One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY Month Of The WWE Attitude Era

11. June 2000 | Scrapped Kurt Angle Plans

Kurt Angle CHAMP
WWE

Certain wrestlers simply cannot be buried, but their political shark peers will test this hypothesis with great enthusiasm. Look at Kurt Angle. 

Fully Loaded 2000 was loosely premised on the idea that the WWF main event scene was there for the taking; three established headliners wrestled upper midcarders on the cusp of breaking out. This was all well and good until the Undertaker slaughtered Kurt Angle and, treating him like he might as well have been Just Joe, lifted his shoulder off the mat to beat his ass some more, just for fun. Later in the year, Angle - who was so good that he broke out regardless - was put in his place by Triple H. Well, Triple H tried. The Angle/Triple H/Stephanie McMahon love triangle was the best thing going in the summer of 2000, almost incontrovertible proof that wrestling is indeed simply a way for males to watch a soap without the stigma of watching something “for girls”. 

About the only person who wasn’t crazy about this storyline was Triple H, who purportedly sabotaged it because nobody would buy that Stephanie McMahon would go for Angle, what with his classically handsome square jaw, rippling physique, and extravagant success in two separate fields. Angle was Bob Backlund in Triple H’s eyes. 

This doomed angle nearly didn’t happen at all; per the June 26 edition of the Observer, Angle was poised to play a “darker” heel - perhaps something closer to the absurdly intense ‘Wrestling Machine’ persona he developed in the early-to-mid 2000s. What’s better: that, or Triple H telling you that his hog is formidable?

Impossible to say. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!