Former WWE and TNA wrestler Kurt Angle has named his pick for who was the greatest of all time in the sport.
Combining a successful amateur wrestling career, the ability to have a great match with anyone while also having great comic timing, Angle excelled in every aspect of pro wrestling and ranks highly on many fans’ lists when it come to in-ring work and character work. However, when it comes to who the Hall of Famer believes is the greatest, that honour goes to someone who he had multiple match of the year contenders with back in 2005.
While speaking with Kent Brown of The Pin Down for Sports Illustrated, Angle looked back on his rivalries with the likes of Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Steve Austin. However, when it came to who had the complete package, Angle believes the accolade should go to Shawn Michaels:
“I loved technical wrestlers. Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Undertaker was a great technical wrestler, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock, he could be technical but he was more of an action guy. I have to say, my best matches were with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. Overall, I consider Shawn to be the greatest ever in the sport. If you’re talking looks, promo skills, and wrestling ability, everything wrapped into one, that guy is perhaps the best of all time.”
Kurt Angle Has The Accolades To Back Up Being One Of The Greatest
After winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, famously with a broken neck, Angle made his official WWE debut at Survivor Series 1999. Shortly after making his debut, Angle won the European Championship and Intercontinental Championship, holding both titles simultaneously walking into WrestleMania 2000. Continuing to find success in WWE, Angle went on to win 6 World Championships, the 2000 King of the Ring tournament, and every other active championship in the promotion at that time.
Signing with TNA in 2006, Angle won the World Title 6 times, along with reigns as X-Division, and Tag Team Championships, leading to his TNA Hall of Fame induction in 2013. After returning to WWE in 2017 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Angle competed in his final match in 2019, losing to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, with Corbin not being able to capitalise on the accolade of retiring the multi-time World Champion. In interviews that have followed, Angle admitted that he was disappointed by Corbin’s exit following his 2024 release.
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Featured image: WWE
