectively flesh out the character.
However, it's worth noting that with the comedy brushed to one side, it was this version of Kurt that came into TNA, channelling the hard-hitting submission style into his first gripping feud with Samoa Joe.