Why Vince McMahon Was Angry After Kurt Angle's WWE Debut

"You better not forget again!"

by Jamie Kennedy
Kurt Angle Promo
WWE.com

Kurt Angle admitted that Vince McMahon was "p*ssed" at him right after his full WWE TV debut.

The Olympian told the 'BASCHAMANIA' podcast that McMahon gave him a scripted promo to recite on a house show in Pittsburgh; the boss didn't write anything down, but had a very clear idea of what he wanted his new hire to say to the live crowd in his home town.

24 hours later, Kurt was at Survivor Series 1999 making his pay-per-view debut against Shawn Stasiak. Disaster struck when he forgot some of the lines McMahon had laid out for him (he was supposed to cut the same promo again in Detroit). Backstage after the match, Vince pulled Angle aside and said, "OK, here are the lines again - you better not forget again".

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Despite being mad that Kurt hadn't pulled off exactly what he wanted, McMahon was impressed that Angle was able to think on his feet and cut a promo off-the-cuff. He noted to others that maybe they "had something to build off here".

They did. Angle took to pro wrestling quicker than most and became a sensation mere months into his run.

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.