Now working for the upstart freestyle wrestling promotion, Real American Freestyle, which was founded, in part, by the late Hulk Hogan, it should come as no surprise that Kurt Angle is frequently asked about his fellow WWE Hall of Famer. And the Olympic gold medalist doesn’t hesitate to give thanks to Hogan, and others, in looking back on his career.
Appearing on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Angle was asked about his relationship with Hogan and he was quick to reflect fondly on the real-life Terry Bollea, who died in July, sending shockwaves throughout the wrestling world. “[Terry and I] were always close,” Angle said. “You know, we had a mutual respect for each other.” Angle also was praiseworthy of Hogan’s ability against him in the ring once they finally locked up, in 2002, for WWE. “I remember when I got the opportunity to wrestle him,” he explained. “[He] really surprised me. I mean, he was probably in his late 50s and I was in the prime of my career and we had a great match.” Though Hogan was actually just shy of 50 when first facing off against Angle, what the latter remembers most is that the former was more than willing to do the honors at the King of the Ring pay-per-view.
“The crazy thing is,” Angle explained, “I’m the first one to ever make [Hogan] tap out and I never thought he’d go for it but he did. He had enough respect for me to say, ‘You know what, Kurt? I’ll do the job tonight.’ And it was really cool that Hulk Hogan did that for me. He took me to another level.”
I’m gonna put you over tonight.
Another time Angle’s career was elevated by a legendary figure in the business was at No Mercy in 2000 when he won his first WWE Championship by defeating The Rock in a No Disqualification match. And as Angle recalls, he had no idea that was to be the case until he was told as much by The Rock himself. “Nobody told me until The Rock,” Angle said. “Rock came to me and he said, ‘Listen, Kurt, I’m gonna put you over tonight,’ and I was like, ‘Holy crap!'” Widely regarded as one of the quickest to ever pick up the pro wrestling business at the highest level, maybe it wasn’t a surprise to many that he would reach the pinnacle of professional wrestling at some point, but even for Angle himself, the quickness with which he did so came as a shock.
“You have to remember, I was [already] wrestling main events,” he said, “[but] I was [only] in the business for 10 months.” With then-CEO Vince McMahon wanting to keep the title switch a surprise, even to Angle, it was up to his opponent to break the news to the upstart. “All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Vince McMahon decides to make me champion against The Rock and so when I showed up at the arena, The Rock pulled me aside and said, ‘Listen, you’re going over tonight, brother. This is your chance.'”
Ever thankful, Angle says he showed his appreciation right away, paying respect to another surefire Hall of Famer for what would become his first of six world championships while in WWE. “I hugged him [and said,] ‘Dwayne, thank you so much, man. I have so much respect for you. You’re one of the greatest of all time and to be able to take the title from you is gonna be an honor.'”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Ariel Helwani Show” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
